Carrot Walnut Cake

This is a terrific recipe. The result is a delicious moist and healthy cake. The best of all, this is the recipe I put together based on my earlier cake baking experiences. The way it started off was that I needed to find a way to use all these carrots I had bought. I remembered reading a carrot recipe a while ago and voila after a few tries, this recipe was born. For those who have always been scared of baking, this experience has led me to believe that all the fuss about the perfect balance of ingredients has been created to intimidate the non-bakers. So this is a perfect first recipe for those who want to venture into the world of cakes.

The healthy aspect of this recipe, is the use of carrots, walnuts, whole wheat flour, yogurt and some oil. This a great recipe for breakfast muffins.

It was such a great looking cake and the aroma was so delicious that we just couldn't resist tasting it before taking a picture!

Ingredients
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1.5 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp salt
2.5 tsp  baking powder
1/2 cup yogurt, low fat or fat free is okay
2 eggs
1.5 cups grated carrots
1/2 cup walnuts, roughly chopped (I used a handful)
1/2 cup oil
3/4 cup to 1 cup of brown sugar (It turned out perfect with 1 cup, however you can reduce it by 1/4 cup and still achieve great results)

Method
Sieve together all the dry ingredients - flour, salt, cinnamon and baking powder. Add in the walnuts to this mix. In another bowl whisk together the oil and sugar, to this add the eggs and whisk them together. Add in the carrots and the yogurt. Add the flour in parts to the wet ingredients mixture and fold it in. This mix may need to be thinned out to a consistency where it can be easily poured into the baking pan with a couple of tablespoons of milk.

Line a greased baking pan (8x8 is a good size) with parchment paper and pour the mix in. Bake this for about 30-40 minutes at 350 F.

Enjoy it for breakfast or as a snack. A glass of warm milk or even hot tea goes great with it.

Tips
Use milk to thin out the cake mixture. The parchment paper keepts the carrots from sticking to the baking pan. To test if the cake is done, pierce the center with a clean knife or toothpick, if it comes out clean, your cake is done.