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Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Caribbean CARROT CAKE with Pineapple Cream Cheese Frosting




With great affection, I dedicate this post to my blog buddy, Really Rainey of THE PROJECT TABLE.  Rainey has decided to drop to a fighting weight so she can fit into her swimsuit of choice this summer.  A kick in the head reminder for us that if we want to look good in July, we need to think about it now.  She has chosen to "hang it out there", and chart her success on a new blog... REALLY RAINEY's WEIGHT LOSS JOURNEY.


Weight loss (well actually, lack of weight loss is something I have struggled with for decades.  I suffer from "3 pound syndrome".  Pretty much, with few exceptions, I have gained 3 pounds a year since I got married.  Never dramatic, but you roll over one day and you are 45 pounds heavier than you were 15 years ago.  I don't have the answer.  If I did I wouldn't share it on a free blog, I would charge Warren Buffet a billion dollars (and he would pay it).  But I digress.


I have tried diets.  I know the facts and I know the ways.  I was all full of myself when I lost 30 pounds at Weight Watchers.  But it was always depriving that made me lose weight.  At some point, I cheated a little, then a lot and then a 5 pound tub of cashews would really send me over the top.  All the gains (well losses) that I made while dieting came back with a couple of pounds of their friends.


About a year ago this month, I started something new.  I stopped depriving myself and worked on portion control.  I think if you have read my blog over the last 9 months, you will agree that deprivation is rarely considered.  I use real ingredients, fatty, oily, high in calories... but filled with flavors.  What you don't see is that I am able to portion control those high calories.  See that slice of cake above.  It is a little thick for the photo, but it was also cut in half for the serving.  I had half and my better half had half.  This cake will last us a week.  For probably 5 nights, we will have a thin slice (probably a third of what we would get from a restaurant).  Many of the photos you see on my blog were divided between Jackie and I for the actual chowing down of the food.  But there is more... The recipe that I altered to create my cake was cut in half.  Have you seen the carrot cakes that are a half a foot tall.  This is not one of them.  Trick of the camera, but the cake is only about 3 inches tall.  By making it two layers, it has the illusion of being a full size cake.  So, I will get 10 servings from a cake that is half the size of a cake that is suggested to feed 6.  Portion control is my answer.


So, where has all this gotten me???


I do not have a scale on island.  BUT, before I left, in 9 months, I have dropped between 10 and 15 pounds (you know it varoes based on my time of the month). In no way do I feel like I am on a diet.  I cook what I want, and I eat what I want.  I eat smaller portions, but I do not feel deprived.  It is not dramatic.  No dropping a belt notch (for the ladies... dress size) in a week.  But if I drop a pound a month, I am more than content.  I didn't put it all on in 3 months, it is insane to expect it to come off in 3 months.


Oh, and I move my ass a little more than I used to...  But that discussion is for another day.




So, Rainey, best of luck to you.  I wish I had an answer, weight loss is personal.  What works for one person will not work for everyone.  I hope your plan is the perfect one for you.


Believe it or not... This is part of my weight loss plan...


CARIBBEAN CARROT CAKE


1 cup Sugar
1 cup Flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
3/4 cup Canola Oil
2 large Eggs
1 cup Walnuts
1 1/2 cup grated Carrots
1/2 cup canned crushed Pineapple (include all but 2 TBS of the juice... Reserve the 2 TBS for the frosting)
1 tsp Pineapple Rum (why not!  can substitute Vanilla extract)
1 TBS Ground Cinnamon



  • Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees
  • Whisk together the dry ingredients
  • Add one egg and the oil... Whisk, add the second egg, whisk
  • Add the walnuts, carrots and pineapple, whisk
  • Add the rum and cinnamon.. whisk
  • oil and flour the bottom of two cake pans
  • fill each pan 1 inch of the batter
  • bake for @50 minutes (use the toothpick method to check that the center of the cake is done, you all know that trick)



Now it's time to make the frosting...


1 8 oz package Cream Cheese
1/4 cup Butter
2 TBS pineapple juice from the can of crushed pineapple used in the cake
1 tsp Pineapple Rum (WHY NOT AGAIN???  You can sub Vanilla Extract)
1 cup Confectioner's Sugar

  • Cream together the butter and cream cheese
  • Add the juice and rum and cream again
  • Slowly add the sugar and continue to cream
  • Let the cake cool completely before you frost


Portion control makes this high calorie dish diet food...


And let's not forget to move our ass a tad more on Caribbean Carrot Cake Day!


Good luck Rainey... And Penny, how is WW working for you?  So hard, so very very hard.  Good luck to all, hope you find your balance.  

24 comments:

  1. I love the addition of Pineapple juice to this frosting. Carrot cake is my absolute favorite.

    All of my local friends who read my blog are always saying to me "I don't know how you don't weight 600 pounds" Just like you, use all the good ingredients, eat small portions and exercise alot. Most of the dishes I post last Bob and I several meals. I eat salads or fruit smoothies almost every day for lunch.

