S's Spiced Carrot Birthday Cake ~ Naturally Sweetened

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Spicy Carrot Cake ~ naturally sweetened and very tasty

My friend S loves a piece of cake and I have baked many of them for him over the years. But last year he was diagnosed diabetic so now he has to be very careful with his fat and sugar intake. So I constantly try and find recipes that means he can have an occasional treat. As it was his belated birthday celebration on Sunday night I really wanted to find a recipe that he could enjoy without worry and that my temperamental oven wouldn't destroy! The Blueberry Muffin incident still gives me chills! lol. S loves a good spicy fruit cake so when I found this one posted by anon on a website I felt like doing a victory lap around my workroom! lol. It has all of his favourite things, fruit, spices and is a cake! lol. But without the fat and refined sugars.

It was very easy to make and the only thing I would add is that in England we can't buy frozen orange juice from concentrate but I simply sub that for freshly pressed orange juice..and I've never had any problems. I also covered the cake with a loose tin foil cover at about the 30 minute mark as I was worried that it would burn on top. It came out perfectly...the cake was moist and full of flavour. This recipe is a keeper and I just wish I could give credit to the person who created it...who ever you are...thank you!

Moist and delicious...

 Spicy Carrot Cake ~ Naturallly Sweentened
(Post by Anon on a foodie website)

2 cups wholemeal plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/4 cup water
1 cup dates, chopped
1 cup raisins, I used Californian golden raisins
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cloves (Next time I will use 1/4 tsp ~R~)
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 cup carrot, grated
1/3 cup frozen orange juice concentrate or fresh orange juice

In a small bowl mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and set aside.

Combine the water, dates, raisins, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg in a small saucepan. 

Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and gently simmer for 5 minutes.

Place the grated carrots in a large bowl and pour the hot water mixture over them, mix and allow to cool completely. 

Add the orange juice to the carrot mixture and mix well. Add the dry ingredients  to the wet ingredients and stir well to combine. 

Pour the batter into a greased and lined 8" round springform baking tin. 

Bake at 375'F for 45 minutes.  

NB: I covered with tinfoil at the 30 minute mark to avoid burning on the top.  

Enjoy!

~R~