Carrot Cake w/ Cream Cheese Icing

Carrot Cake:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 c. sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ginger powder
4 eggs, room temp
2/3 c. applesauce
1/3 c. grape seed oil (any oil works)
2 c. carrots, finely grated
1 can (8 ounces)pineapple, drained (fresh is better!)
3/4 c. shredded coconut
1/2 c. walnuts or pecans,chopped (can add more if you like it nutty)

Directions:
1. Mix dry ingredients.
2. Mix wet ingredients into dry.
3. Beat until well blended
4. Stir in pineapple, coconut, and nuts.
5. Pour into two 8 or 9 in round pans.
6. Bake 25-30 min.

Cream Cheese Icing:
1- 8 oz Fat Free Cream Cheese, room temp (regular works too)
1/4 c. Butter, room temp
1 c. confections sugar
1 T. milk
1 tsp. grated orange or kumquat zest

Mix all ingredients until it is smooth.

Layering your cake:
After letting your cake cool take first cake and lightly layer with icing. Then take second cake and place on top. Apply the rest of the icing on top and spread all around the cake.

Nut lovers: Sprinkle the top of cake with more nuts.

Design options: save some icing and color it orange. squeeze carrot shapes all around the cake for a fun cake top!

Health Benefits of Carrots:
Promotes good eyesight
Stimulates liver to eliminate toxins
Cleanse digestive and blood stream
Heart healthy
A natural way to build immunity against colds, flu, germs, and infections is to drink carrot juice on a regular basis.

Nutrition of Carrots:
Carrots are an excellent source for carotene, which is converted to vitamin A in the human body. Carrots also provide a whole host of other essential vitamins, B1, B2, C, D and E which are antioxidants that reduce free radicals cell damage and heal and nourish the skin. Carrots are extremely rich in potassium and contain magnesium, vitamin B6, folic acid, thiamine, and cholesterol reducing calcium pectate. Carrots also have small amounts of carbohydrates, essential oils, iron, copper, phosphorus and sulphur

Carrot History:
The carrot has been around for thousands of years. The wild ancestors of the carrot are likely to have come from Afghanistan, which remains the centre of diversity of D. carota, the wild carrot. Selective breeding over the centuries of a naturally occurring subspecies of the wild carrot, Daucus carota subsp. sativus, to reduce bitterness, increase sweetness and minimise the woody core, has produced the familiar garden vegetable.In early use, carrots were grown for their aromatic leaves and seeds, not their roots. Some relatives of the carrot are still grown for these, such as parsley, fennel, dill and cumin.

Interesting Fact:
In spite of all the benefits, a person can eat too many carrots or carotene rich foods. There is the likelihood of the development of a condition called "carotoderma". The skin takes on an orange hue from having too much carotene in the blood. Scientists have not fully investigated other physical problems that might be associated with this condition. However, there may be "side effects". The way to cure carotoderma is to simply reduce carrot consumption.6 Also, carrots do contain some sugars, diabetics should check with their doctors before going on a regular regime of carrot consumption.