Saturday, September 16, 2006

Spiced snack cake....

We picked up a big bag of carrots at Costco and I had to get some of them used up before they started to turn bad (they come in 10 pound bags... too much for us!) I thought about a carrot cake or quick bread, but came up with something in between... a snack cake!

Carrot-Ginger Snack Cake turned into a light and moist cake with gentle sweet bite from crystallized ginger. If you can't find whole wheat pastry flour, you could use plain whole wheat flour- but the cake will be a little more dense. Sometimes baked goods with applesauce will turn out rubbery, but we were quite happy with the texture even though I used no oil or butter. Very fall-ish flavors with the use of ground cinnamon and nutmeg and a deep rich sweetness from brown sugar. Plump golden raisins scattered throughout added a nice chewy texture to the squares. I thought about maybe doing a light frosting like we did with the Harvest Pumpkin Bars we made last year, but we both thought it was just fine as is. If you felt like dressing it up, maybe a light sifting of confectioners' sugar on top?


6 comments:

  1. I would love this, but my other half would not. He insists that he hates carrots. I just don't understand this. I have never cooked anything with crystalized ginger in it. Do you buy locally or do you have to mail order that? Just curious.

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  2. Man...I haven't seen a carrot in this house in forevah!

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  3. i love carrot cake and haven't made one in ages. this looks like just the ticket.

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  4. I made these tonight with a couple of modifications to make them into muffins. They are delicious! You're right, the cream cheese icing is not needed!

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  5. I just made pumpkin bread nite before last, and as an experiment I chopped up candied ginger and stirred it into half of one of the two loaves. Whoa - good stuff! Nice added zing!

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  6. Linda - I can get it at pretty much any local store here - but if I couldn't, I would order it from Penzeys.

    Wheresmymind - too bad!

    Kickpleat - Yeah, it's a nice change from a heavy cake!

    Claire - Awesome! Thanks for letting me know!

    Jeph - I love using crystallized ginger in baked goods - it brings such a nice flavor!

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