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Quite a few years ago, my grandpa flew up to spend the weekend woodworking with my dad in the backyard shop. They stayed out there for nearly two full days, alternating between sketching designs, carefully sketching those on large blocks of wood, and covering themselves in wood shavings as they turned those blocks of wood on Dadās lathe to create beautiful bowls. Ā
Because Grandpa and Dad mainly returned to the house for food and bathroom breaks, Mom stopped by our favorite local deli to pick up lunch for everyone on the second day. As Grandpa and Dad walked into the kitchen to show us their progress on the bowls, Mom came in from the garage with takeout bags and started arranging food on the counter.
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Thick sandwiches with various deli meats, huge helpings of sprouts, tomatoes, and mustard stuffed between slices of sourdough or whole grain breadā¦ Leafy green salads topped with more tomatoes, fresh-baked croutons, and the deliās own pasta salad (the only time Iāve eaten rotini noodles in my green salad!)ā¦ And slices of their classic carrot cake, made from the deli ownerās grandmaās secret recipe.
While the rest of us grabbed a sandwich and served ourselves some of the salad, Grandpa set a slice of carrot cake on his plate instead. Distracted by admiring the wooden bowls from Dadās shop, the rest of us laughed when we realized that Grandpa had completely polished off that big slice of carrot cakeāand left all of the savory food untouched!
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When I baked this Greek Yogurt Carrot Cake Pound Cake last week, I smiled at that memory of Grandpaās clean plate and his sandwich still sitting on the counterā¦ But this recipe is much healthier than the sugar-laden slice from that deli! It contains no refined flour or sugar, 7g of protein and only 134 calories!
And if Grandpa were still around, I wouldnāt blame him for polishing off two full slices! ?
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Traditional pound cakes earned their name because they included a pound of each of the following ingredients: all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, butter, and eggs. Yikes! My waistline is crying at the thought of all those caloriesā¦ So letās talk about how to make this healthier pound cake instead!
First, youāll start with white whole wheat flour. That sounds like a paradox, doesnāt it? However, white whole wheat flour is made by finely grinding a special type of soft white wheat, whereas regular whole wheat flour comes from a heartier variety of red wheat. This gives white whole wheat flour a lighter taste and texture, similar to that of all-purpose flour, but it still has the same health benefits (like extra fiber!) as regular whole wheat flour.
Note: Iāve included my favorite gluten-free flour blend in the Notes section of the recipe, if you prefer!
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Next, as opposed to a pound of butter (thatās about 2 cups!) and a pound of eggs (around 9 of them!), youāll use just 1 tablespoon of butter (or coconut oil, if you prefer!) and 3 egg whites. Thatās it! Iām doing a happy dance at how we shaved off so many caloriesā¦ And with Easter around the corner, that happy dance just might include a little bunny hop dance move! ?
The rest of this healthy pound cakeās tender texture comes from Greek yogurt instead! Although Iām sure you guessed that from the recipe title alreadyā¦ Greek yogurt adds the same moisture as extra butter or oil for a fraction of the calories, and it gives your cake a big protein boost, too!
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Youāll skip the refined sugar and sweeten your healthy cake with one of my favorite ingredients instead: vanilla crĆØme stevia. Stevia is a plant based, no calorie sweetener thatās clean eating friendly, and itās highly concentrated. You just need 1 tablespoon for this entire cakeāthatās the equivalent of at least 1 Ā¼ cups of sugar! This is the kind I buy because I love its warm vanilla flavor and donāt notice any strange aftertaste like with some other stevia products. You can find it at many health-oriented grocery stores, but I buy mine online here because thatās the cheapest price Iāve found. (And youāll use it in all of these recipes of mine, too!)
Then for that classic carrot cake flavor, youāll mix in cinnamon, a hint of nutmeg, and freshly grated carrots. Donāt substitute the store-bought pre-shredded carrots! Those are much thicker and drier compared to carrots that you freshly grate at home. They wonāt soften as much while baking, and their flavor is much more muted. This healthy pound cake is completely worth the extra few minutes of grating your own carrotsāI promise!
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Time for dessert! Or maybe even a sweet treat for Easter brunch? ? And when you make your own, remember to snap a picture and share it on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking and tagging @amyshealthybaking IN the photo itself! (That guarantees Iāll see your picture! ?) Iād love to see your pound cake and feature it in my Sunday Spotlight series!
| Greek Yogurt Carrot Cake Pound Cake | | Print |
- 2 Ā¾ cups (330g) white whole wheat flour or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
- 2 Ā¼ tsp ground cinnamon
- Ā¾ tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 Ā½ tsp baking powder
- Ā¾ tsp baking soda
- Ā½ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp (14g) unsalted butter or coconut oil, melted and cooled slightly
- 3 large egg whites, room temperature
- 1 Ā½ tbsp (22mL) vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp (15mL) vanilla crĆØme stevia
- Ā¾ cup (180g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- 1 cup + 2 tbsp (270mL) nonfat milk
- 2 cups (180g) freshly grated carrots (about 2 medium, peeled first!)
- Preheat the oven to 350Ā°F, and line a 9x5ā loaf pan with foil. Lightly coat the foil with nonstick cooking spray.
- To prepare the cake, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the butter, egg whites, vanilla extract, and stevia. Stir in the Greek yogurt, mixing until no large lumps remain. Stir in 2 tablespoons of milk. Alternate between adding the flour mixture and remaining milk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture, and stirring just until incorporated. (For best results, add the flour mixture in 3 equal parts.) Gently fold in the carrots.
- Spread the batter into the prepared pan. Bake at 350Ā°F for 60-70 minutes or until the top feels firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes before lifting out the cake by the foil and transferring it to a wire rack to cool completely.
