Yummy Good-for-You Carrot Cake!

I made this recipe for my sweet friend Becky Kiser last week after we got our tail ends kicked at a yoga class. It's not too difficult and makes the house smell amazing! The recipe uses barley malt and brown rice syrup....my two sweeteners of choice. They are mostly complex carbs and not simple sugars as is refined white sugar, so they are released into the blood slower, providing fuel for the body instead of creating the ups and downs we experience when we eat simple sugars.

Gingered Carrot Cake with Orange Carmel Glaze

Cake:

1 cup of pecan pieces

3 cups of whole wheat pastry flour

1 T of baking powder

1/4 t of sea salt

1 t of powdered ginger

1 t of ground cinnamon

2 1/2 cups of grated carrots

1/2 cup of unsweetened apple sauce

1/2 cup of light olive oil

1/2 brown rice syrup

1 t of pure vanilla extract

1/2 to 2/3 cup of Eden brand Rice and Soy blend or vanilla soy milk

Preheat oven to 275 and spread pecans on a baking sheet. Bake about 15 minutes, or until fragrant. Cool and coarsely dice. Set aside. Lightly oil and flour a 10inch bundt pan. Increase oven to 325.

Combine flour, baking powder, salt, and spices in a mixing bowl. Whisk briskly. Stir in carrots, applesauce, oil, syrup, and vanilla. Slowly add Rice & Soy blend to make thick, spoonable batter. Fold in pecans. Spoon into the prepared pan.

Bake 45 to 50 minutes, or until the center springs back to the touch or an inserted tooth pick comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool in pan for 10 minutes before inverting onto a serving platter. Cool completely before glazing.

Glaze:

1/4 cup of Eden Rice and Soy Blend or vanilla soy milk.

1/2 cup of brown rice syrup

2 T of barley malt

Grated zest of one orange

Orange slices for garnish

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and cook over medium heat until mixture foams. Reduce heat to low and cook until mixture reduces and thickens, 5 to 7 minutes. Immediately spoon over cake, repeating glaze for several coats until it's used up. Garnish with orange slices and serve.