Spring is coming up and that means it's time for some carrot cake! I've been testing out many recipes to share with you over the last few weeks and narrowed it down to two absolutely delicious carrot cakes. I've been having the darn hardest time deciding which to share first, but in the end I settled on this healthy gluten-free, vegan, and refined sugar-free carrot cake going first since it's a little less "unconventional" {starting you off easy, here! ;) }
I'm not really sure how to qualify a "healthified" dessert to be honest, since everyone's idea of "healthy" is so different. I do know, however, that I made this absolutely delicious carrot cake without the use of any gluten, dairy, eggs, oils {except some coconut oil in the frosting}, refined sugars, or other processed ingredients -- that's my idea of a carrot cake that is on the lighter and healthier side {and that is very allergen-friendly!}.
As with most my desserts, I wanted this to be a no-fuss experience. I intentionally decided to make it in a rectangular pan to make it feel more "homely." There are obviously some very stunning layer carrot cakes out there, but this time I just wanted a simple cake that I can just slice and tuck into. This cake was amazing as a snack on the go and as breakfast {yes, I totally eat cake for breakfast, and this one was a perfect breakfast cake!}. It's got the perfect balance of a light base and a soft creamy frosting.
I also filled it with my favorite carrot cake add-ins and, but have since learned some people feel VERY passionate about what goes into their carrot cake {I never realized raisins could be so unwelcome! A few of my friends were categorically opposed to me including the raisins. I on the other hand always thought they were an essential part and I absolutely love raisins in a carrot cake!}. Anyways, on this point, feel free to use whatever carrot cake add-ins make YOU happy and whatever is traditional in your family -- I won't judge ;)
Lastly, just wanted to share that by some strange coincidence, my friend Natalie @ Feasting on Fruit shared a delicious "healthified" gluten-free vegan carrot cake on her blog earlier today as well and I think her recipe is brilliant. Have a look if you want more carrot cake options {because making two carrot cakes is always better than one ;) }
P.S. Have you seen this raw carrot cake yet?
Print"Healthified" Carrot Cake
A gluten-free, vegan, refined-sugar free carrot cake.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 23 minutes
- Total Time: 38 minutes
- Yield: approx. 12 servings
- Category: Cake
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: Dessert
Ingredients
Cake:
- 1 cup + 6 tbsp of my gf flour mix {½ cup brown rice flour, ½ cup tapioca starch, 6 tablespoon sweet sticky rice flour/glutinous rice flour, ½ teaspoon guar gum}{or, if using a store-bought mix I recommend using 1¼ cups of Pamela's Artisan Flour Blend}.
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- dash of salt
- 1½ tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp nutmeg
- 1 cup maple syrup
- ½ cup unsweetened applesauce {for a homemade version, see here}
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1½ cups finely grated carrots
- 1 cup of add-ins of your choice: I used ½ cup raisins, ½ cup walnuts {other traditional add-ins you can try: other nuts or dried fruit, shredded coconut}
Frosting:
- 1½cups cashews, presoaked for at least a few hours {or for 15 mins in boiled water, if in a rush}
- ⅓ cup water or non-dairy milk, warm or at room temperature {milk would give it a slightly whiter look}
- ¼ cup maple syrup, at room temperature
- 3 - 4 tablespoon coconut oil, softened
- 2 tbsp lemon juice, at room temperature
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
Optional Carrot Hearts Topping:
- a few extra carrots and a tiny heart cookie cutter {I used the one that came with my linzer cookie cutters set}
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Generously butter an 8" x 12" cake pan {or anything of a similar size} and set aside.
- Sift flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a large mixing bowl. Add in sweetener, applesauce, and lemon juice and use a mixer to mix everything together. Add in the grated carrots mix through once more to incorporate. Fold in the add-in items. Transfer this batter into the prepared cake pan. Level the top using a spatula to even out the surface.
- Bake in a preheated oven for approximately 23 minutes until the top becomes golden and a skewer inserted down the center comes out dry. Remove from oven and set on a wire rack to cool completely.
- Prepare the frosting by placing all ingredients in a good blender and process until completely smooth {I used my Vitamix for this}. Adjust the sweetness to taste. Feel free to add a hint more water/milk to help blending as needed. Note that if your ingredients are not at room temp here, the coconut oil will begin to set before the frosting is blended through.
- Once the cake has completely cooled, spread the frosting over the top evenly. Place the cake in the fridge for at least an hour or two to help the frosting set a little {unless you don't mind a very soft frosting, of course ;) }.