Whole wheat pastry flour or all-purpose flour may be substituted in place of the white whole wheat flour. Regular whole wheat flour may be substituted in a pinch, although the cake will be less tender and have a distinct wheat-y flavor.
The cake requires 3 full egg whites. The whites contain the majority of the protein in eggs, and that protein is required to ensure the cake maintains its shape and texture while cooling. Without all 3 egg whites, the cake will collapse while cooling and turn out much denser.
I do not recommend substituting for the vanilla crĆØme stevia, if at all possible. (Itās one of my favorite ingredients, and youāll use it in all of these recipes of mine, too!) However, if you really prefer to omit the vanilla crĆØme stevia from the cake, substitute 1 Ā¼ cups (240g) granulated sugar and reduce the milk to Ā½ cup, but the cake will no longer be clean-eating friendly. You may substitute 1 Ā¼ cups (240g) coconut sugar and reduce the milk to Ā½ cup to keep the cake clean eating friendly, but it will be much darker in color. The baking time may vary with either of those substitutions as well.
Do not substitute store-bought pre-shredded carrots. Theyāre thicker, drier, and donāt have as good of a flavor as freshly grated carrots.
Any milk may be substituted in place of the nonfat milk.
Do not use an electric mixer to mix up the batter. This will result in a dense or tough cake. Use a whisk where instructed, and use a fork for everything else.
If youād like to top your pound cake with a cream cheese drizzle, then I recommend this recipe of mine (double or triple it!). If youād like to top your pound cake with cream cheese frosting, then I recommend this recipe of mine (just make half!).
{gluten-free, clean eating, low fat, low calorie, sugar-free}
View Nutrition Information
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You make also like Amy’s other recipesā¦
ā„Ā Ā Ā The Ultimate Healthy Carrot Cake
ā„Ā Ā Ā Healthy Classic Carrot Cake
ā„Ā Ā Ā Healthy Carrot Cake Oatmeal Cookies
ā„Ā Ā Ā Healthy Classic Carrot Cake Cupcakes
ā„Ā Ā Ā Healthy Carrot Cake Mini Muffins
ā„Ā Ā Ā Healthy Carrot Cake Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies
ā„Ā Ā Ā Healthy Carrot Cake Scones
ā„Ā Ā Ā Healthy Carrot Cake Granola
ā„Ā Ā Ā Healthy Carrot Cake Pancakes
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I donāt know what I did wrong but there was a humongous air bubble at the top of my pound cake and the outside was very crisp and brown (not burnt) but not done inside. All of the inside settled to the bottom and was very dense. Also, the stevia taste was very apparent and ultimately this was a fail for me š I followed all of the steps and measurements correctly except I used all purpose flour and unflavored stevia instead. I wonder where I went wrong…
I’m honored that you tried making my recipe Mina! That sounds really disappointing and not like how this cake should turn out, so Iād love to work with you to figure out what happened. š
Did you use any substitutions or modifications that were in the Notes section of the recipe? Did you use a hand-held or stand mixer to make the batter? How long did you bake your cake? Where was your oven rack positioned (top, middle, bottom), and did you use a regular oven (as opposed to a countertop or toaster oven)?
How did you measure the flour — with a kitchen scale or measuring cups? If the latter, can you describe how you used them to measure? Did you use the same stevia that I did, just the unflavored instead of the vanilla? What brand of Greek yogurt did you use? How did you measure the freshly grated carrots?
I know I just asked a LOT of questions, but once I know your answers to all of them, I’ll have a much better idea of what could have happened and how to fix it! š
Hi Amy!
Here are some answers: I didnāt use any subs in the notes section, I used a normal whisk and spatula to mix everything by hand, I baked it for 60 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius (a little over 450 F), it was positioned on the bottom rack of my regular oven, I used a kitchen scale to measure my flour, I used unflavored liquid stevia, the Greek yogurt brand is a random Japanese one (no fat, plain unsweetened), and the carrots were grated then measured by grams on the scale (I used a finer grater so they werenāt in shreds which may have made it dense?).
Thank you SO much for taking the time to answer my questions Mina — this is super helpful! I actually think that the last part, using the finest grater rather than a standard-sized box grater, is the biggest culprit. I know when I use the finest holes, the carrots release a lot more moisture into the batter (or cookie dough, depending on what I’m using them in!), whereas carrots I’ve grated with the standard-sized holes hold onto their moisture and don’t release it into the batter. That extra carrot juice and moisture in the batter would’ve thrown off the consistency, and that’s probably the reason everything sank to the bottom.
What brand of stevia did you use? I don’t think I saw that in your comment!
I also recommend using the middle oven rack position — or at least one closer to the middle than the bottom! The rack position can often have an effect on how things bake. If you use the bottom-most rack, the baking pan will be hotter at the bottom, meaning the bottoms of things will bake faster (or develop a hard bottom crust or even burn!), while the tops of things wonāt bake quite as quickly. If use use the top-most rack, the reverse is true ā the tops of things will bake faster (or develop a crisp top crust or possibly burn!), while the bottoms of things wonāt bake as quickly.
So for the most even baking, Iād recommend using the a rack position as close to the middle of your oven as possible. That way, the baking pan should be just about centered in your oven, so it should be heated equally from the top and bottom, which should hopefully eliminate some of those issues that youāve experienced!
Finally, if the outsides bake too quickly again and the center is still raw, cover the top of your pan with foil after the first 50-ish minutes! That will prevent the top from getting any darker, while allowing the inside to continue baking all the way through.
Does all of that make sense? š