Sunday, August 22, 2010

18 Carrot Snack Cake


Do you ever crave just a little bit of cake? You know, there's only two of you (or one) and you really want a homemade cake....but just a little one? Back in the seventies there was a nifty cake mix called "Snackin Cake". My sister and I would get the spice one and doctor it up with penuche frosting. It was fabulous...and just the right size!  It seems to me they tried to bring Snackin Cake back, several years ago. It wasn't the same. Maybe because it was microwavable. Blech. Some things are better left out of the microwave. Cake and meat are two of them. At any rate, I found a recipe deep in the recesses of my recipe box for a carrot cake. A little carrot cake. And judging from my scrawl, it dated back to the seventies. So, I decided to revamp it just a little.

18 Carrot Snack Cake


1 1/4 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
3/4 cup oil
2 eggs
1/2 cup raisins
 2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup grated carrots (about 18 mini carrots )
1 cup chopped nuts


Frosting (optional)

3 tablespoons cream cheese, softened
1 tablespoon butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated lemon peel
1 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 to 2 teaspoons lemon juice

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.; grease an 8" or 9" square pan.




Here's a little trick I learned......add the raisins to the beaten eggs and let them sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes....keeps the raisins moist.

Measure ingredients, in order, into a large mixing bowl. Blend 1 minute at low; 2 minutes at medium.



Hee-Hee....I really did count out 18 mini-carrots. I couldn't resist the name (although I found it's not very original....I googled and found a boatload of 18 Carrot Cakes--not so sure anyone bothered to count out 18 of them, though).



How easy is this? Just dump it all into a bowl and mix.

Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool completely and frost if desired.



I suppose you can use a round cake pan. Might be just a tad too fancy, though. Something about a foil pan just shouts snack cake.



For frosting, combine cream cheese, lemon peel and butter in a small bowl. Cream with hand mixer until thoroughly blended. Add powdered sugar, vanilla and 1 teaspoon juice and continue to beat until smooth and creamy, adding more juice if needed.



I love, love, love cream cheese frosting. Sometimes I switch out the lemon peel for orange peel. It's great over warm cinnamon rolls, too.



All frosted and just the right size, dontcha think?






10 comments:

  1. cake looks yummy. funny about your comment about meat in the microwave... I noticed that there is a photo of uncooked filet mignon on the microwave box in my garage...

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  2. This looks amazing! Carrot cake is my fave...and since it's just me and The Gent, the sizing is perfect. I usually have to send all of the leftovers to work with him...not that his buddies complain!
    www.twogoodcookies.com

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  3. Finally a perfect use for carrots and the frosting will definitely not be optional!! Love this one, Cathy, thank you!

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  4. I remember the Snackin Cakes....I loved them! Thanks for this recipe...carrot cake is one of my favorites and I would much rather make a small cake than a large...that's just too much cake to have around the house. I'm definitely saving this recipe for later use!

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  5. i can honestly say i've never craved just a little bit of cake. no, my cravings are always for massive slabs of cake topped with heaping portions of frosting. :)

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  6. I love little cakes (less guilt!)and this one looks so good, Cathy!

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  7. This really does look fantastic! I think carrot cake is one of my favorite cakes from back when I was a kid :) i have a sneaky suspicion it was because of the cream cheese frosting

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  8. This sounds delicious. I've been craving carrot cake all week :)

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