- If using the carrot heart topping, simply slice the carrots into thin rounds {1/16" of an inch or so}, and then use a little heart cutter to cut out a heart out of each slice. Sprinkle the hearts over the top of the cake, cut the cake into slices and serve! {Note: the carrots will brown up after a few hours, so best to make them & decorate with them right before serving}. Enjoy!
Notes
Recipe easily doubles for a larger cake
Elena says
Can you substitute the gluten-free flour blend with gluten-free oat flour instead?
Audrey says
Hi Elena, you could, but you won't get as fluffy and bouncy a cake as you would with the flour mix I recommend for the recipe. You can use oat flour instead of the main rice flour in the mix though (combined with tapioca and glutinous rice flour, etc. for best results).
Narcisse says
Hi. Can I susbtitute the gf flour mix to almand flour? If yes, how much almand flour should I use? I don't have rice flour. I only have cononut flour, almand flour, quinoa flour and tapioca flour at home.
Audrey says
Hi Narcisse, the recipe is designed to work with the grain-based flour mix I posted in the recipe. Almond flour on its own is probably not going to be a good substitute, unfortunately. Based on the ingredients you described, it sounds like you'd need to head to the shops the get the right stuff for this recipe. You can maybe use some quinoa flour in place of the brown rice flour in the mix, but you'd still need the glutinous rice flour to get the right texture and bounciness to the cake. Or, if you wish, you can just use more quinoa flour instead of both rice flours in the mix, however I'm fairly certain the result will be not as good as the original since the sweet rice flour plays a big role here. If you give an alternative flour version a try here though, would be great if you come back to share on how it worked out so others will know what works and what doesn't in future.
Katelyn A Mall says
I used almond flour. Wish i had seen this. They did not stay together when baked. Tasty tho
Audrey says
Aw shucks! Yeah, almond flour on its own is usually not a good straight up sub for grain based flour mixes because it's not very moisture absorbent and is also not as finely ground usually. Grain-based flours tend to plump up and bind better when they absorb moisture from other ingredients in the mix.
I'm glad you still arrived at something tasty so it's not a total waste though! Can't go wrong with an almondy carrot cake taste :). And thanks for sharing your experience, I'm sure it'll help others looking to make the same swap down the road.
Kimberly says
This is a very good recipe. We did a few tweaks and enjoyed it even more! We doubled the baking powder and decreased the maple syrup by 1/3 cup. It made the cake fluffier and less dense/moist. With a full cup of syrup it tasted/appeared almost unbaked in the middle. The flavor is 100% spot on. Delish!
Audrey says
Hi Kimberly, thanks for sharing what worked for you. So glad you enjoyed the cake :)
Farrah says
Farrah again with one other question: If I wanted to avoid the maple syrup, how would you recommend I approach adding monk fruit extract as an alternative? Sugar is a big no no for me!
Thanks again and can't wait to try this!
Audrey says
Hi Farrah. I haven't had much experience working with monk fruit, only eating it :D
But from looking into it in the past, it seems that it's not possible to use it as the only sweetener within a dessert -- it's usually used at a ratio of 50%-50% with another sweetener like maple syrup anyhow, or with an artificial sweetener like xylitol. If you're using the kind that's already pre-mixed with xylitol, etc., then the sweetness level is taken care of for the recipe. The liquid ratios though will be off, so you'll need to add in some more liquid, like almond milk to compensate for the loss of liquid due to the removal of maple syrup. As to how much liquid would need to be added, I couldn't say exactly as I haven't tried this out. If you a modified version a go, would love to hear what you did and how it turned out.
Farrah says
I'm going to give it a shot with almond milk and I'll report back! I had to order the Pamela's mix, so as soon as it arrives I'll have a baking day! I'll let you know!
Thanks again and so grateful for your response?
Farrah says
Absolutely adored this and so did everyone who tried it! I substituted the syrup in the cake for 1 cup of sugar free cashew milk and 1 tablespoon of pure monk fruit extract (not the junk that is mostly sugar alcohol). I microwaved the cashew milk for 30 seconds and stirred to make sure the monk fruit extract dissipated. It tasted perfect. I think monk fruit really compliments the flavor of carrot cake.
While I am vegan, I live near a Co op with extremely pampered chickens and from time to time will pick a few up to cook with. I substituted the apple sauce for 2 eggs + 1 egg white. I think the egg white was a mistake, but it gave the cake an extra amount of sponginess that wasn’t altogether bad.
As for the icing, I found that following the recipe made an extreme amount of icing! Far too much to use! Next time I will make 1/6 the amount the recipe calls for. I did not use syrup in the icing either, and repeated the same technique with cashew milk and monk fruit as above. I started with just a smidge of monk fruit and slowly added more until it was flavored to taste. Next time I will use yacon syrup in the icing for sure!
