Dessert

Heidi Swanson's Carrot Cake is for Dessert.

Heidi Swanson's Carrot Cake takes 45 minutes to prepare.

Heidi Swanson's Carrot Cake takes 40 minutes to cook.

Heidi Swanson's Carrot Cake makes 12 servings.

The ingredients for Heidi Swanson's Carrot Cake are:

2 cups white flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
3/4 cup finely chopped walnuts
4 ounces unsalted butter, heated until just melted
1/2 cup dried dates, seeded and finely chopped into a paste
3 ripe bananas (1 1/4 cups), mashed well
1 1/2 cups grated carrots (about 3 medium)
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
2 eggs, lightly whisked

For the icing:
6 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
3 tablespoons agave nectar or maple syrup (or to taste)

Here is how you make Heidi Swanson's Carrot Cake:

Preheat oven to 350F. Butter a 9x5x3 / 8-cup loaf pan (or 8x8 cake pan) and line it with parchment paper. Adjust baking time according to pan. Be sure to keep an eye on when it starts to brown on top).Sift together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Stir in the walnuts and set aside.Stir the dates into the melted butter, breaking up the dates a bit.In a separate bowl combine the bananas and carrots. Stir in the date-butter mixture, breaking up any date clumps as you go. Whisk in the yogurt and the eggs. Add the flour mixture and stir until everything just comes together. Spoon into the prepared pan. Bake for about 50 - 60 minutes or until a toothpick tests clean in the center of the cake - it'll be less if you are using a standard cake pan. Remove from oven and let cool.While the cake is baking whip together the cream cheese and agave nectar. Taste. If you like your frosting sweeter adjust to your liking. When the cake has completely cooled frost the top of the cake with an offset spatula.Number of Servings: 12Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user ELANATM.

The nutritional information for Heidi Swanson's Carrot Cake is:

• Servings Per Recipe: 12
• Amount Per Serving
• Calories: 351.7

• Total Fat: 20.4 g
• Cholesterol: 73.1 mg
• Sodium: 331.6 mg
• Total Carbs: 36.9 g
• Dietary Fiber: 2.9 g
• Protein: 7.7 g