Saturday 23 March 2013

Wholemeal Low-fat Moist Carrot Cake (Delia Smith)

If you have read my blog previously, you'll notice what a big fan of carrot I am. This is the fourth carrot cake recipe I've posted since I started blogging less than  a year back. I've made: Healthier Carrot Walnut Cakes, Pumpkin Seed Carrot Banana Cake, Pineapple Carrot Cake and now this wholemeal version. 


I love trying out all carrot cake recipes as long as it doesn't use butter. I am so glad that my favourite cake can be made healthier and guilt-free so that I can actually make it as an everyday cake. 



Delia Smith's carrot cake recipe is as wonderfully delicious and moist as the other recipes I've made earlier. The best part about this recipe is that it uses wholemeal flour and I managed to substitute some of the oil with low-fat yoghurt without affecting the texture of the cake. The syrup glaze added a slight citrus after-taste to the cake which made it extra delicious.


This is for Cook like a Star, Delia Smith blog hop event, hosted by Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids, Baby Sumo from Eat your heart out and Mich from Piece of Cake. Grab the HTML Code for the event here.


This is for Made with Love Mondays by Javelin Warrior.

Wholemeal Low-fat Moist Carrot Cake (7 inch square)
A Delia Smith Recipe
  • 6 oz (175 g) dark brown soft sugar (I used 90 g)
  • 2 large eggs at room temperature
  • 4 fl oz (120 ml) sunflower oil (I used 70 ml oil, 50 ml low-fat yoghurt)
  • 7 oz (200 g) wholemeal self-raising flour (I used wholemeal flour and added 2 tsp of baking powder to it when sifting)
  • 1½ level teaspoons bicarbonate of soda
  • 3 rounded teaspoons mixed spice (I used a combination of cinnamon and nutmeg)
  • grated zest of 1 orange
  • 7 oz (200 g) carrots, peeled and coarsely grated
  • 6 oz (175 g) sultanas
For the topping:
  •  9 oz (250 g) Quark (skimmed-milk soft cheese) (I used low-fat cream cheese)
  •  ¾ oz (20 g) caster sugar
  •  2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  •  1 rounded teaspoon ground cinnamon, plus a little extra for dusting
For the syrup glaze:
  •  juice of ½ small orange
  •  1 dessertspoon lemon juice
  •  1½ oz (40 g) dark brown soft sugar
Method
  • Preheat oven to 170*C.
  • Begin by whisking the 6 oz (175 g) sugar, eggs and oil together in a bowl using an electric hand whisk for 2-3 minutes. 
  • Then sift together the flour, bicarbonate of soda and the mixed spice into the bowl, tipping in all the bits of bran that are left in the sieve. 
  • Now stir all this together, then fold in the orange zest, carrots and sultanas. After that pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake on the centre shelf of the oven for 35-40 minutes, until it is well risen and feels firm and springy to the touch when lightly pressed in the centre. 
  • While the cake is cooking, make the topping by mixing all the ingredients in a bowl until light and fluffy, then cover with clingfilm and chill for 1-2 hours or until needed. Now you need to make the syrup glaze, and to do this whisk together the fruit juices and sugar in a bowl. 
  • Then, when the cake comes out of the oven, stab it all over with a skewer and quickly spoon the syrup over as evenly as possible. Now leave the cake on one side to cool in the tin, during which time the syrup will be absorbed. 
  • Then, when the cake is completely cold, remove it from the tin, spread the topping over, cut it into 12 squares and dust with a little more cinnamon.

37 comments:

  1. WOW! Your carrot cake looks so yummy! Very nice colour and sounds so healthy too :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Mich, I agree with u, I think it's really nice when u can make a healthier version of a treat - makes you feel less guilty to eat more, right?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Your carrot cake looks wonderfully moist and delicious! And your healthier version sounds great! It has been awhile since I last made any carrot cake!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Mmmmm......looks real yum! I loves carrot cake and this version of yours definitely the most healthier one. Wish I can just have one small piece from you as Im lazy to make it myself....;)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Your carrot cake looks delish ! The texture is very moist and soft . This healthier version sounds really good ;D Haven't tried making carrot cake yet - too lazy to grate carrots lol

    ReplyDelete
  6. My husband likes carrot cake, i should make a try one day!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I like carrot cake too especially with cream cheese topping..oh so gloriously yummy. Your cake looks moist and soft, Mich.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Mmmmm I like the fact that you use whole meal flour for this. Carrot cake is also one of my favourites!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I adore Carrot Cake, Mich and yours looks dee...li...cious!!