Everyone loves this cake! I’m going to keep tweaking it until Its exactly what works for me <3
Can't thank you enough!
Audrey says
I'm glad you were able to make it work for you :) Thanks for sharing!
Farrah says
Thanks SO much for this! I am a long term vegan who is both a health food and carrot cake fanatic, which has resulted in not being able to eat carrot cake in years besides the occasional nibble! I'm going to try it this weekend! One question! Does Pamela's entirely take the place of your own flour mixture that you recommend above? I might start there for simplicity's sake if that's the case, but I was a little confused by the language!
Thanks and much love from Atlanta
-Farrah
Audrey says
Hi Farrah. I'm glad the cake works for you :) Hope you can enjoy some this weekend! With the Pamela's mix, yes, so you do just 1 1/4 cup of the Pamela's mix instead of the 1 cup and 6 tbsp of my own mix recommendation.
Dana Lehmer says
Delicious Best Yet! Thanks for sharing I really appreciate your amazing gift! Yummy for someone who has a restricted diet. So good to really eat wonderful deserts again!! :)
Audrey says
Thanks so much for the lovely feedback, Dana! I'm so glad you enjoyed the cake :)
Amber says
Love it! You saved Easter for me.
Audrey says
So glad to hear -- thanks for sharing, Amber! :) I'm glad your holiday dessert worked out well.
Parizad says
Super excited to try this!! I too, may go with just half maple syrup And half Swerve maybe, Audrey? What do u think about equal portions of the two?
Hope it turns out well:)
Thanx for an amazing website!
Audrey says
Hi Parizad. I haven't tried it with swerve (as it's a product I'm sensitive to), but I think it should work great. Would love to hear how you go. Enjoy it! :)
Dawn says
Audrey, would substituting tapioca flour with arrowroot flour make or break the recipe? Also, if I use carrot juicing pulp from a masticating juicer, any thoughts on how much carrot pulp I shall try to use? Thank you!
Audrey says
Hi Dawn, arrowroot for tapioca will work just fine.
I'm not sure about the carrot juice pulp though. The carrots in this recipe give the cake the carrot flavor, as well as sweetness and moisture. Juicing pulp just provides bulking fiber / color, but it'll be missing those other elements. So, the result I imagine would need tweaking to add in a bit more sweetness, and also some more flavor somehow as the actual taste of the carrots will be reduced. I imagine it'll also be a little bit flatter because the shredded carrots give the cake a bit more structure, whereas pulp is finer. If you're fine with these elements, then I would probably still go with about 1 1/2 cups loose pulp for starters.
Liv says
Hello! Just wondering whether using oat flour would work? :)
Audrey says
Hey Liv -- I haven't tried oat flour in this recipe. My guess would be that it would make a much denser cake in this case, because the sweet sticky rice flour gives it a nice "springiness". If you try it out with oat flour though, I'd love to hear how it works out.
Nicky says
Thank you for a wonderful recipe. I made these for a first birthday party and baked them as mini cupcakes. They turned out perfectly! I used normal flour and the recipe made about 40 little cupcakes. I didn't try the icing - I just used normal buttercream, but will definitely be using this recipe again and trying the icing next time! x
Amor says
I made this last night and oh my gosh it is actually the most delicious thing ever. I just ate 4 big pieces for breakfast haha. The only changes I made was used normal whole wheat flour, and did a full cup of walnut pieces (no raisins). And I didn't do finely grated carrots, I did coarser. And wow! Just wow! Thank you for this recipe. I'll be making this for life!!
Audrey says
Thanks so much for the feedback, Amor. So happy you like it! And I'm glad to hear it worked well with whole wheat -- people often ask about non gf substitutes, so good to know this is an option.
Anna says
What would be a good substitute for applesauce? Could I use tofu or coconut oil instead? Is it to add moisture or for another reason in the recipe? thanks :)
Audrey says
Hi Anna,
The applesauce adds moisture and fluffiness, and helps as a binder. You could try these substitutes:
banana puree
oil or dairy-free butter
dairy-free yogurt
I've tried a similar cake with oil and it worked well, but haven't tried the banana puree or yogurt personally, so they're just general suggestions -- if you give either of those options a try let me know how they turn out. I'm sure others would love to know too :)
Anna says
Thanks Audrey, I substituted 1/2c applesauce for 1/2c coconut oil and 1c of maple syrup for 2/3c rice malt syrup, and used 2c of carrot. Very yummy and moist, hubby approved! thanks Anna :)
Audrey says
Awesome -- thanks so much for sharing what worked, and so happy you liked it :)
Vanessa says
Why this recipe doesn't have oil, Is that a good thing?
