Carrot cake has to be up there on the top tier of cakes, along with chocolate fudge cake and lemon drizzle. But this is Healthy Carrot Cake. It's next level! A light and moist cake, with all the delicious flavour, with a few lighter swaps.
You would presume that as it has carrot in it, it is basically a health food but sadly not! But, with a few swaps, such as using a granulated sweetener and a light frosting in this recipe you can have yourself a healthier and lower calorie carrot cake that doesn't sacrifice on taste.
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Why should you try it?
- Less than 200 calories per portion
- Kids will love this
- Good way to get some vegetables into your diet
- Can be frozen
What you will need
Step by step
One: Preheat the oven to 170°C/350°F. In a bowl, add the flour, pecans, Hermesetas, raisins, orange zest, salt, baking soda and all spice and mix well.
Two: In a separate bowl, add the carrot, coconut oil, eggs and vanilla and mix well.
Three: Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Mix well.
Four: Grease a 10 inch spring form tin and pour in the mixture. Put in the oven and bake for 40 minutes.
Five: Whilst the cake is cooking, make the icing by mixing together the yogurt, maple syrup and vanilla.
Six: Remove the cooked cake from the oven and allow to cool fully.
Seven: When the cake is completely cooled, add the icing and sprinkle on the orange zest and pecans.
How is this healthy?
The thing about healthier versions of our favourite cakes is that they tend to be really dry and disappointing. This cake is neither. It's a really moist and delicious carrot cake that has been lightened up, as it has no butter or cream in it and a few other lighter swaps - such as using sweetener.
Well, you know we are all about mental health here, and a little bit of what you fancy in moderation is good for that. But, as well as this cake having vegetables in it, there is no butter or cream in it either. Not that those ingredients are unhealthy in themselves, but we have made some swaps that have extra benefits or lower in calories. We also skipped the cream cheese frosting for a fat free yogurt frosting.
Carrot cake icing
Let's talk about the icing of this cake for a minute. I could eat the "icing" out of the bowl with a spoon and to be honest, I did. It is that good, but so much healthier than regular butter cream or cream cheese frosting. It's made with yogurt! A little bit of maple syrup for taste and some orange zest and you have yourself and epic frosting/icing.
The cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger in the allspice in this cake give it a real Christmas feel to it, so I think this is going to be made a lot more in a few months time. But it's never too early for healthy Christmas baking.
Carrot cake muffins
We have made this in to a full cake, but they work really well as muffins too. Just divide the mixture in to muffin cases and bake for around 20 minutes until the muffins have risen and set.
FAQs
Keep the cake in an airtight container and it will last for 2-3 days.
Carrot cake actually freezes really well, so that means portion control is easy. Just put a slice in a container and pop it in the freezer. Defrost at room temperature for a few hours.
We haven't tried it ourselves, but you could try swapping the eggs for flax eggs and using a dairy free yoghurt and milk too.
No, almond flour would make this really dense. If you are looking to make this gluten free, then there are lots of great gluten free carrot cake recipes out there.
Extra tips
- Turn these in to muffins instead so they are easier for little hands to eat. Just put the mixture in to muffin cases and bake for 20 minutes.
- Add some extra vegetables in swapping half the carrot for courgette (zucchini). You will need to squeeze out the excess liquid first.
- We have added pecans, but you could keep it classic and use walnuts instead.
- Raisins add a nice extra touch of sweetness and texture to the cake, but you could use other dried fruit too. Try dried cherries or cranberries to mix it up a bit.
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Recipe
Healthy Carrot Cake
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 250 g plain flour
- 8 pecan halves
- 2 tablespoon fresh orange zest
- 1 large carrot grated
- 0.5 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 0.5 teaspoon mixed spice
- 50 g raisins
- 6 tablespoon coconut oil
- 10 g Granulated Sweetener
- 4 medium eggs
- 80 ml skimmed milk
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
For the icing:
- 6 tablespoon 0% Greek yogurt
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 0.5 teaspoon vanilla extract
- A few pecans and a bit of orange zest for decorating
Instructions
- reheat the oven to 170°C/350°F. In a bowl, add the flour, pecans, sweetener, raisins, orange zest, salt, baking soda and all spice and mix well.250 g plain flour, 8 pecan halves, 2 tablespoon fresh orange zest, 0.5 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 0.5 teaspoon mixed spice, 10 g Granulated Sweetener, 50 g raisins
- In a separate bowl, add the carrot, coconut oil, eggs, milk and vanilla. Mix well.1 large carrot, 6 tablespoon coconut oil, 4 medium eggs, 0.5 teaspoon vanilla extract, 80 ml skimmed milk
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Mix well.
