Carrot Tube Cake With Ricotta Drizzle

Bonnie Stern and Fran BerkoffBonnie Stern and Fran Berkoff

Who doesn’t love carrot cake? The sweetness of pineapple and raisins complements the carrots while the nuts bring additional flavour. Using ricotta cheese instead of cream cheese reduces the fat content in this recipe. 

Number of servings : 16

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: 45 to 50 minutes + 10 minutes cooling time

Type of meal : | Cakes | Cakes

Special diet :

Ingredients

Cake:
4 eggs
1½ cups (375 mL) brown sugar
2/3 cup (150 mL) vegetable oil
1 cup (250 mL) all-purpose flour
1 cup (250 mL) whole wheat flour
2 tsp (10 mL) baking powder
½ tsp (2 mL) baking soda
1 tsp (5 mL) ground cinnamon
¼ tsp (1 mL) ground nutmeg
pinch salt
2 cups (500 mL) finely grated carrots (about 4), packed
3/4 cups (175 mL) drained crushed pineapple
3/4 cup (175 mL) raisins or chopped nuts
Ricotta drizzle:
¼ lb (125 g) light ricotta cheese
3 cups (750 mL) sifted icing sugar
1 tsp (5 mL) vanilla

Directions

  1. In a large bowl, beat eggs and sugar with an electric mixer until very light. Beat in oil.
  2. In a separate large bowl, combine or sift flours with baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Sift flour mixture into egg mixture, just until combined. Stir in carrots, pineapple and raisins.
  3. Spoon batter into a 10-inch (4 L) tube pan or Bundt pan that has been lightly oiled or sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Bake in a preheated 350°F (180°C) oven for 45 to 50 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes. Remove from pan.
  4. Combine ricotta cheese with icing sugar and vanilla. Blend until smooth. Drizzle over cake. (Makes about 2 cups/500 mL of ricotta drizzle.

Healthy Hint: Specifically, vitamin A helps prevent night blindness, since the retina uses it to form rhodopsin, a pigment required for night vision.

Bonnie says: Carrot cake is always a favourite. This batter can also be spooned into two 8-inch/20-cm round cake pans for a layer cake, or one 10-inch/25-cm slab cake pan, and baked for 25 to 30 minutes. You can also try a cream-cheese frosting or dust with icing sugar.

 

Photo by Benoît Levac; Food Stylist: Marie-Éve Charron; Prop Stylist: Irène Garavelli.

Nutritional information: