Reduced Fat Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting (ATK)

By hmp13

Any cream cheese with 1/3 less fat will work here. To ensure thick frosting, use marshmallow crème. Shred carrots on large holes of a box grater or with the shredding disk of a food processor.

Ingredients

• Cake:
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 (4 ounce) jar carrot baby food
• 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 pound carrots, peeled and shredded
• Frosting:
• 1 (8 ounce) package Neufchatel cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup marshmallow crème
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1/4 cup icing sugar

Preparation

Step 1

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease 13 by 9 inch baking pan with cooking spray and line bottom of pan with parchment paper.

Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and salt in large bowl. With electric mixer on medium speed, beat eggs, baby food and sugar until smooth and cream, 1 to 2 minutes. With mixer still running, slowly add oil and mix until thoroughly incorporated, about 1 minute. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in two additions, scraping down sides of bowl necessary, and mix until batter is nearly smooth. Fold in carrots.

Spread batter in prepared pan and bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out with few moist crumbs attached, 24 to 28 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking. Cool cake in pan 10 minutes, then invert onto wire rack. Remove parchment and flip cake right side up to cool completely about 1 ½ hours.

With mixer on medium high speed, beat together cream cheese, marshmallow crème, and vanilla. Sift icing sugar over cream cheese mixture and beat on low speed until mixture is smooth, about 1 minute. Frost cooled cake. Serve.