Favorite Carrot Cake
Total Time
1 hour 20 minutes
Prep Time
30 minutes
Cook Time
50 minutes
Rating
4.6 out of 5 stars
(115)
Ingredients
16 slices
- 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour or all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ cups white whole wheat flour or regular whole wheat flour
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 ½ pounds peeled and grated carrots (about 4 cups)
- 1 cup raw pecan or walnut halves
- ¾ cup mild extra-virgin olive oil or melted coconut oil
- 1 ¼ cups maple syrup or honey
- 1 cup milk of choice
- 4 eggs, preferably at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Double batch classic cream cheese frosting or naturally sweetened cream cheese frosting
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Preparation
Chef’s notes
Recipe adapted from the easy carrot cake in my cookbook, Love Real Food (page 208).
Carrot tips:
Skinny-to-medium carrots (not large) offer the best carrot flavor. The easiest way to grate your carrots is in a food processor with the grating attachment. You can also grate them by hand, on the medium holes of a box grater. Don’t use store-bought matchstick carrots; they're way too thick and will make your cake crunchy.
Olive oil note:
I recommend California Olive Ranch Everyday for this recipe. It's an affordable, high-quality olive oil that you can find at most grocery stores, and the flavor is so mild that you will not detect it in the finished product.
Flour substitutions:
If desired, you can make this cake with a total of 3 ½ cups all-purpose flour or gluten-free all-purpose flour.
Make it gluten-free:
Substitute your favorite all-purpose gluten-free flour blend.
Make it nut-free:
Simply omit the pecans.
Make it dairy-free:
Use a non-dairy milk (I've confirmed that almond milk and oat milk work in this recipe). Use a dairy-free cream cheese frosting (I haven't come up with one yet).
Make it naturally sweetened:
The cake itself is naturally sweetened with maple syrup or honey. Top the cake with my date-sweetened cream cheese frosting for a cake free of refined sugar.
Egg note:
I'm sorry to report that this is not a candidate for egg-free baking. I've tried this recipe with flax eggs in place of the real eggs, and they did not provide enough lift to counteract the weight of the carrots.
Pan size notes:
You could make these cakes in 9″ square baking pans, no adjustments needed. You can also cut the recipe in half to make one 9″ round or square cake. For other pan sizes, keep the baking temperature constant and bake until the center of the cake is springy to the touch and a toothpick comes out clean (timing will depend on the pans used).
Make cupcakes:
Divide the batter between 2 dozen muffin cups and bake at 350 for 18 to 24 minutes, or until the cupcakes are golden on top and a toothpick inserted into a cupcake comes out clean.
Recommended equipment:
(Affiliate links) I love my 11-cup food processor and these round cake pans, which have a non-toxic silicone coating.