Carrot Cake

Saraphina hates chocolate (I know - crazy, isn't it?!) so she requested Carrot Cake for her 13th Birthday. I've been trying to reduce the amount of sugar that we all eat, so I gave this recipe a try. OMGoodness! It was so deliciously moist that we had ZERO left-overs when the party was over! The frosting is also on my blog - Cream Cheese Frosting and is made with agave nectar as well. If you try this - let me know what you think! I want more - I only got a half a piece - so I might have to make some more with the extra carrots I have this week!

Ingredients:
3 C. finely grated carrots (about 15 medium carrots)
1/2 C. unsweetened shredded coconut
2 C. Sprouted  spelt flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp ground cinnamon
3/4 C light agave nectar
3 large eggs
1/2 C canola oil
1 C. nonfat plain yogurt
2 tsp vanilla extract
(Recipe calls for 1/2 C. raisins and 1 C. walnuts, chopped - but I don't like either of those in my cake, so I left them out)

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly oil two 9-in cake pans with canola oil spray.
Mix together the carrots, raisins, coconut, and walnuts in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon.
In a food processor, blend the agave nectar, eggs, canola oil, yogurt, and vanilla extract for about 1 minute.
Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and stir to blend.
Add the carrot mixture and stir until combined.
Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the centers of the layers comes out clean.'
Let cool in the pan, then invert onto a platter.
Frost the cake with your choice of frosting. (The Cream Cheese Frosting on my blog is excellent and is from the same cookbook.)


(Recipe taken from "Baking With Agave Nectar" by Ania Catalano [copyright 2008 by Ania Catalano])