Healthy Carrot Bundt Cake

Yields: 1 bundt cake, 16 slices

This is the best carrot bundt cake I’ve ever had—and one of my all-time favorite cake recipes! It’s supremely moist and slightly dense, exactly the way I love my carrot cake texture to be, and it’s packed full of cozy spices and sweet carrots. Leftovers will keep for at least four days if stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator (possibly longer)—but somehow, we never end up with leftovers that last nearly that long!

for the cake
3 ½ cups (420g) Bob’s Red Mill® Organic Whole Wheat Pastry Flour (measured like this—and see the Notes below for a gluten-free option!)
2 ½ tsp ground cinnamon
¾ tsp ground allspice
¾ tsp ground nutmeg
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1 tbsp (14g) unsalted butter or coconut oil, melted and cooled slightly
4 large egg whites, room temperature
1 tbsp (15mL) vanilla extract
5 ½ tsp liquid stevia
6 tbsp (54g) confectioners’ style erythritol
¾ cup (180g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
¼ cup (60mL) white vinegar
1 cup + 6 tbsp (330mL) nonfat milk
3 cups (315g) freshly grated carrots (peeled first!)
for the drizzle
3 tbsp (42g) well softened light cream cheese (see Notes)
4 ½ tsp nonfat milk
⅜ tsp liquid stevia, or adjusted to taste

Preheat the oven to 350°F, and generously coat a 12-cup bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray or nonstick cooking spray with flour.
To prepare the cake, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the butter, egg whites, vanilla extract, and liquid stevia. Stir in the erythritol. Add in the Greek yogurt, stirring until no large lumps remain. Stir in the vinegar and 1 cup 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 350°F for 70-80 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 transferring the cake to a wire rack to cool completely.
Once the cake has completely cooled to room temperature and just before serving, prepare the drizzle. Mix together the softened cream cheese, milk, and stevia in a small bowl. Transfer the mixture to a zip-topped plastic bag, cut off a tiny piece of one corner, and drizzle over the cooled cake.

Notes: For the gluten-free flour, use Bob’s Red Mill® Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour! Remember to measure it like this.

Bob’s Red Mill® Ivory Whole Wheat Flour or All-Purpose Flour may be substituted in place of the whole wheat pastry flour. Their Regular Whole Wheat Flour may be substituted in a pinch, although the cake may have a slight wheat-y flavor.

It’s extremely important to measure the flour correctly, using this method or a kitchen scale. (← That’s the one I own!) Too much flour will dry out your cake and give it a crumbly texture, instead of having it turn out moist and tender!

The cake requires 4 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 4 egg whites, the cake will collapse while cooling and turn out much denser.

I do not recommend substituting for the liquid stevia, if at all possible. (It’s one of my favorite ingredients, and you’ll use it in all of these recipes of mine, too! I buy it online here.) However, if you really prefer to omit the liquid stevia from the cake, substitute 2 ¼ cups (432g) granulated sugar and reduce the milk to 1 cup (240mL), but the cake will no longer be clean-eating friendly. You may substitute 2 ¼ cups (432g) coconut sugar and reduce the milk to 1 cup (240mL) to keep the cake clean eating friendly. The baking time may vary with either of those substitutions as well. Do not substitute honey, maple syrup, or agave because the cake batter will be much too liquidy with any of those.

Coconut sugar, granulated sugar, or brown sugar may be substituted in place of the confectioners’ style erythritol. Granulated sucralose (Splenda) will also work in place of the confectioners’ style erythritol, if you prefer a different no-calorie granulated sweetener.

The vinegar reacts with the baking soda to help the cake rise and give it a better texture. You can’t taste it in the finished cake—I promise!

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.

Make sure you coat your bundt pan really well with cooking spray! (This is the bundt pan that I use!) With so many nooks and crannies, compared to traditional round or rectangular cake pans, the batter has more chances to stick to the sides, so a generous coating of cooking spray will ensure your bundt cake slides right out of the pan.

Neufchâtel cream cheese, Greek yogurt cream cheese, and fat-free cream cheese will all work in the drizzle. Regular full-fat cream cheese will also work. Whatever you’re using, just make sure it’s well softened first!

If you prefer not to use liquid stevia in the drizzle, then substitute 3 tablespoons of confectioners’ style erythritol or powdered sugar, and reduce the milk to 1-2 teaspoons (or adjust the amount to get your desired consistency).

For more drizzle, double the drizzle.

If you have a 6-cup bundt pan, you can make a half-recipe and bake at 350°F for 60-70 minutes instead.

{gluten-free, clean eating, low fat, low sugar}

Recipe by Amy's Healthy Baking at https://amyshealthybaking.com/blog/2019/03/03/healthy-carrot-bundt-cake/