Dijon Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Mustard in a carrot cake?  Yes siree. Zesty Dijon mustard gives this carrot cake recipe from scratch extra flavor, without overpowering the taste!  Carrots, golden raisins, coconut, walnuts and of course, Maille ® Rich Country Dijon give this moist (and lower fat) carrot cake pizzazz! If you are a mustard fan, you are going to love this easy carrot cake recipe featuring Dijon mustard!

When Maille® asked Michele of Flavor Mosaic to review their products, she presented them with the idea of a collaborative blog progressive Easter Menu using their award winning mustards in each course and included myself and two other bloggers in the fun.  I was asked to create a dessert course using a Maille® mustard!

(Disclaimer: Maille® supplied me with the full range of products available in the US for review.  All opinions expressed in this post are mine.)

I decided to make a carrot cake. Because, what's Easter without carrot cake?

Am I right?

How to add zest to your carrot cake

Maille's® Rich Country Dijon was the perfect mustard variety to compliment the flavors of this cake.

Rich Country Dijon is a variation on their Original Dijon but with the addition of ginger and cinnamon, making it the ideal choice to add to a dessert like carrot cake. It truly is, rich and creamy, almost mayonnaise like, in texture with little gorgeous specks of whole grain mustard seeds that add a little "pop"!

Substitute Applesauce for some of the oil in carrot cake to lighten it up

Besides the addition of mustard, this carrot cake recipe from scratch also has coconut and pineapple in it, as well as applesauce. Applesauce in this recipe replaces half the oil. The combination of unsweetened applesauce and canola oil helps to keep the saturated fat and calories in check, because many carrot cake recipes (although the name implies they are a healthy choice) are not as healthy as they sound!

To help lighten up this cake from the original recipe inspiration I found on Allrecipes, I also decided to use reduced fat cream cheese in the frosting!

Although this is a somewhat healthier carrot cake recipe than most, it's still incredibly moist and you cannot tell it's a lighter version!

carrot cake, carrot cake recipes from scratch, carrot cake with pineapple

Dessert, cake

American

Yield: 24 servings

Author: Renee Paj

Dijon Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 45 MinTotal time: 1 Hour

Easy to make, delicious, moist carrot cake with all the flavors you love, carrots, walnuts, golden raisins, and a bit of zip thanks to the addition of Dijon mustard!

Ingredients

For the Carrot Cake

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 3 large eggs
• 2 TBSP Maille® Rich Country Dijon Mustard
• 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 2 cups shredded carrot
• 1 cup flaked coconut
• 1/2 cup golden raisins
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 8 oz. crushed pineapple in 100% juice, not drained

For the Cream Cheese Frosting

• 8 oz. reduced-fat cream cheese, room temperature
• 2 TBSP unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 2 cups powdered sugar

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9" x 13" baking pan with cooking spray.
2. In large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg, Set aside.
3. In a medium sized bowl, or large glass measure, combine the sugar, applesauce, oil, eggs, mustard and vanilla extract.
4. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir until just combined. Add in the carrots, coconut, walnuts, raisins, and pineapple.
5. Pour cake into prepared baking dish and smooth top. Bake for 40 -45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. (Middle may sink a little as it cools, that's ok!) Let cake cool completely.
6. To make frosting: Combine the cream cheese, butter and salt. Mix with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add in the powdered sugar a cup at a time, beating with each addition. Spread over cooled cake.
7. Store frosted cake in refrigerator until ready to serve. Refrigerate leftovers.

Notes

Nutritional Information is an estimate

Nutrition Facts

Calories

243.56

Fat (grams)

9.19 g

Sat. Fat (grams)

2.40 g

Cholesterol (grams)

26.67 mg

Carbs (grams)

38.94 g

Fiber (grams)

1.45 g

Sugar (grams)

28.32 g

Net carbs

37.49 g

Protein (grams)

2.78 g

Sodium (milligrams)

316.67 mg

https://www.reneeskitchenadventures.com/2014/04/dijon-carrot-cake-with-cream-cheese.html

Copyright © 2018 Renee's Kitchen Adventures

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And now that we've had dessert first, let's move onto the rest of this delicious menu featuring several different Maille® products! 

From The Life and Loves of Grumpy's Honeybunch, a fresh salad.  Honey Dijon Spinach Salad 

From Flavor Mosaic, this delicious entree!  Pork Loin with Dijon Cream Sauce and Cornichons 

And, from Life Tastes Good an amazing side dish!  Caramelized Onion Smashed Potatoes

Even more recipes with mustard you might like!

• Easy Skillet Chicken with Mustard Beer Sauce
• Sweet and Crunchy Chicken Nuggets with Spicy Mustard Dip
• Cordon Bleu Burgers
• Honey Dijon Roasted Carrots

*Note: This post originally contained a giveaway for Maille product. The giveaway is long over and the script for the giveaway has been removed to make viewing this post and it's recipe easier for you!