Carrot Cake

     Have you ever had that single most memorable food experience? Like you just had it once in your life but you will never forget it? Mine was the first time I ever had carrot cake. It was in high school and my sister brought it from somewhere in Manila. I remember just having one slice, and that was it. I just met my all-time favorite dessert, and it was like magic.

     I'm not really a fan of carrots, but this cake is just delish. If you're a beginner baker like me, I would recommend trying this one. It's very easy to make and the ingredients are quite handy. I made this cake with the cream cheese frosting when I was just starting to try my hand at baking. For me there was no need for the frosting. I loved the cake on it's own, and it's great as cupcakes. But if you want to indulge, and don't mind the calories, then go for the cream cheese.

Ingredients:

PART A

  2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

  2 tsp baking soda

  2 tsp ground cinnamon *you can always add more, I do

  1 tsp baking powder

  1 tsp salt

PART B

  4 pcs raw eggs

  1 cup white sugar

  3/4 cup brown sugar

  1 cup cooking oil

  1/4 cup milk

  1 tbsp vanilla

  3 cups roughly grated carrots (not fine)

Cooking procedure:

1. Sift together Part A ingredients in a mixing bowl, set aside.

2. Beat the eggs in a separate bowl. Gradually add sugars until well blended. (you can use an electric mixer). Add the remaining Part B ingredients until smooth.

3. Add Part A to Part B gradually until no more flour is visible.

4. Fold in carrots.

5. Grease bake pan and pour batter.

6. Bake on a preheated over at 350 F for 35-50 mins or when toothpick comes out dry.

Serves: 8

Calories per serving: 590

ANALYSIS:

• Very high source of vitamin A 
• Relatively high fat content due to oil and eggs
• Relatively high in sodium due to baking soda (sodium bicarbonate)
• Good source of fiber, vitamin C, calcium and iron

POSSIBLE MODIFICATIONS:

• To counter the high fat content, replace 1 cup cooking oil with 3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
• To make the recipe vegan, replace milk with soymilk and use possible egg substitutes
• To make recipe sugar-free, use Splenda, Equal or other sugar substitutes

note: substituting the ingredients will result in difference in taste and texture