- Grease a 10 inch spring form tin and pour in the mixture. Put in the oven and bake for 40 minutes.
- Whilst the cake is cooking, make the icing by mixing together the yogurt, maple syrup and vanilla.6 tablespoon 0% Greek yogurt, 1 tablespoon maple syrup, 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- Remove the cooked cake from the oven and allow to cool fully.
- When the cake is completely cooled, add the icing and sprinkle on the orange zest and pecans.A few pecans and a bit of orange zest for decorating
Notes
- Turn these in to muffins instead so they are easier for little hands to eat. Just put the mixture in to muffin cases and bake for 20 minutes.
- Add some extra vegetables in swapping half the carrot for courgette (zucchini). You will need to squeeze out the excess liquid first.
- We have added pecans, but you could keep it classic and use walnuts instead.
- Raisins add a nice extra touch of sweetness and texture to the cake, but you could use other dried fruit too. Try dried cherries or cranberries to mix it up a bit.
Nutritional Information
[1] Blaak EE et al. (2012) Obes Rev 13: 923-984.
[2] www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Goodfood/Pages/the-truth-about-artificial-sweeteners.aspx
leanne
Looks so delicious. Going to give it a go at the weekend :) Thanks :)
Fish Fingers for tea
I'm going to have to try this one Dannii! Carrot cake is one of my favourites but cakes aren't making that much of an appearance in our house at the mo, at least for me anyway. This one looks good though!
Gayle @ Pumpkin 'N Spice
This healthy carrot cake looks delicious! That means I can have several pieces in one sitting, right?! :)
Jessica
That carrot cake sounds so yummy! :)
[email protected] TheGastronomicBong
The cake looks Gorgeous!! It just amazes me that this cake is butter and cream free.. Just Superb!! I am definitely trying this healthy cake soon :D
Dave
This was SOOOOO good - just as good as any other carrot cake I've ever had
ATasteOfMadness
This looks amazing!! I have always wanted to make carrot cake, but a healthy one? Bonus! This needs to happen soon!
Jo
You should open up your own healthy cafe with cakes like this. It sounds and looks delicious.
Kathy
A healthy lemon cake recipe would be lovely. I love any kind of fresh cake like lemon or carrot.
Annabeth
This looks so pretty. My cakes always look like a 5 year old has decorated them lol.
Sabine
Hmmm, I love your recipe, will try it, like the christmassy (is that a word?) look.Thanks for sharing, I love carrot cake.
Cat
What a great recipe! I love carrot cake and haven't had it in ages! I reckon a healthy tiramisu would be a right challenge - let me know if you crack that one ;)
Anna @AnnaTheApple
Amazing! Carrot cake is one of my favourite cakes. I love how moist it is and the texture with all the carrot in it. So good. Thanks for sharing a healthified version!
Maria @ runningcupcake
I love carrot cake- it is top of my list alongside lemon cake- I can't choose between them!
I love it when the carrot cake has some lemon icing too. Yours looks delicious and really moist.
Candess
This looks delicious! It is always my choice for my birthday and although I don't bake, I am sending this blog post to my daughter and sister-in-law! Yummy!
Sarah
That is one amazing looking cake. Great photos, Dannii!
Susie @ SuzLyfe
I majorly love carrot cake. It was one of those things that I, too, didn't think that I was in love with simply because I never had tried it. Then, one day, I tried it again and was like WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME. There is a place here in the states called Lyfe kitchen (I like them because of their name, if for no other reason) that does an outstanding carrot raisin walnut muffin/loaf. It's a healthy food cafe, and then this loaf just taste so incredibly decadent. You should try a Hummingbird cake next!
Marie
Thank you! I love carrot cake, but the healthy ones I have tried to make have always come out really dry.
Helen Turney
I would love to see a healthy recipe for a hot chocolate fudge cake. You know, the one with the gooey middle. Is it called molten cake?
Jenna
Welcome back! I have missed your posts. What a recipe is come back with - carrot cake is my favourite kind of cake, although I will eat any cake.