After spending my entire three-week Winter Break sinking my teeth into every single dessert I saw—sugar cookies, hazelnut cake, raspberry truffles, and more—I decided to skip all sweets as my New Year’s Resolution during my sophomore year of college. Yes, I now bake and blog as a living… And I enjoy a small treat once, twice, or sometimes three times a day. But that holiday season, my sweet tooth completely spiraled out of control!
That year, I originally challenged myself to shoot for just one quarter—10 weeks, plus another week of finals—without dessert. After those three months passed, resisting treats basically became second nature, so I decided to continue and see if I could go the entire year without a single dessert.
For the record… Dark chocolate does NOT count as dessert. Just like your 8 glasses of water, a small square or two is a daily necessity!
The weekend my birthday rolled around in late June, I had to leave town for a few days. When I returned, I opened my apartment door and found bright purple and yellow crêpe paper strung all around the living room and hanging from the ceiling fan. Matching balloons came flying around the corner, closely followed by my two roommates shouting, “Happy birthday!!”
They handed me tissue paper-filled gift bags and brought out a large homemade sheet cake on our biggest cutting board from the kitchen. “We know you aren’t eating dessert,” the girls explained. “But we still wanted you to be able to make a birthday wish and blow out candles!” After setting down the cake on the coffee table, the three of us knelt down on the carpet with a packet of matches, carefully avoiding the temperamental smoke detector, and began my little birthday celebration.
Since they knew I wouldn’t sneak even a teensy tiny bite, the ladies elected against my preferred fudgy chocolate cake and baked their favorite flavor instead: carrot cake. They followed the directions for a boxed spice cake mix and simply added freshly grated carrots, but they happily finished it off in my honor over the next few days. Now whenever I eat carrot cake, I think of those girls!
My lightened Classic Clean-Eating Carrot Cake is much healthier but still just as easy as their doctored box mix version! Saturated with spices and topped with a generous layer of sweet vanilla ricotta frosting, each large square elicits memories of big church potlucks or decadent Easter feasts, grandma’s famous baking or special family dinners. This simple recipe will immediately win you over, convincing you that carrots are your favorite vegetable and cake is the best way to eat them!
Because I turned to melted coconut oil instead of creaming butter and sugar, there’s absolutely no need for a mixer. Just grab your favorite sturdy spoon or fork and stir! I know, I know… You probably think I’m crazy, adding coconut oil to a classic carrot cake recipe. But I promise you can’t taste the coconut! Its flavor is completely masked by maple syrup and plenty of spices. You’ll use both cinnamon and nutmeg; the latter adds a subtle depth and really helps the cinnamon’s warmth shine.
Like many of my other cake and cupcake recipes, this low-fat one only requires 1 tablespoon of oil. Instead, the majority of the cake’s tender texture comes from Greek yogurt. As a true powerhouse in healthier baking, it contributes lots of moisture while lowering the fat and calories. Bonus: Greek yogurt adds a little extra protein too!
Now for the star of the show… The carrots! Pack in as many as you can: the more the merrier. I mixed in a whopping 2 cups, but if you accidentally measure a little more, go ahead and add in the extra too. Make sure you use freshly grated carrots. Avoid the pre-shredded ones available in the produce section because those are dry and crunchy. Freshly grated carrots contain more moisture and natural juices, which they release as the cake bakes and make it unbelievably moist. Because of that, be sure to spray the pan really well to prevent the cake’s bottom from sticking!
Tip: Grate the carrots using a food processor with a grater attachment to speed up the process!
The frosting is laughably easy to make. Just mix the 4 ingredients together in a bowl with a fork! Do NOT use an electric or stand mixer because those would over-beat the frosting, resulting it a thin runny texture. Unlike cream cheese, ricotta has less of a “cheesy” taste, so this frosting actually tastes more like vanilla than cheese as written. Feel free to adjust the vanilla extract according to your tastes.
Ricotta also contains a grainier texture than cream cheese, so right after mixing the ingredients together, the frosting feels rather grainy on the tongue. As it rests, the graininess gradually fades. I found it best to frost the cake at least 1-2 hours before slicing and serving to really reduce that grainy texture.
Pure veggie dessert bliss.
Loaded with soft carrots and warm spices, this skinny Classic Carrot Cake carries all of the comforting flavors your childhood favorite but none of the guilt of typical oil-laden recipes. Its supremely moist texture draws you back bite after bite… I should know—I ate three slices the day I photographed this cake! One as an after-lunch dessert, another as post-dinner treat, and the third as an I’m-still-hungry-and-craving-something-sweet-as-a-midnight-snack just before bedtime.
Yup, it’s that addictive! Even the Easter Bunny would agree. ♥
| Healthy Classic Carrot Cake | | Print |
- for the cake
- 1 ½ cups (180g) whole wheat or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp (14g) coconut oil or unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup (120mL) pure maple syrup
- ¼ cup (60g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- ¼ cup (60mL) nonfat milk
- 2 cups (180g) freshly grated carrots (about 3 medium, peeled first!)
- for the frosting
- 8 oz (227g) nonfat ricotta cheese
- 3 tbsp (45g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- 2 tbsp (30mL) agave
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Preheat the oven to 350°F, and coat a 9”-square baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- To prepare the cake, whisk together the flour and next 5 ingredients (through salt) in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the coconut oil, egg, and vanilla. Stir in the maple syrup and Greek yogurt, thoroughly mixing until no large clumps remain. Alternate between adding the flour mixture and milk, stirring just until incorporated, beginning and ending with the flour. (For best results, add the flour mixture in 3 equal parts and the milk in 2 equal parts.) Fold in the carrots.
- Spread the batter into the prepared pan, and bake at 350°F for 28-31 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for at least 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack. Cool completely to room temperature before frosting.