    Thank you so much for sharing...

    ReplyDelete
  10. Love the way you make it even more low fat by replacing some oil with yogurt. Carrot cake really taste great with cream cheese.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hi Mich, I sure love your carrot cake, it look so moist and yummylicious. I especially love the cream cheese topping with cinnamon. YUMMY!

    Have a nice weekend.

    ReplyDelete
  12. There is something very satisfying about making a cake with healthy ingredients especially if the children are going to eat it too. Lovely pics as usual.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Nice healthy carrot cake! It's good that at least one of us is on the look out for healthy cakes! Then I'll know where to find these recipes next time, haha! I guess healthy cakes can be super yummy too! ❤

    ReplyDelete
  14. That is one of the delicious cake, Love that you made it low fat yumm.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Hi Mich, I have put up the carrot cake post again, perhaps you could be kind enough to delete the first one? :D thanks!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Jeannie, I have informed Zoe to delete the first one. You can go ahead and put up the new one :)

      Delete
  16. Low fat, wholemeal and delicious...definitely a keeper, Mich.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Mich, your carrot cake looks awesome delish. It's been a long time since I last had it. Thanks for the reminder. Wonder if I can have a slice right away. :o) Happy weekend dear.
    Kristy

    ReplyDelete
  18. Dear Mich I love your carrot cake!!! You are a real carrot cake fan (I will have a look to the other recipes too), GREAT DELIA I see many good recipes above.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Mich, yours is a much healthier version.i shall use wholemeal and baking powder as substitute next time. Was looking high and low for wholemeal slf

    ReplyDelete
  20. Mich, I love all the carrot cakes you have posted and have bookmarked them. But still haven't gotten round to baking them. This one with wholemeal flour is definitely a good choice for all of us who are watching our health.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Hi Mich,

    Nice to know that I can partially substitute oil with yogurt and will not affect the texture of this cake... This, I would say is an Ultra-low fat carrot cake :D

    Zoe

    ReplyDelete
  22. Your carrot cake sounds yummy. It is always nice to fine a healthier version of a great cake.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Mich, don't know why I don't like carrot cake, I guess is becoz the store-bought carrot cake tasted a way too sweet for me. I like this healthier version, wholemeal + low fat concept! Can I have a piece without the topping please.

    ReplyDelete
  24. A very good and delicious looking cake
    If I remember correctly you've posted a carrot cake with pineapple that I've yet to try.

    ReplyDelete
  25. I don't know about how others view at this, to me yours look fantastically nice .

    ReplyDelete
  26. I love carrot cake, the low fat version sounds great!

    ReplyDelete
  27. YUM! Your carrot cake looks delicious...I like the idea of the syrup...
    Have a great week :)

    ReplyDelete
  28. Healthy carrot cake? Sign me up! =)

    ReplyDelete
  29. If its healthy, can I have 2 pieces please? Love how beautiful that slice looks with the cream cheese frosting. Take Care, BAM

    ReplyDelete
  30. This looks so delicious, Mich, and I'm going to start thinking of you as the carrot cake queen! I've never made even one carrot cake and here you've made 4 within the first quarter of the year ;) Love this and thanks so much for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  31. i've tried made carrot cake using wholemeal flour too...that was long time ago for one of our bake along and it was good too. i would like to try replacing oil with yogurt too..thanks mich !

    ReplyDelete
  32. this looks beautiful love the color

    ReplyDelete
  33. I made this for Easter and it was a huge hit with my family. I love carrot cake and this was the best ever and SO very easy to make. This will be a family standard. It was moist and yummy and the frosting was perfect.

    ReplyDelete
  34. Hi. My cake was somewhat dry. I baked at 180. Is that the correct temperature?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi my apologies! I just realized I forgot to write down the temperature. The correct temp is 170*C.

      Delete
  35. Hi can you please tell me the fat content per serving? Thanks

    ReplyDelete