    That peach pie I made??? I took about three bites and the rest went to to my co-workers.

    That's my diet and it works for me. :-)

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  2. Love this post! Deprivation is never the answer. In weight loss, slow but steady is definitely key (statistics show that the faster you lose weight, the easier it is to gain it back while slower weight loss is more likely to be permanent).

    Plus who would ever want to live without carrot cake? Especially not one that is as moist as this! And smothered in frosting. Gotta love that.

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  3. I agree totally Dave. Weight watchers jump started my diet, but portion control is the answer. Love that carrot cake.

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  4. Portion control is what works for me, when I remember to not get seconds. I am sure if I added in a little exercise it wouldn't hurt. Great looking cake with your island twist.

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  5. Are you KIDDING ME? I just rejoined WW yesterday and then I see THIS CAKE?

    Just kidding.

    I completely agree with portion control - I just have a heck of a time with it. I find that if I have leftovers it's a literal struggle for me to not eat them all. I need to work it out. I also need to work out. But that's another discussion, as you said. :-)

    Cake looks and sounds amazing, by the way!

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  6. Wow! This cake looks scrumptious Dave! I'm going to try making this this weekend! Have a wonderful day!

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  7. That is one gorgeous cake! It looks so moist and delicious. Good luck to your friend Rainey!

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  8. I could not agree with you more on this Dave. Why do people think "dieting" can't be good, flavorful food?

    I actually worked with a woman who ate nothing but two hard boiled eggs and a can of tuna every day for lunch, so she could fit into a smaller dress for her daughters wedding.

    Meanwhile, my huge vegetable stir fry had just as many calories and about 3x the amount of food!

    I love carrot cake - this looks delicious!

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  9. Go you! Losing weight is really hard. I'm completely with you on portion control, that's the only way I've been able to do it myself.

    The cake looks great too, I love the island twist to it. You know, rum. ;)

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  10. Thanks for the encouragement Dave... I am actually doing quite well (4 pounds) and making food that we love and using controlled portions. I won't be having your carrot cake for a while... but its only temporary... I will be having it in a few months... I am working more toward a certain fitness level more than weigh loss goals to be healthier and feel better... So moving my ass is all part of the process... A while back I had a back injury and it took over 14 weeks to heal... and I'm still dealing with the pain. So I stopped walking 4 miles a day and of course sat around all the time...ate, took pain pills and well, just like you said... inactivity and portion control. Thanks again my Friend... For taking a little more time today on your post to boost my spirits and make me smile! I'm taking things one day at a time.

    ~Rainey~

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  11. i SOOO agree with you. i refuse to give us good ingredients and flavor anymore. like you said, it's all about portion control!

    delicious cake!

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  12. That one trips my trigger! God, does that look and sound great!

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  13. I love carrot cake and yours has me swooning. I could really go for a piece of this. It looks wonderful. Have a great day. Blessings...Mary

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  14. WOW!!! GREAT!!! post, I love carrot cake, I like the idea of pineapple rum instead of the vanilla in the cake and frosting. This is a must try.
    Geri

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  15. Lovely cake! I don't have much weight to lose, just maybe about 10 pounds, but I loaded a calorie counter on my Ipod and it's really helping. If nothing else to see how much a handful here and a handful there add up to. Plus it shows how much more I can eat when I exercise :)

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  16. First, I have to make this cake. Passover is over and I am finally able to make like the rest of the world. First, I have to make up Dorie's and Sweet Melissa's recipes. I am making a list of others to try afterwards.

    More important, I want to tell you how much I admire how you are doing portion control. That is the way to do it Changing our habits help moderate weight, not dieting.

    Kudos.

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  17. Carrot cake is my ALL time favorite cake! There is this amazing restaurant in so cal that makes one I would substitute for dinner any day of the week, forget portion control, but I digress.

    Great recipe and I sooooooooooo agree with portion control. I adopted that same way of life last summer and lost 15 pounds almost immediately without giving up anything. I'm still convinced it's a mind over matter thing.

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  18. I'm laughing my butt off here at you and "your time of the month"...LOL!

    Great looking cake and I admire your ability to practice portion control!

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  19. You have a great philosophy regarding dieting! :)

    But I do have to admit carrot cakes are hard to resist.

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  20. I could dive in to that Carrot Cake and the frosting looks killer!! You are absolutely right about "portion control". And moving or dancing takes care of the rest!

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  21. Congrats on your weight loss! Portion control really is the solution (well that and moving around a bit :)

    Your cake looks soo good! All that gooey frosting is really tempting me. Nice way to double layer!

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  22. Looks yummy! On the weight loss, for me, fuggetaboutit. Until I retire from food blogging, I don't see it happening, ain't gonna deny that.

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  23. My, my, I should really visit your blog more often: this carrot cake looks scrumptious, I want a huge piece: right now!

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  24. That has to be the BEST looking carrot cake ever. We are not big sweets eaters here, however now you've got me drooling for this new twist on one of my favorites. Thanks.

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