Habenero Surprise Cake with Orange Frosting

Note from Cheri: This recipe is from a unique book called Vegetable Desserts ~ Beyond Carrot Cake & Pumpkin Pie, by Elisabeth Schafer and Jeannette L. Miller, R.D. This is a handy tome to add to your library, especially if you're a gardener who has an overabundance of of crops. It also provides a sneaky way of getting kids (of all ages) to eat more veggies! This recipe, for instance, uses Great Northern beans, sun dried tomatoes and habenero peppers. Marilyn Helton, of our Diabetic Dining on Fabulous Foods column, hasprovided the nutritional breakdowns and adapted the recipe so diabetics can plan fabulous treat into their menus.

Cake nonstick vegetable cooking spray 2/3 C chopped sun-dried tomatoes 1 habanero pepper, seeded & minced 1 (18 oz) package yellow cake mix orange juice to replace the amount of water listed on cake mix package, minus 1/3 cup 3/4 cup cooked great northern beans, pureéd 2 eggs 1/4 tsp. almond extract 1/2 C unsalted sunflower seeds, raw or roasted Orange Frosting 2 C confectioner's sugar, sifted 3 T margarine 2 T orange juice 1 T lemon juice 1 tsp. orange extract

Makes 24 Servings Preheat oven to 350°F. To soften tomatoes, pour boiling water over tomatoes and let sit 5 minutes. Drain and chop. Spray a 9-inch x 13-inch cake pan with cooking spray and set aside. Put tomatoes and habanero pepper in orange juice and allow to sit while mixing other ingredients. Combine cake mix, beans, eggs and almond extract and beat for 2 minutes. Stir in juice/tomato/pepper mixture. Mix thoroughly. Fold in sunflower seeds and pour into prepared pan. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes. Cake is done when a cake tester inserted in center comes out clean. Cool on rack and frost with Orange Frosting after completely cooled. Orange Frosting Cream powdered sugar and margarine with electric mixer until well blended; add juices and extract and beat to a smooth spreading consistency. If frosting is too thick, add nonfat milk or orange juice, 1 teaspoon at a time. Per Serving: 170 Cal 5 gm Fat (1 gm Sat Fat) 29 gm Carb 20 mg Chol 220 mg Sodium 40 gm Calcium 3 gm Protein 1 gm Fiber Exchanges: 1 Starch/Bread 1 Fat