A surprising amount of you requested the recipe I used to make my birthday carrot cake. I guess I’m not the only one who gets weak in the knees at the sight of carrot cake.
…well ask and you shall receive!
I used the Whole Wheat Carrot Pineapple Cake recipe from the Xagave cookbook. Robyn from BetterBody Foods and Nutrition sent me this cookbook a couple months ago along with a bottle of Xagave agave nectar to review. The moment I laid eyes on the recipe, I knew I had to give it a shot. After all, I had never made my own carrot cake before–can you believe it!?
I even used the Xagave to make the cream cheese icing.
I have been using agave nectar for quite some time now, but I had never tried Xagave before. Xagave is a blend of blue agave and white agave. According to their website, the blend makes it better tasting and gives it better cooking qualities than other agave nectars on the market. Xagave is organic, raw, and gluten free. You can read more about Xagave on their website where you can also find this recipe as well as many others.
My adaptations and thoughts:
I halved the recipe because it made 16 servings and I knew that only my parents and I would be eating the cake. For the halved recipe, I used 1/4 cup of coconut oil, 1/2 cup agave nectar, 1 1/2 cups of shredded carrots (the more the merrier), and 1/2 cup of oat flour + 1 cup of whole wheat flour. I did not have whole wheat pastry flour on hand so I tried experimenting with part oat flour.
I chose this recipe because it used wholesome ingredients. The Xagave and pineapple juice were enough to make the cake sweet but not overly so. The cake turned out quite dense–I had to use some arm muscle to cut it (!!)–but that’s exactly how I like my carrot cake!
Cream Cheese Icing:
I made up the the cream cheese icing recipe as I went along. At first, I didn’t have enough cream cheese so I added some yogurt for volume. Although we ended up going out and buying more cream cheese, the yogurt added a nice touch and I would definitely add it if I made it again.
Ingredients:
- 8 oz. cream cheese
- 3 tbsp. agave nectar (more if desired)
- 1/2 cup of TJ’s European style yogurt (Greek would have worked better)
Directions: Beat with hand beaters until icing reaches a whipped consistency
Thank you Robyn for the cookbook and the bottle of Xagave!!
***
Xa-gave-away
The people at Xagave have offered to giveaway one 25 oz. bottle of Xagave Agave Nectar along with their Delicious Meets Nutritious Cookbook to one lucky reader.
To enter, leave a comment telling me how you use or would like to use agave nectar. OR you can tell me your favorite cake/cupcake flavor.
For additional entries, tweet about this giveaway (@livelaughtweet) and/or blog about the giveaway and comment on this post telling me you did so.
Don’t worry, you WON’T hurt your chances of winning by not saying ‘carrot cake’ as your favorite flavor because I will randomly choose a winner Tuesday evening.
{ 81 comments… read them below or add one }
:O good giveaway! I’ve suddenly become a little obsessed with Hummingbird Bakery/Mongolia bakery cupcakes…so I;m think I’d use some of that agave in baking some of theire cupcakes
Ideally something banoffee/toffee/coffee like (and not just cos I like the sound of ‘offee’ :p) Yay!
I use agave in raw desserts a lot! But it would make a nice marinade with bbq sauce for tofu or tempeh.
Favorite cupcake/cake flavor? Oh boy it’s a list: carrot cake, banana with peanut butter and vanilla, and Portillo’s chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. If you are ever in Chicago or Chicagoland, you HAVE to eat that stuff. It is soo good and even better as a cake shake!
Yay, a giveaway! Have you done one before? They’re always so fun. I love to use agave when I bake, but also like to add it to my yogurt or in my iced coffee.
Besides carrot cake, I’m all about dense, dark chocolate cakes : )
Happy Saturday!
Hi! I would love to win the Xagave because I have never used agave as a sweetener before and I’m dying to try it. From what I read it seems to be one of the better and healthier sweeteners out there. My favorite cake flavor is anything lemon!!!
I would live to use it in greek yogurt and on pancakes
Chocolate cake with raspberry filling. I usually scoop off the frosting and give it away.
Yummy looking cake. I am not a big cake eater at all but found I really like carrot and spice cakes. As for the agave, I started using it in tons of recipes. I use it far more than I thought I would. I even use it my pizza dough instead of the sugar it calls for. It’s also great in protein bars. I’ll be tweeting too.
I LOVE carrot cake but have never tried to make it myself because, well, it intimidates me and I don’t bake all that often. I have this weird need to have a slice every Easter. Strange, I know! My favorite cupcake flavor though, is Red Velvet. But I’m picky and it has to be really moist!
Great post and giveaway!!
I freaking love carrot cake with cream cheese icing. Yummmm! Oh and strawberry cake!
