Back on the Scene (Bearing Carrots)

I have returned from my cross-Canada adventure and herby recommit myself to blogging. Haley says I can no longer slack. She also says someone not of Reems kinship is reading and commenting on the blog. This is very exciting news. We have a readership. And so, without a photograph (all good foodblogs have tempting visuals), I post my latest dessert, a fat-free, VERY TASTY, carrot cake. When Haley came to visit last week I made this dessert to impress her and our excessively health-conscious mother. I have moved into number one daughter position. Perfect. In reality the praise goes to the Moosewood Collective who created the recipe and published it in their Book of Desserts in the first place, although, I adjusted the carrot content of the recipe and added pineapple.

Fat-Free Carrot Cake

1 ½ cups packed finely grated carrots

¾ cups canned crushed pineapple

1 ½ cups packed brown sugar

1 ¾ cups water

½ cup chopped dates

½ cup raisins

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 cups white flour

1 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp allspice

½ tsp ginger

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp baking powder

In a saucepan, bring the carrots, brown sugar, water, dried fruit, and vanilla to a boil. Simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat, cover and let stand for at least an hour. According to the Moosewood Collective, the longer you let the mixture stand, the more the mush will absorb the water. I could only afford an hour but they suggest over night. My cake turned out quite nicely.

Combine flour and spices.

Preheat the oven to 300 and oil and flour a 10-inch bundt pan.

Stir the carrot mixture into the dry until just combined. Ensure no traces of flour are left.

Cook for about an hour or until an inserted tester (knife, toothpick, or what-have-you) comes out clean. Cool for 10 min in the pan before inverting onto a wire rack.

I topped the cake with a lemon glaze, which consisted of the juice of two lemons and ¼ cup of sugar. I warmed the ingredients in a small saucepan until the sugar had dissolved and then poured it over the cake. This sauce is very liquidy and moistened the cake considerably. I recommend the lemon sauce but I’d like to try a simple dusting of icing sugar or cinnamon. The cake was quite different than the typical carrot cake, moist and fruity, almost dark in flavour. I loved it!

I think I’ve hit on a fabulous whole-wheat peanut-butter cookie recipe but I need to make a couple of adjustments before posting. Stay tuned!

(Hi Haley!)