Audrey says
Hi Vanessa,
It may or may not be a good thing, depending on your dietary preferences :)
There are many reasons people might want to avoid oils for various reasons, so having recipe options without oil is good to have. Personally I find oils inflammatory, so I keep them to a minimum.
Emily Miller says
I'm experimenting a lot with sugar free baking currently, would this still work if i used banana as the sweetener instead of the syrup? Maybe adding in a spoonful of syrup to get the texture right? Can't wait to try this recipe!
Audrey says
Hi Emily,
I think it's hard to say without having tried it (and I haven't tried it with just banana). Just with gluten-free baking sometimes a small change can create a mushy center, etc. so I couldn't guarantee results hypothetically with certainty, but so long as you're ok with the proposed sweetness level in your question I'd wager it should work well. I'd give it a go :)
Billy Bulmahn says
I love this idea of a healthy version of carrot cake. Would you recommend using this recipe for a layer cake? Will this cake and frosting withstand two 9" layers, and would I double the recipe if doing so?
Audrey says
Hi Billy,
Yes, the cake would definitely work well for a layer cake (and I would double the recipe for two 9" layers). The frosting though is quite gentle, so not ideal for layering. However, the frosting from this other raw carrot cake I have on the blog would work great if it works for you: https://www.unconventionalbaker.com/raw-carrot-cake-vegan-paleo-gluten-free-refined-sugar-free-scd-aip/
Kristi says
This carrot cake was very delicious! Even though some "healthy" recipes do not carry much fun taste to your taste buds, this is a complete delight! Thanks for sharing!
Audrey says
Thank you so much for the lovely feedback, Kristi! I'm so glad you enjoyed it :)
El says
I made this to take to work and it was delicious!!! Thanks so much. I am not GF and for simplicity just substituted the GF flour mix for regular flour and it worked just as well! thanks! It won't let me give it 5 stars but it deserves it.
Audrey says
Thank you so much, El! I'm so happy you liked it. And I'm really glad it worked with regular flour -- it's always helpful to hear because I get asked that a lot. Oh, and thanks for letting me know about the stars -- I'll have to look into this since you're the second person mentioning it now...
Zoey says
I tried with just almond flour and no other blend. After 23 minutes, it's still super liquidy. Should I modify in the future? Hoping this still turns out OK! Haha
Audrey says
Eeek! :S I hope it turned out as something edible in the end :)
Almond flour on its own is not a good substitution for the flour blend in a recipe like this because ground almonds are not very absorbent. They lend "body" and "texture" and flavor to a recipe, but in something like this cake you need something else as well to balance out the liquids ratio. Rice flour is absorbent, tapioca is very absorbent, etc. So basically the liquids in the original recipe were created to work with a flour combination there. If I were to make a cake straight from almond flour, I'd modify it a fair bit.
In future, you can give it a try with almond flour + a bit of coconut flour (not much though, as it's incredibly moisture absorbent) or with a starch like potato or tapioca, etc.
I hope that makes sense and I hope it doesn't discourage you from experimenting :) I'd love to hear what you ended up with though if you don't mind sharing.
Zoey says
Yeah totally. It kind of ended up more like a brownie. Definitely chewy. And I had to cook for about 45-50 minutes. I think that maybe adding some ground flax seed or something to balance out the moisture would work. My friend who is gluten free also recommended mixing in some all-purpose gluten free flour.
I don't have much experience experimenting with flours - so I am kind of unclear on how much rice flour to use vs almond flour but I am down to keep experimenting.
The cashew frosting was a star and I'm excited to use that in other recipes. My friends really enjoyed the dessert overall - just didn't really have that "cake" consistency because of my flour choice.
Audrey says
Hey Zoey. It takes some practice to figure out flours -- I can relate. A few recipes more and it'll become much easier. The general basic rule in a standard gf flour mix is to have a balance ratio between grain and starch (like rice flour and tapioca), as well as a binder / thickener (like guar gum). This is so that it mimics how regular flour acts in a baked recipe. Once you're comfortable, you can definitely step outside of this zone and branch out into all kinds of crazy substitutions. For this recipe, you could just straight up use a gf flour mix instead of the one I recommended if it's easier. You can work in a bit of almond flour in there for extra taste / texture preference.
I'm really glad you enjoyed it nonetheless in the form it came out in. Carrot cake "brownies" don't sound bad, especially when there's frosting involved :)
Fattima says
The best carrot cake i have ever taste so far
But a little sweet to my liking,maybe should reduce the maple syrup.
Thanx a lot for this wonderful recipe!!!
Audrey says
You're welcome Fattima! :) Glad you enjoyed it even with it being on the sweet side.
