Birthday Carrot Cake

We have a birthday in the house today, so it's time for cake! One of my favorite desserts is a "healthy" carrot cake my mom used to make. It's delicious, in spite of having a little less sugar and fat than some other treats (and the cream cheese frosting makes up for that). Plus, it's a great use for carrots from the backyard garden and eggs from the hen house. Here's the recipe:

"Healthy" Carrot Cake

1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
Sift together above ingredients.

In a separate bowl, mix together the following:
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup apple sauce
1/2 cup oil
3 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla

Fold the wet ingredients into the dry;
then add:
2 cups grated carrots
1/2 cup nuts (optional)
1/2 cup raisins (optional)

Mix briefly, pour into greased/floured 9x13 inch pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 35-40 minutes or till set.

You can eat it plain if you're feeling virtuous, but I like to frost with cream cheese frosting--mix 3 oz softened cream cheese with 3 cups powdered sugar and a dash of salt. Add 2 TBLS milk or more till you reach desired consistency. If you have some good honey on hand, you can also just mix honey and cream cheese to make a yummy glaze.

Setting up a subject for photographing is quite a challenge with a toddler in the same room, especially when the subject is as irresistible as these bright, plump garden carrots!

She determined some chopstick carrot surgery was in order.

Mixing it all up.

It tastes better than it looks in this photo, really--it even gets husband and toddler cheers!