Recipe: Nutty Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

If you want to make a carrot cake to rival the Cheesecake Factory's version, but with less fat and calories, here is a great recipe to try. Substituting buttermilk for oil creates a moist, tender cake, with less fat and none of the trans-fats contained in vegetable oil. Choose reduced fat cream cheese, and you'll still get that creamy taste you crave, but with fewer calories. Dress it up with some additional walnuts on top, or just eat it with cream cheese frosting - either way, it's a tasty treat you can enjoy without leaving home!

Nutty Cream Cheese Carrot Cake

Ingredients:

Carrot cake (Photo credit: angrydicemoose)

Cake:
2 cups all-purpose Flour
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup regular table (granulated) sugar
3 large eggs
3/4 cup butter milk
3 medium size carrots, grated
1/2 cup chopped Walnuts

Cream Cheese Frosting:
1/4 cup butter, room temperature
4 oz pkg reduced fat (Neufchatel) cream cheese, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/2 cup confectioners sugar

Dressed Up Topping:
1/4 cup finely chopped Walnuts
2 Tbsp light brown sugar (packed)

Instructions:

Cake: 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare a 9 inch round cake pan first with a light coating of grease then sprinkle in flour, coat evenly, then tap pan so excess flour falls out; set aside.
2. In a bowl, stir together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt; set aside. 
3. In a mixing bowl with an electric mixer, mix the butter and sugar and cream together at a medium speed until light and fluffy, then with mixer running, add one of the eggs, mixing until combined, then add another egg, mixing to combine, then add the final egg, mixing to combine.
4. Turn the mixer down to the low speed, then slowly start adding the dry ingredients in small batches, alternating in between each batch by adding some of the buttermilk.  Do this in about 3 steps - flour, milk, flour, milk, flour, milk, mixing until combined well.
5. Remove bowl from mixer and stir in the grated carrots and chopped walnuts until combined well; then pour this batter into your prepared cake pan. 
6. Bake in preheated oven for 40 to 45 minutes or until top springs back when lightly touched with your finger or when a toothpick or skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean; remove and place cake pan on a cooling rack for 10 minutes.
7. Turn cake upside down to release it from the cake pan and continue to cool on the rack until completely cooled.

Cream cheese frosting:

• With an electric mixer on medium speed, beat together butter and cream cheese until very smooth.  With mixer running, add vanilla extract and then confectioners sugar and continue beating until very smooth and fluffy.

Dressed up topping:

• In a bowl, mix together walnuts and brown sugar with a whisk or fork.
• To assemble; place cake on cake plate and spread frosting on top and up the sides, then sprinkle with the dressed up topping all over or just on the top.