The Ultimate Healthy Carrot Cake
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Yields: 1 cake, 12 slices
 
This is the best classic carrot cake I’ve ever tried! It’s full of cozy spices and plenty of carrots, and the protein-packed cream cheese frosting is divine. The cake will last for at least 4 days if stored in the refrigerator, and to keep it as tender as possible without the exposed cut edges drying out, store it in an airtight container. (I use something almost exactly the same as this cake case!)
  • for the cake
  • 2 ¼ cups (270g) whole wheat or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
  • 2 ¼ tsp baking powder
  • ¾ tsp baking soda
  • 2 ½ tsp ground cinnamon
  • ¾ tsp ground nutmeg
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 2 tbsp (28g) coconut oil or unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
  • 3 large egg whites, room temperature
  • 1 tbsp (15mL) vanilla extract
  • ½ cup (120g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
  • ¼ cup (60mL) pure maple syrup
  • 1 ¼ tsp liquid stevia
  • ¾ cup (180mL) nonfat milk
  • 2 ½ cups (265g) freshly grated carrots (about 4-5 medium, peeled first!)
  • for the frosting
  • 1 cup (240g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
  • 1 (8oz) block Greek yogurt cream cheese, softened
  • 1 ¼ tsp liquid stevia
  1. To prepare the cake, preheat the oven to 350°F. Cut two 9”-round circles out of wax paper to fit inside two 9”-round cake pans. Lightly coat the two 9”-round cake pans with nonstick cooking spray. Gently press one wax paper circle into the bottom of each cake pan, and lightly coat the wax paper with nonstick cooking spray.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the coconut oil, egg whites, and vanilla. Stir in the Greek yogurt, mixing until no large lumps remain. Mix in the maple syrup and stevia. Alternate between adding the flour mixture and the milk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture, and stirring just until incorporated. (For best results, add the flour mixture in 4 equal parts.) Gently fold in the carrots.
  3. Divide the batter between the prepared pans. Bake at 350°F for 24-28 minutes, or until the center feels firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes before inverting, peeling off the wax paper, and transferring to wire racks to cool completely.
  4. To prepare the frosting, add the Greek yogurt, Greek yogurt cream cheese, and stevia to a medium bowl, and beat with an electric mixer until smooth.
  5. To assemble the cake, spread a generous dollop of frosting on top of one of the cake layers. Place the second layer on top. Frost the tops and sides.
Notes: Watch my video above the recipe for a step-by-step guide and more tips!

White whole wheat flour, whole wheat pastry flour, or all-purpose flour may be substituted for the whole wheat flour.

Honey or agave may be substituted in place of the pure maple syrup. I do not recommend substituting sugar-free maple syrup; your cake will collapse and turn out really dense if you do so.

Any milk may be substituted for the nonfat milk.

Neufchâtel (⅓-less fat) cream cheese may be substituted for the Greek yogurt cream cheese. Regular cream cheese and brick-style fat-free cream cheese will also work. Regardless of which cream cheese you use, for the smoothest frosting texture, just make sure it's well softened first!

GLUTEN FREE OPTION: For the gluten-free flour, I recommend the following: 1 cup (120g) millet flour, ¾ cup (90g) tapioca flour, ½ cup (60g) brown rice flour, and 1 ¾ teaspoons xanthan gum. Most store-bought gluten-free flour blends (like this one!) will work as well, if measured like this.

LIQUID STEVIA IN CAKE BATTER NOTE: I highly recommend using the liquid stevia! It's one of my favorite ingredients, and you'll use it in all of these recipes of mine. I buy my liquid stevia online here because that's the cheapest price I've found. If you prefer to omit the liquid stevia from the carrot cake batter, you may replace it with an additional ½ cup (120mL) of pure maple syrup AND reduce the milk to ¼ cup (60mL) to compensate for the added liquid volume. Alternatively, substitute ½ cup (96g) of coconut sugar or brown sugar AND reduce the milk to ½ cup (120mL) to compensate for the added volume.

LIQUID STEVIA IN FROSTING NOTE: For sweeter frosting, add an additional ⅛ to ¼ teaspoon of liquid stevia. I do not recommend substituting other liquid sweeteners (ie pure maple syrup, honey, agave, etc) for the liquid stevia in the frosting. These sweeteners will make the frosting too liquidy, and it won’t stay put once spread onto the cake. For frosting that does not require liquid stevia, use this cream cheese frosting recipe of mine instead.

IMPORTANT CARROT NOTE: Do not substitute store-bought pre-shredded carrots. They are too thick and dry, and they won’t soften while the cake bakes.

OTHER MIX-INS: You may add raisins, chopped walnuts, or shredded coconut to the cake if you prefer. However, I do not recommend adding diced or crushed pineapple. The extra liquid in the fruit and juices will cause the cake to collapse while cooling and make it extremely dense.

9X13" CAKE PAN:I haven't yet tried baking this cake in a 9x13" pan, but some readers have said it works! They recommend baking the 9x13" pan at 350°F for 26-32 minutes, or until the center feels firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with a few crumbs attached. (As soon as I test it myself, I'll share my experience here too!)

{gluten-free, clean eating, low fat, lower sugar, higher protein}
Recipe by Amy's Healthy Baking at https://amyshealthybaking.com/blog/2016/02/28/the-ultimate-healthy-carrot-cake/