I would love to win this giveaway! I use agave nectar in cookies, oatmeal, muffins, etc. My favorite cake is well….pretty much anything…I’m a dessert girl:)
I would love to try Xagave in baked goods. And I can’t pick a favorite flavor cake. I love almond pound cake, chocolate cake, red velvet and carrot.
Ice cream cake is my fave. Preferably cookies & cream from Baskin Robbins
oh, you know I had to enter this giveaway! I have wanted to try agave nectar for awhile now. I would definitely use it for this recipe as well!
My favorite type of cake is red velvet ALL the way!
I’ve never used agave so I don’t know what I would try it in….I’ll have to get experimenting! But my favorite cake involves anything with cream cheese….it’s my biggest weakness!!
great job on making the carrot cake. I like how you added yogurt for volume, very clever!
my favorite cake would be brownies..so I’d use agave for that if I won.
Carrot Cake is definitely my favorite flavor! I already use agave in baking and in things like tea/lemonade/coffee but I have never tried this particular brand but I have heard great things! Plus I really want the cookbook! =)
I love a fudgy, intense chocolate cake. But carrot cake is close to my heart, too, and a family favorite!
Ohhh boyy..
and
you’re getting me started on cupcakes?
My favorite is definitely double choco chip
ANY kind of cake with nuts ^^
I’ve never heard of Xagave, but I would love to try it! My favorite cake flavor is Red Velvet!!
I tweeted this giveaway!
That xagave is great but my bottle is dwindling! The Blendtec guy was selling them at Costco so that was the only time I’ve seen it in my stores. I’ve used it in so much-pumpkin coconut choc. chip bread, cranberry chocolate chip oatmeal cookies, no bake cookies, bran muffins, hmm what am I forgetting? So, I guess you could say I like that stuff
Love carrot cake… but I’d say my favorite kind of cake is gingerbread!
I gave never used Xagave before, so I would like to use it for the first time! I read all the time about how great a sweetener it is so I hope to find out for myself!
Hey there! Tweeted this giveaway, and my favorite flavor is lavender cupcakes!
I would use it to make chocolate avocado pudding!
i love carrot cake and classic vanilla….but really, the icing is what makes any cake for me!
tweeted!
I know it sounds weird, but my favorite cake of all time is the Wheat Germ Cake my grandma always makes. It’s not very sweet (despite the fact that there’s a butt-load of sugar in it), and doesn’t have any butter. It’s basically just wheat germ, sugar and almond flour. I think next time I try making it, I would sub some agave for the sugar.
Hope I win the contest!
Great giveaway! My favorite cake is definitely dense, rich, fudgy chocolate, but I make carrot cake every year for Easter!
agave nectar in my green monsters, and i LOVE carrot cake! mm
*
I would have a little fun experimenting with the agave nectar since… are you sitting down? I’ve never tried it- GASP!
For some reason I am partial to birthday cake cupcakes with the partner frosting- they make me feel like a kid again!
~Christie http://rollerkoesterrun.wordpress.com/
I do love carrot cake, but my all-time favorite cake is, hands down, my mother’s Pineapple Upside-Down Cake. Terrible for your health I’m sure, but I love how the gooey brown sugar and maple syrup that form the glaze caramelize the pineapples… my mouth is watering just thinking about it!
I sent some twitter love out there for ya! Enjoy your carrot cake- it looks to die for!
~Christie http://rollerkoesterrun.wordpress.com/
My favorite is pumpkin cupcakes! But I basically love pumpkin anything =)
I would like to use the agave nectar to make a delicious margarita
Did I ever tell you about HHI Yogi Karen’s AMAZING margaritas? 1 fresh lime, 1 fresh orange and 1 fresh lemon — squeezed, Agave, Tequila, Grand Marnier liquor … YUM!
I have never used Xagave or anything like it before, but would be interested in trying it when I bake. I love just about any and every baked good on the planet, including CAKE, Xagave seems like a great way to make baking a little healthier without sacrificing flavor.
caramel apple crumble cupcakes! I got this flavor from crumbs a coupla times – fantastic!
I would use it to make healthy brownies YUM <3
-Lena
I wouldn’t even know where to begin (that’s why I’d love this so I can try)! I love basically any type of ice cream cake!
I pretty much use agave to add to my coffee every morning, but can’t say I’ve tried it in baking yet. My bday is coming up (yayyy) and I’m thinking I’m going to have to make this very same cake, because umm I LOVE carrot cake.Wish I could get some Xagave to make it with
Agave is amazing drizzled over Fage greek yogurt! Perfect blend! Thanks Allie!
I would have to say that white cake mix with white icing are my favorite for cupcakes. But cake would be yellow cake mix with chocolate icing. You just can’t go wrong with that!
not saying this just because, but my fave cake is absolutely carrot cake!
