Carrots Galore! No Egg Carrot Cake and Hot/Cold Coconut Lime Carrot Soup

In the bottom of my fridge I had two pounds of carrots that needed to be used. One of the cakes I like to make is carrot cake. It isn't reserved only for Easter Time. It's a great way to trick your kids into eating their veggies too. I was out of eggs. A good thing to remember is you can substitute 1/4 cup of applesauce for each egg. The leavening in this cake is provided by the baking powder.

unfrosted carrot cake

Carrot Cake

2 cups raw carrot shredded
2 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 cup lite sour cream
2 ounces veggie oil
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 eggs or substitute 1/4 cup applesauce for each egg.
1 box of raisins

Mix all of the ingredients in a large bowl Butter the sides of the baking dish. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 35 minutes. (in a glass baking dish.) Add the raisins lastly. Bake until a knife comes out clean. Mine was done at 35 minutes.

Frosting

Let the cake cool first and the cream cheese come to room temperature.

1 brick lite cream cheese softened
1 cup  powdered sugar
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1 tsp lime juice
1/4 cup water (to thin out frosting)

Mix all of the ingredients with a electric mixer. Frost cooled carrot cake. Refrigerate cake and enjoy.

Coconut Carrot Soup

This soup can be served hot or cold. It would make a great first course during a hot summer day. I picked this one up from my local Curves. This is for a Paleo diet but you could add chicken broth to the soup also to make it winterized. I don't have a blender and steamed the carrots in a small amount of water until they were partially soft. I then added the liquid ingredients and ran it through the food processor. Feel free to vary the seasoning as you like.

4 medium carrots (I doubled this so I could make it family friendly)_
1 1/2 ginger peeled
1/2 cups almond milk (I used non-fat)
1 cup coconut milk (you can use the lite version)
1/2 tsp. ground Turmeric
1/2 tsp. Cumin
1/2 tsp sea salt
squeeze of lime

Chop the carrots. Add them to a sauce pan with about 1/4 cup water. Bring to a boil and cover. Check for softness. I wanted mine to be able to be pierced with a knife but not go all the way through. Remove the water and add to a food processor or blender. Add the seasoning, coconut milk, and fat free milk. Blend until smooth. Serve hot or cold with a garnish of Cilantro and avocado.