Carrot cake again? I know, I know, how much carrot cake can someone eat? Well, I've eaten entirely too much of it in the last two weeks. After Hungry Bear made her fantastic carrot cake, I wanted to make a light version while her normal, full-fat version was still fresh on our minds.

The light carrot cake recipe was adapted from Cook's Illustrated (CI). I used all the CI fat reducing steps...

• Reduced the amount of oil from 1 1/2 cups to 1/2 cup
• Reduced the number of eggs from 4 to 3
• Used Philadelphia Neufchatel reduced-fat cream cheese
• Lowered the sugar quantity in the frosting

Then, I kept the majority of the normal cake's other ingredients to keep the flavors similar, which means pineapples and coconut flakes were included.

Cook's Illustrated's light cream cheese frosting recipe uses 12 oz of reduced fat cream cheese and no butter. I didn't like the idea of buying two 8 oz boxes of low fat cream cheese and not use 4 oz. So, I modified the recipe to use 8 oz of cheese and added a little butter.

The light carrot cake was pretty good. We thought the cake tasted similar to the full-fat version, but Hungry Bear's cake had a superior, more tender texture. The light cake was a little too moist and dense, which was a surprise given only half a cup of oil was used. It was probably due to the moisture of the carrots (3 cups) and pineapples. I actually preferred the light cream cheese frosting over the full-fat version because it was less sweet and rich.

Here's a breakdown of calories and fat per serving for the two cakes...

As you can see, the light carrot cake is not a low fat dessert, but with half the fat of the normal recipe, it still tastes great. If someone were to serve me this cake, I wouldn't know it was a light version. If you love carrot cake, eat it regularly, and want a lighter recipe, definitely give this one a try. When I'm craving carrot cake again (it will be awhile), I'll stick with Hungry Bear's carrot cake.

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Hungry Bear has been craving a tart, lemony dessert for awhile, so we made a lemon olive oil cake this past Sunday night. I love olive oil, but in a cake... hmm? I had my doubts about the cake, but Hungry Bear had it on her list of things to make, so we gave it a try. Much to my surprise, I thoroughly enjoyed this light, airy cake.

Depending on how prominent an olive taste you want, extra virgin or regular olive oil can be used in the recipe. We had a nice bottle of extra virgin olive oil sitting around and used it in the cake for the added fruitiness. The cake had an interesting aroma. It smelled savory to me, but tasted like a light pound cake or a denser sponge cake. I was all confused as my nose and taste buds were sending mixed messages.

Once I got over my sensory confusion, I really enjoyed the cake. On its own, the cake was very light and not too sweet. It had subtle flavors of lemon and olive oil... obviously. To keep it light, it's best served with fresh berries and a dollop of whipped cream. For a richer dessert, serve it with a fruit compote and maybe a drizzle of aged balsamic vinegar.

While it wasn't the tart dessert Hungry Bear was seeking, it was still very good and is super easy to make. Despite my initial reservations, this lemon olive oil cake is an excellent dairy free dessert and goes nicely with a spot of tea.

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