Delicious, Healthy & Tooth Friendly Carrot Cake - Yes Really!

This yummy Carrot Cake has become a firm favourite with my family, especially my son who has a very sweet tooth (he gets it from his mummy!) We are real foodies in our house and our young son has always been a fantastic eater, willing to try anything and everything. One of his early favourites were olives and salami. We are great believers in building a healthy relationship with food and are always keen to find healthy alternatives to treats, but don't want to compromise on taste. So when we discovered this recipe we were over the moon!

I know regular Carrot Cake isn't one the real baddies but still it contains sugar, however this one is super good for your teeth as it is made with Xylitol. I often pop a piece in my son's school lunch box, reassured his teeth are being looked after all day.

Xylitol is a natural sugar alternative made from birch bark. It has 40% fewer calories and 75% fewer carbohydrates - bonus! Xylitol is recommended by dentists as it's tooth kind, having a "cariostatic effect, that actively inhibitis tooth decay". It has a low GI, is ideal for Diabetics and also helps fight the nasty Candida bug as discourages growth of yeast - fantastic and even better news it won't bring your skin out in pimples!

Carrot Cake – by Sue Simkins from “Cakes from the Tooth Fairy” book - with some little extras from me!

Ingredients
110g (4oz) butter – softened
110g (4oz) Xylitol*
150g (5oz) grated carrot (grated weight) – fresh carrots give maximum flavour and goodness
Finely grated zest of 1 orange
110g (4oz) wholemeal flour
50g (2oz) plain flour
2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1tsp ground cinnamon
50g (2oz) ground almonds
2 fresh eggs

Topping
250g tub mascarpone
1-2 tsp  Xylitol*
4 drops of good quality vanilla extract or paste

18cm (7in) greased, loose bottom cake tin or silicone cake tin

Optional extras from me! – dried fruit, chopped nuts i.e. almonds or walnuts – if doing this add a little milk as the dried fruit will absorb some of the liquid.

Method
1. Preheat oven to 160C (fan oven) or equivalent
2. Whizz the butter and Xylitol in a food processor.
3. Add the grated carrot and orange zest and whizz again.
4. Add the flour, raising agents, cinnamon, ground almonds and eggs and whizz until combined.
5. Add dried fruit and mixed nuts (optional).
6. Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin.
7. Bake for about 40-45 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
8. Leave the cake in the tin for a few moments, then loosen the sides and bottom with a palette knife, remove from the tin and cool on a wire rack.
9. When cool make topping
10. Stir the vanilla extract, mascarpone and Xylitol
11. Apply with a palette knife
12. Dust over with cinnamon or coca or both.
13. Pop some chopped nuts on top too

You can also use the mixture to make 12 muffins or a tray bake (20cm/8in square lined brownie tin) – cook these for 20 minutes at 160C or until skewer comes out clean - enjoy!

* You get better results if you give the Xylitol a few turns in a coffee grinder, blender or pestle and mortar to create finer texture of caster sugar.

Sue Simpkin's - Cakes From The Tooth Fairy  is a wonderfully fun, beautifully written baking book. With gorgeous little fairy illustrations and interesting tips from the "Tooth Fairy" herself! It has loads of gorgeous treats to make with Xylitol, even some unusual ones like "Scented Geranium Cakes" and "Lavender Scones".

You can get Xylitol Total Sweet online or from health food shops or click this link to find a local supplier and read more on this lovely product. Gary Rhodes has written the forward for the book so it's well endorsed!

You can buy it from Amazon: Cakes From The Tooth Fairy

Note on Xylitol Total Sweet

The body treats Total Sweet differently from sugar and artificial sweeteners and some users find it can have a laxative effect. If this occurs reduce the amount you are using until your body gets use to it. To help avoid this effect we suggest no one uses more than 50g a day.

Images from http://www.totalsweet.co.uk/ & http://www.mrssimkins.co.uk/