- To prepare the frosting, stir together the ricotta cheese, Greek yogurt, agave, and vanilla in a medium bowl. Spread on top of the cooled cake. Let the frosting set for 1-2 hours before slicing and serving.
White whole wheat flour, whole wheat pastry flour, or all-purpose flour may be substituted for the regular whole wheat flour.
Honey or agave may be substituted for the pure maple syrup in the cake batter.
Pure maple syrup or honey may be substituted for the agave in the frosting.
As written, the frosting tastes more like vanilla than cheese, so adjust the amount of vanilla to suit your tastes.
{gluten-free, clean eating, low fat}
View Nutrition Information + Weight Watchers Points
I can’t wait to make this for Easter tomorrow! But I wanted to know
1. Would I be able to bake the cake and frost tonight? Like I know some cakes taste even better the next day! Or would it taste better the same day, like if I make it tomorrow morning?
2. I know this is a healthier cake but do you think I’d be able to sub in half of the ricotta for some cream cheese?
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Andrea! This cake is perfectly fine to make ahead of time. If you prefer a more traditional cream cheese frosting, I recommend either this recipe or this recipe of mine. 🙂 I hope you had a wonderful Easter!
Hi Amy; I love your recipes! I encourage the kids to eat clean, and having some healthy “treats” is always great. I’m happy to report that my boys gobbled this down. I don’t know if they have ever eaten traditional carrot cake; but they loved it. For me the icing texture was a little unexpected at first. It definitely reminds me of a cannoli cream. But after I ate a few pieces it didn’t seem unusual to me anymore. LOL :)) thanks for the recipe!
I’m so glad you and your boys enjoyed this carrot cake Rebecca! That means a lot to me! 🙂 If you’d like a more traditional cream cheese frosting next time, then I’d recommend either this recipe or this recipe of mine!
I made this for Easter dinner today for my husband and I and we enjoyed it very much. We are on a weight loss journey but still wanted to enjoy a “treat ” to celebrate this holiday. This was so good! Thanks for sharing 🙂
I’m so glad you and your husband enjoyed the carrot cake Lisa! I hope you had a wonderful Easter, and best of luck with your weight loss journey! 🙂
Hello, I’m going to make this for my hubbys sweet tooth ? Can I substitute oat flour for whole wheat flour?
Can wait to see the joy on his face. Carrot cake is his favorite!
You’re so sweet to think of your husband Melanie! I actually don’t recommend substituting oat flour here. It will make the cake overly dense. I’d love to hear what you and he think of this cake if you try it!
Hi Amy…I used almond and coconut flour. It turned out great! My husband loved it. I used agave because I didn’t have maple syrup! Will defend make this again. Oh and the tip of using a food processor for the carrots was brilliant! Thanks for this recipe! ?
I’m so glad you and your husband enjoyed this carrot cake Melanie! 🙂
HI Jeanette,
I used 3/4 to 1/4 ratio for almond flour and coconut flour
For the almond and coconut flour, did you use 1/2 & 1/2 or another ratio? What about using just coconut flour?
I do NOT recommend substituting just coconut flour! It will make your cake incredibly dry and crumbly.
I used this recipe for cupcakes and they came out perfect! They didn’t stick to the liners AT ALL, they were super moist, and they had the most incredible carrot taste. The frosting paired wonderfully with the cake, it wasn’t too sweet and the flavors complimented each other. I used honey vanilla Greek yogurt so I used 1/3 cup of agave instead of 1/2 cup maple syrup in the batter and I used 1 tbsp. agave instead of two tbsp. syrup in the frosting. The recipe made 15 cupcakes and there was extra frosting left over. My only complaint is that the frosting isn’t pipeable (even after being refrigerated overnight), but that isn’t a big deal because the cakes were still super cute. These were made for my mom’s birthday and both her and my sister loved them!
I’m so glad you and your family enjoyed this recipe Gaby! That means a lot to me that you’d make them for such a special occasion. 🙂 If you prefer a pipe-able frosting next time, then I recommend this recipe of mine instead!
I just made this cake to test it. I was looking for a recipe for my daughter’s birthday cake. She asked for carrot cake and neither of us like it too sweet. All the other recipes I found required 2 cups of sugar! Urg.
Well, my daughter, my son and I all love it! It is quite flat, but I will make two and layer them.
The best part is that this cake is so “healthy” that I can make it often as a yummy treat. Thanks so much!
By the way, I added chopped pecan nuts. Yummy!
I’m so glad everyone enjoyed the cake Melanie! That truly means a lot to me that you’d try one of my recipes to celebrate such a special occasion. Happy birthday to your daughter!! 🙂
I forgot to say that I used brown sugar this time because I had no maple syrup. Was great anyway! 😛
Hi! Just wondering if you could turn the cake into muffins/cupcakes??
Yes! I’ve actually done that already here. 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of the cupcakes Valerie!
Hey Amy!
This looks delicious and a perfect fit for a healthy birthday cake for my 2 yo. I was wondering if this would be dense enough to carve. Strange question but my sister is an incredible cake decorator (think Cake Wars) and wants to make a 2ft long “flying” airplane for him. She’s never carved a healthy cake like this. So do you think this recipe would be dense enough? Or is there another one that might work better? Trying to narrow it and not have to make a bunch of test cakes.
Thanks!
I truly appreciate your interest in my recipe Ashlea! This carrot cake is fairly dense. I haven’t tried carving any of my cake recipes, so I’m not personally sure… Perhaps it’s worth doing a test run before your son’s first birthday this fall? I don’t want to lead you astray! 🙂 I’m so honored that you’d consider using one of my recipes to celebrate such a special occasion! I’d love to hear what you think if you try it!