I recently made this cake for my husband’s birthday. He requested a carrot cake so Ella and I set to work and baked this beauty. I used a base recipe of mine however tweaked several things including the sugar content (mind you the cake still has 1 cup of sugar in it), the spices, the icing and we added fresh berries too. 

If you love carrot cake but would like a recipe for one that is ever so slightly less heavy and sweet, this is for you. It’s easy and keeps well in the fridge for a few days (if it lasts that long).

You need:

2.5 cups plain flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

a pinch of salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 a tsp. ground cloves

1/2 a tsp. ground nutmeg

1/2 a tsp. cardamon 

1+ 1/4 olive or coconut oil (liquid)

1/2 cup fine brown sugar + 1/2 cup raw sugar (you can also just use 1/2 a cup either sugar)

3 large eggs

2 tsp. vanilla essence

3 cups grated carrot (optional – you can also add in 1 small grated zucchini – squeeze out the liquid before adding in)

1/2- 3/4 cups pecans or walnuts, roughly chopped

For the icing:

500g cream cheese (I use 2 x 250g blocks of philadelphia cream cheese)

~ 3/4 -1 cup plain Greek yoghurt

Zest from one orange (finely grated)

A squeeze of orange juice or lemon (I used the juice of 1/8 of an orange)

1/2 tsp vanilla essence

3/4- 1 cup icing sugar ( I suggest adding 1/2 a cup, beat well, then taste to see if you’d like it sweeter). If you prefer, you can also use maple syrup, this works so well. I suggest using 2-3 Tbsp. and once mixed in taste it to see if the icing needs more.

Variations

• For more natural sweetness, reduce sugar and add sultanas, chopped dates or currants to the mixture
• For extra spice, add ground ginger too – 1/2 tsp.
• If you dont have oil, you can use butter (just melt before adding)
• For a cool colour creation, try using a mix of orange and purple grated carrots OR try a mix of grated carrot and parsnip – you might also like this other recipe of mine (carrot and parsnip cake)

To make:

1. Preheat oven to 180 Degrees C.
2. Grease a 22inch round pan, and line the bottom with baking paper.
3. In a large bowl, mix together all dry ingredients – flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, spices.
4. In another bowl, add eggs, sugars, oil and vanilla and whisk/beat until combined.
5. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and carefully fold in until only a few flour streaks remain.
6. Add the carrot and pecans, and fold in until just combined.
7. Pour mixture into your cake tin, spread evenly and bake for 60-75mins. I suggest checking your cake at 60mins (using a skewer).
8. Once baked, allow cake to cool in tin, before removing.
9. While the cake cools, make the icing. Or, you can make the icing prior and store in the fridge until ready to use.
10. To make the icing – add all wet ingredients to a bowl (cream cheese, yoghurt, orange zest and juice and vanilla) and using an electric beater mix until creamy, then add icing sugar and mix again. You might find that this makes extra icing (I like to be generous with the icing!). If you do have extra, you can always freeze in a container and use another time to ice cupcakes or banana bread for example.
11. Once the cake is cool, carefully slice in half through the middle (I like to use a bread knife for this). Now for the fun, place bottom layer of cake on a nice plate/board, add some icing and spread using a knife, spatula or the back of a spoon, add enough for a medium thick later. You might like to add fresh blueberries or extra pecans here, or both, then place the top cake layer on top and repeat – be generous with the icing on top and/or you might like to spread the icing down the sides too. Then, decorate your cake with the remaining berries and top with chopped pecans if you like.

Tip! – If you have kids, get them involved in the making of this cake. My daughter helped with every step and loved this cake. The first time I made this cake (for my husband’s birthday dinner) all the family kids ate a big piece and asked for more (despite it being packed with carrot!). I like to think that it’s because it’s sweet enough but also because they are all regularly involved in cooking and vegetable prep at home. I’ll add here too that Ella (who is almost 3) refuses many vegetables but we do find that when involved in cooking (and when vegetables are included/hidden) she’s more likely to eat and enjoy them. 

Tip for those who benefit from consuming minimal refined sugar (e.g. those with endometriosis, PCOS or GDM)- I suggest swapping the sugar (all) for maple syrup only. Use 1/2 a cup of maple syrup for the cake, and try 2-3 Tbsp. for the icing. You can add more fresh fruit, to serve, to boost sweetness if you need, or add fruit to the cake mixture (e.g. chopped fresh pineapple/tinned pineapple or blueberries).

I hope you enjoy this cake! 

Lara x