MomStart is a Truvia ambassador.A friend of mine loves carrot cake, so it’s become tradition for me to bake him one on his birthday every year. I usually use the same tried-and-true recipe from a favorite old cookbook, but this year, I wanted to branch out. I perused my collection of vintage cookbooks looking for a new carrot cake recipe that I could try.

I settled on Favorite Recipes of Home Economics Teachers – Desserts Edition Including Party Beverages. This cookbook had a plethora of carrot cake recipes in it, and I chose one submitted by a Colorado high school teacher to adapt.

I had planned to modify the recipe using Truvia sugar substitute because I like cutting the sugar. Using Truvia cuts the calories down quite a bit. 1/2 cup (190 calories) of Truvía^® Baking Blend is equal to 1 cup of sugar (760 calories). So I began preparing my cake mix. As I scanned through the recipe and measured out my ingredients, it dawned on me: There was no flour anywhere in the ingredient list! Of course, you can’t make a cake without flour. Although I’m sure it was just a printing error, it amused me to imagine that perhaps this was a pop quiz for the students. If you don’t notice that the cake is missing flour, you fail the test! 😉

Luckily, I passed my impromptu cake exam. There were several other carrot cake recipes in the cookbook, including one directly above it that called for 2 cups of flour. That looked like about the right amount for the batter I had, so I added it in and hoped for the best. I was a little concerned that my experimental cake might not even rise, but it turned out to be a fabulous cake that was a big hit when I served it to my guests!

Truvia Carrot Cake

Adapted from recipes by LaVergne Wilken, Vera Bowen, and Mrs. L. V. Conner featured in the “Favorite Recipes of Home Economics Teachers – Desserts Edition Including Party Beverages” cookbook.

Ingredients:

1/4 C plus 1 TBSP Truvia Brown Sugar Blend
2 TBSP Truvia Baking Blend
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp imitation vanilla extract
2 C flour
3/4 C vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 C finely grated carrot, packed
1/2 C chopped pecans
Cooking spray

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl. Spoon into a 9″ round pan coated with cooking spray, and bake at 325 degrees for about 20 minutes or until done. Cool on a wire rack and spread frosting (below) evenly over the cake, topping with pecans for garnish.

Cream Cheese Frosting:

Ingredients:

8 oz cream cheese
1 stick of margarine
2 tsp imitation vanilla extract
Powdered sugar
Blue food coloring

Directions:

Mix cream cheese, margarine and vanilla extract together until smooth. Add powdered sugar until the frosting is sweet and you have enough to cover the cake. (The original recipe called for one box of powdered sugar, but since I was using a bag and not sure of the measurement, I just eyeballed it.) Tint the frosting with a few drops of blue food coloring to create a light pastel frosting.

This cake turned out very delicious and garnered several compliments from the guests. Nothing says “Easter Bunny” like carrots, so a pastel carrot cake would be the perfect thing to take to Easter brunch tomorrow!