I would love to win this!! If I won, I would definitely be doing some baking with the Xagave! My favorite cake flavor is Strawberry, but not any old Strawberry Cake, my Nana’s recipe! Holy Yum!!
I will tweet about the giveaway also
My favorite cupcake flavor is lemon!
Mmm….I still haven’t tried agave, would love to though!
Carrot cake is actually my favourite type of cake! But banana ranks up their too!
I’d love to use it in baking….or even in my tea!
I love to use agave in place of sugar when I bake. I’m not really a huge cake fan, but butter pecan is always good…..
Thanks for the break down on how you made the carrot cake!
my favorite cupcake is vanilla with sugary chocolate icing! your cake looks soooooo good..
OMG I want that cake even more now than the first time I saw it. You are one heck of a baker girl. I don’t usually crave sweets but I will NEVER EVER pass up carrot cake (and I’m not just sayin’ that). I wonder what I could do to make this recipe gluten/diary free? I will have to do some research, because now I really want cake!
Also, did you see Janetha’s pumpkin smoothie recipe in the Xagave cookbook?!?!?! I looked through it at the store the other day just to see her recipe. So exciting!
my recipe is in that book! look for it
oh haha i just saw the comment above mine!
I adore red velvet cake/cupcakes.
I’ve been wanting to try agave in some baking recipes, but it’s fairly expensive ($8 for a small bottle), and I don’t want to buy it and end up not liking it, so this would make it easy for me to find out if it’s something I’d enjoy using.
Also, I tweeted about your giveaway here: http://twitter.com/strive4thrive/status/10451604893
ahhhh-mazing. I love desserts that are made with whole and nutritious ingredients.
I love agave nectar on my pancakes, along side with banana and peanut butter. best combo!
Oh dear Lord…what WOULDN’T I use agave nectar in! In the past week I have had to go out and buy two new bottles to keep up with my baking frenzy!
And for my favorite cake/cupcake flavors…I would say anything with chocolate.
cupcakes are my absolute favorite, but I’d have to say the best flavor is fluffer-nutter (vanilla cupcake w/ pb in the middle and a marshmallow frosting)
I have a banana muffin recipe that I make weekly. I have cut out butter and have started using whole-wheat instead of regular flour, but I would love to cut the sugar out and use agave instead!
that cake looks INSANE! carrot cake is MY FAV (as well as Mama GC!)- we usu. just always buy it from WF though!!!
yay giveaway!! i haven’t tried agave, but I’d prob start by putting it in tea ‘n coff!
My favorite cupcake flavour is vanilla!!
Everytime I go to the farmer’s market I think about trying agave but I always leave without it. I’ve been wanting to try it with my oats and my greek yogurt.
Id use it in a cookie dough protein cupcake!!!! I’d also use it to make my faux sweetened honey mustarnd dipping sauce and my amazing pineapple teriyaki dressing! thanks!
Barbara
i’d use it to make gluten free cookies!!
I would so use the Xagave for that carrot cake recipe. I am a big fan of carrot cake and that just looks so good.
I linked back on my blog.
http://faithfitnessfun.wordpress.com/2010/03/14/sorpresas/
My favorite cake is red velvet. I’m definitely going to try the cream cheese icing using your recipe!
love love love x a million > carrot cake. i have still not tried making my own version of it…yet! but would love to try xagave when i do:)) do you use regular or lighter versions of cream cheese for your icing??
xxxxx
That carrot cake looks delicious, especially the icing!! I’m definitely going to have to give it a try myself – thanks for sharing the recipe!
I have to say my favourite cake/cupcake flavour is still just plain old chocolate.
i dont even have to lie and say carrot cake because my favorite IS carrot cake
and yours looks outta this world!
I love agave! I’ve been using it a lot recently!
Ahh I don’t think I could pick a favorite cake! I do love a good cheese cake!
Congrats on Duke! My fav cake flavor would be boring old vanilla
Carrot cake, red velvet, and/or chocolaaaate!!!
My favorite is honestly carrot cake!!! I can’t imagine a better flavored cupcake ever!!
My favorite cupcake flavor is CHOCOLATE!
My favorite cupcake flavor is carrot with faux cream cheese frosting. Yum!
I have a favorite cupcake ship here in northern virginia and they make the most heavenly devils food cupcake with a marshmallow icing. TO DIE FOR!!!!
As far as agave is concerned, I love using it in smoothies and healthy desserts
(which I make and eat VERY frequently)!!
I meant cupcake SHOP…HEHE
I love chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting, I would make this with agave!
I’d love to make a strawberry short cake with agave! Love your blog, my friend Amanda told me about it and I’ve really enjoyed checking it out!
I’m pretty sure I left a comment on this post already for the giveaway but I can’t find it. Anyhow, I linked you in my blog! http://shegoesbananas.wordpress.com/2010/03/17/green-beer/
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
{ 7 trackbacks }