Carrot Snack Cake

Nothing says “I love you”  like saying to your child “eat another piece of cake”!  I have to tell a story on one of us sisters (ahem, Erin).  As a child, she refused to eat vegetables. She went to great and painful (for the rest of us) lengths to avoid eating almost every vegetable (and numerous fruits) known to man. Our poor mom resorted to extreme measures to get her to eat fruits and vegetables – especially vegetables which ranged from the more common, like trying to disguise them in cheese sauce, grinding them up and putting them in other things, bribing her with money, etc. Yes, you saw that correctly! She even offered to pay her to eat her vegetables. Oh, the misery for the rest of us to hear about this night after night, LOL!   This recipe was born out of our mom’s desperation to disguise vegetables in any way to get Erin her to eat them. It’s a simple snack cake with great flavor that has become a family favorite. All that agony paid off in the form of a new favorite treat for the rest of us. 

Ingredients:

8 T. butter, softened (1 stick)

2 c sugar

2 eggs

8 oz. baby food carrots (the pureed type)

1 (15 oz.) can carrots, drained and pureed

¼ c. milk

2 c., plus 2 T flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

2 tsp. cinnamon

1 ¼ tsp. ground ginger

¼ tsp. nutmeg

½ tsp. cloves

Preheat oven to 350˚F Grease and flour 9×13 inch pan and set aside.  

Cream butter and sugar together in a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer.  Add eggs and carrots. 

In a separate bowl, combine dry ingredients then mix together. Mix dry ingredients  alternating with small portions of the milk (beginning and ending with flour) into creamed ingredients. 

Pour into prepared pan. 

Bake approximately 30- 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.   
When cooled, can dust lightly with powdered sugar, if desired.  We actually prefer it plain.

Tropical Carrot Cake Breakfast Bites

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The view from our rental.

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My husband and I just got back from an awesome beach vacation with some great friends, and I think I was trying to bring back a little of that ocean-side vibe when I started experimenting with these flavors.  Little did I know I was creating what would quickly become one of my very favorite Weight Watcher friendly items for breakfast or just a sweet treat. You won’t believe that these are only one point each.  They’re sweet, fruity, and melt-in-your-mouth fabulous.  If you have an air fryer (my favorite is this Go Wise Air Fryer)*, they reheat to perfection there with tasty caramelized edges. Mmmmm.  ~Erin

TropicalCarrotCakeBiteLogo

Ingredients:
  • 1 (20 oz.) can crushed pineapple in juice
  • 1 medium banana
  • 1 c. very finely chopped carrots (use a food processor if available)
  • 1 egg
  • 1 (5.3 oz.) container Dannon Light & Fit Greek 80 Calorie Yogurt – toasted coconut flavor
  • 1 1/4 c. self-rising flour
  • ½ tsp. ground cinnamon
  • Nonstick cooking spray

Instructions: 

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
  2. Spray a muffin tin with cooking spray and set aside.
  3. Drain the pineapple of as much liquid as possible by pressing it with a rubber spatula through a strainer; transfer pineapple to a medium bowl.
  4. Mash banana and combine with pineapple; stir in chopped carrots, egg, and coconut yogurt until well combined.
  5. Stir in self-rising flour and cinnamon until just combined.
  6. Use a scoop to fill each muffin cup 2/3 full.
  7. Spray the tops with a bit of cooking spray to help them brown.
  8. Bake 25 minutes in a preheated oven or until light golden brown.

WW Freestyle Info.: This recipe makes 12 servings. One breakfast bite is 1 point; two breakfast bites are 3 points.

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