This Healthy & Light Carrot Cake is low-fat and full of wholesome ingredients like shredded carrots, prunes, pineapple. walnuts and applesauce. It's Weight Watchers friendly and the low-fat cream cheese makes for a lighter icing. But it's so delicious you'll never know healthy, light or WW friendly!
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F/175 degrees C. Coat the inside of 3- 8 inch layer pans with cake release (see NOTES) Or use non-stick cooking spray.
Spread walnuts in a pie plate and bake for 8 -10 minutes, until fragrant. Cool.
In a medium sized bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, baking powder and salt.Â
Make Prune puree
In a food processor, combine 1 cup of pitted prunes with 6 tbsps hot water. Process until smooth.
In a large bowl, whisk together eggs and egg whites. Add sugar, prune puree and apple sauce and whisk until smooth.
Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture and stir until blended. Stir in carrots, pineapple and toasted walnuts.
Mix until blended.
Divide the batter among the pans and bake for 30- 35 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean. Let cool for 10 minutes before gently removing from pan.
Cool for an additional 10 minutes on a cooling rack.
To Make Frosting
In a separte bowl, combine cream cheese, icing sugar and vanilla; beat with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy
Assembly
Before you start to decorate, take a pastry brush and dust off any crumbs on the cake.
Place the first cake on an 8 inch cardboard cake circle (for easy transport) if you plan to move it or place it on the surface you plan to serve it on.
Then add some cream cheese icing/frosting as filling (see photo). You don't want to use very much, as it's rich and you need to keep most of it to frost the cake. Then add the second cake and repeat. Add the third cake.
Crumb coat the cake and freeze for 10 minutes: Add a very thin layer of frosting (as shown) to the cake and smooth. Do NOT leave in the freezer any longer than 10 minutes. *** You don't have to do this, but I do find it makes it easier to frost, especially if you want to avoid getting crumbs mixed in the icing!
Frost/Ice the Cake: Spread the remainder of the icing evenly on the cake (SEE VIDEO IN NOTES)Â
Garnish/Decorations (optional):
Add chopped walnuts to the side of the cake (I did this by literally 'throwing them' at the side of the cake. Then add to top. * This is optional
Pat dry pineapple rings and cut in half. Make sure they are dried well.
Add 2 pineapple halves, pressed together to the top of the cake - you'll need 5 sets of 2.
Slice peeled carrot into circles.
Add a slice of carrot to each side of the pineapple.
Serve or refrigerate until ready to serve. * Can be made in advance and refrigerated for up to 4 days.
Notes
 Recipe Tips:
Measure Flour Correctly. Spoon flour into the measuring cup and level it off rather than scooping directly from the bag. This prevents adding too much flour, which can make the cake dry. And be sure to use cake flour (see reason in recipe notes).
Sift Dry Ingredients. Sifting cake flour, baking soda, and baking powder together ensures even distribution and a lighter crumb.
Room Temperature Ingredients. Bring eggs and cream cheese to room temperature before using. This helps with better mixing and a smoother frosting texture.
Toast Your Nuts. Toasting walnuts before adding them enhances their flavor and crunch. Simply bake at 350°F (175°C) for 8-10 minutes until fragrant.
Drain Pineapple Well. Excess moisture from pineapple can alter the cake’s texture. Press out as much liquid as possible using a fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth.
Don’t Overmix the Batter. Stir just until combined to avoid developing excess gluten, which can make the cake dense.
Cool Cake Layers Completely. Before frosting, let the cake layers cool entirely to prevent the frosting from melting.
Crumb Coat First – Applying a thin crumb coat and chilling for 10 minutes helps achieve a smooth final frosting layer without crumbs.
Dry Pineapple for Garnish. Pat dry pineapple rings before decorating to avoid excess moisture seeping into the frosting.
Top TipI use Wilton Cake release because my cakes come out perfect every time. I highly recommend it!