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Top 4 Mexican-inspired Recipes
In the mood for some Mexican-inspired dishes? Try these wonderful slow cooker favorites!
Slow Cooker Recipe
Carrot Cake
We love carrot cake. Thick slabs of moist carroty cake, chock full of crunchy nuts and tender raisins (in fact this is the only way some of us will eat raisins), and topped with sweet swirls of cream cheese frosting. Yum. Nothing beats it.
However, we also like to fit into our jeans, and too many slices of carrot cake can, well, make that task a bit tricky. So we tend to think of carrot cake as one of those very occasional treats.
So here’s a recipe that satisfies our cravings for a moist, sweet, richly-flavored dense cake but doesn’t pack on the guilt and isn’t complicated to make.
Approved by the American Diabetes Association as a diabetic-friendly recipe, this cake is the perfect ending to a weeknight meal, even if you’re not watching your sugar intake.
We made this cake in our slow cooker, which we’ve discovered is great way to make cakes, breads, and bars if your oven is full of other parts of the meal. We used this pan as a baking insert because we like our cake to have a nice rectangular shape that is easy to slice. You can also use a 3-lb. coffee can like we did when making Lemon Bread, if you don’t have another suitable pan.
This cake is so full of warm, comforting flavor, the perfect taste for a late summer evening.
Carrot Cake
Fix-It and Forget-It Diabetic Cookbook, pg. 220
Makes 10 servings
Ideal Slow Cooker Size: 4-5-quart
Ingredients:
⅓ cup canola oil
2 eggs
1 Tbsp. hot water
½ cup grated raw carrots
¾ cup flour
¾ cup sugar
½ tsp. baking powder
⅛ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. ground allspice
½ tsp. ground cinnamon
⅛ tsp. ground cloves
½ cup chopped nuts
½ cup raisins or chopped dates
2 Tbsp. flour
1. In large bowl, beat oil, eggs, and water for 1 minute.
2. Add carrots. Mix well.
3. Stir together ¾ cup flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, allspice, cinnamon, and cloves. Add to creamed mixture.
4. Toss nuts and raisins in bowl with 2 Tbsp. flour. Add to creamed mixture. Mix well.
5. Pour into greased and floured 3 lb. shortening can or slow cooker baking insert. Place can or baking insert in slow cooker.
6. Cover insert with its lid, or cover can with 8 paper towels, folded down over edge of slow cooker to absorb moisture. Cover paper towels with cooker lid. Cook on High 3-4 hours.
7. Remove can or insert from cooker and allow to cool on rack for 10 minutes. Run knife around edge of cake. Invert onto serving plate.
Exchange List Values:
Carbohydrate 2.0, Fat 3.0
Basic Nutritional Values:
Calories 274 (Calories from Fat 147), Total Fat 16 gm (Saturated Fat 1.5 gm, Polyunsat Fat 6.4 gm, Monosat Fat 7.6 gm, Cholesterol 43 mg), Sodium 66 mg, Total Carbohydrate 30 gm, Dietary Fiber 1 gm, Sugars 20 gm, Protein 4 gm
How does one print these recipes?
> I copy and paste onto a word document. From there you can print
With 16 grams of fat, how can you say this is figure friendly??!! It looks good, but it’s way off the scale for me…. In a lot of ways – LOL
I know this is for the crock pot but can I also cook it in the oven? If so, for how long and at what temp?
Thanks
Thats the big challange with diabetic cooking…lower sugar options generally have a higher fat content. It’s very challanging to find recipies that are both low in sugar and fat.
Sounds delish, but if I make it, I’ll probably substitute unsweetened applesauce for the oil (even exchange) and 4 egg whites for the 2 eggs. The fat content isn’t too bad as it is, because they’re mostly the heart-healthy, mono- and poly-unsaturated fats from the canola oil and nuts, but every recipe can be tweaked…
where can you buy a crock pot insert? i’ve never seen or heard of such a thing.
Hi Nadine! Check the website of your slow-cooker manufacturer. You should be able to find inserts available for sale there. We have not found them in stores, unfortunately. Thanks for asking!
You might want to consider adding a PRINT OPTION so we can print out these yummy recipes with an additional option to ‘print with photos or without’!! Currently I copy and paste into a WORD document but that is somewhat time consuming to say the least. Thanks so much…
Even though it seems high in total fat, it’s the breakdown of the fats that count. Only 1.5g of sat fat is very low and the poly and monunsaturated fats are GOOD fats. They don’t go to the belly like saturated and transfats do.
That looks so yummy and sounds delicious! I will be making this soon. ty
for round crockpots, you can use a clean metal coffee can; fill to allow some rising of the cake
Could you use splenda in this? and whole wheat pastry flour to lower the carbs?
Hi Brenda! We have not used either Splenda or whole wheat pastry flour in this cake. If you would like to give it a try, we recommend using only about 2/3 as much Splenda as sugar. We find that Splenda is sweeter than granulated sugar. Whole wheat pastry flour will likely make the cake heavier.
It’s all about the CARBS when on a diabetic diet..and 30 is a bunch, assuming it’s a regular size slice. No can do with this one.
I agree, Susan. I am also diabetic, and a snack for me is 15 grams of carbs and 100 calories. This one is way too high.>
Does it matter if the can has a painted outside?
Hi Pat! Wash the can well, and make sure that the paint is not flaking off before using it. Thanks for your question!
Substitute Splenda for the sugar…cup for cup…works beautifully!
What is a crock pot insert, can you use a bread baking pan instead? Also, can you bake this in the oven? If so, what temp & for how long? This sounds great!
Hi Beverly! Check the website of your slow-cooker manufacturer for slow cooker inserts. We have not found them in stores, unfortunately. We used a USA Pan as an insert because it fits perfectly in our slow cooker. For more information on USA Pans, use the search function on Fix-ItandForget-It.com to find our blog about these great products. Thanks for asking!
I wonder if this is what the old English novels refer to as a steamed pudding?
question if I use a crockpot liner for desserts do you still add the oil inside the bag. JAN
Hi Jan! If you’re using a slow cooker liner, you do not have to grease or flour the liner. Check the instructions on the box of liners for more information and further directions. Happy slow cooking!
Hello all…
Regards Splenda – I did some research and it is really not a healthy sugar substitute though it is low in calories. Try Stevia which is now available in large bags and can be substituted cup for cup or Tbl for Tbl. Stevia is made entirely from the leaves of the stevia plant. No fillers or that in it.
I agree with Julie about substituting the applesauce and the eggs… but I would go a step further and substitute grapeseed oil (very healthy!!) for the canola oil and agave’ nectar for the sugar. That should get the fats and sugars down.