Megan Graney says
Looks like a great recipe, but I did find your title misleading. maple syrup is definitely a refined sugar. I think I may play around with your basic idea here and see what I can do without using maple syrup. I might try apple sauce. Thanks for the great ideas!
Audrey says
Hi Megan. Maple syrup is not considered a refined sugar by definition. It is considered a wholefood. Refined sugar comes from processing sugar cane and sugar beets to extract the sugar, while eliminating other nutrients in the process. I don't use refined cane sugar or sugar beet sugar on this blog as I am sensitive to them. But the blog recipes are not sugar-free, just refined sugar-free. If you're looking for sugar-free recipes, or fructose-sweetened ones, that's a different thing (there are a few on the blog that are fruit-sweetened by the way), but the title is not misleading as such.
vinita contractor says
Hi I tried this recipe a few times but the toothpick doesn't come out clean even after baking it for an hour. It is very flavorful but the cake is sticky on the inside.
Audrey says
Hi Vinitha, hmmm... that's strange! Did you change anything at all in the ingredients by any chance? What temperature did you bake at?
vinita contractor says
I used pureed dates instead of maple syrup as maple syrup & agave are not easily available where I am based and I don't use honey. I baked at 350.
Audrey says
I'm guessing that's the culprit then, because pureed dates add a new texture, density, and stickiness to the batter that would act quite different to maple syrup or agave. If it tastes good, that's good, but I think for the texture to be right the sweetener needs to be different. What about date syrup -- is that available where you are? Or coconut nectar? Rice syrup? These sweeteners should all work too as a measure-for-measure substitute without altering things too much.
Dee says
My most recent vegan carrot cake experience was in Mallorca, Spain where, to my surprise, not only were there NO nuts, raisins, etc., the cake was frosted with chocolate ganache! Omg, heaven!! Now my life's mission is clear: share this amazing experience. And, my dear Audrey, your carrot cake recipe was my first attempt at making this sensation at home. We were over the moon with delight!
I adapted Chef Chad Sarno's chocolate ganache recipe: 1/2 cup raw almond butter 1/2 cup Date Paste 1/4 cup agave nectar (or substitute maple syrup) 1 1/2 tbsp tamari 1 cup raw cacao powder 1 vanilla bean, scraped. My substitutions were sunbutter instead of almond, and 1/2 C carob powder instead of cacao. Put it all in a Vitamix and blend away. We found the thinnest layer of ganache is all that's needed. A thick layer tends to overpower the cake.
Audrey says
That sounds really amazing, Dee! Thank you so much for sharing about the Mallorca experience (so interesting -- I can "taste" the white chocolate ganache being amazing from your description :) ), and also for sharing what you've done -- I'm sure others will be happy for the variation! Glad you enjoyed the cake.
Riley says
Diabetic here, in place of maple syrup, agave or honey, could I use swerve sugar substitute?
Audrey says
Hi Riley,
I haven't tried this with swerve, but I think it should work just fine. I'm not sure how sweet swerve sugar is as compared to maple. I know maple is sweeter than regular sugar, so you usually have to use a bit less of it. Assuming swerve is as sweet as sugar, I'd probably go with 1 1/3 cups of it here, and then you'll also need to add a bit more applesauce by about a 1/4 cup -- this is for the cake. Again, I've not tried it on this recipe -- just going here based on general baking experience, but I'd love to hear how you go with it and how it turns out with the swerve.
For the frosting, just use swerve in place of maple and increase the non-dairy milk as needed to get to a good frosting consistency.
Mari Brenner says
Any tips on keeping this recipe from turning out kind of gummy? I tried the flour blend that you recommended as well as another blend that I use and both times the cake didn't bake all the way through(even after being in the oven for an hour) :(
The flavor is good, but i just can't seem to get it to turn out like cake
Audrey says
That's really odd, Mari! But thank you for sharing and asking. I've never had that issue with this cake, but I know the gumminess means the flour / liquid ratios in the recipe are off or there's too much guar gum / xantham gum. Have you changed anything else in the recipe by any chance? Also do you know if your oven temperature is accurate? Sometimes that can make a big difference. Do you have this issue with other recipes as well or just this one?
Kathy says
Yes to raisens. It's not going to tast right without the sweet, chewey mix of carrots, raisens and walnuts in the sweet, moist cake.
Audrey says
Absolutely agreed :)
Leanna Jones says
Great recipe! They came out so sweet and fluffy that people would never know they weren't full of sugar and eggs. Thank you!
Audrey says
Thank you so much for sharing, Leanna! Glad you enjoyed the recipe :)
Kyra says
hi Audrey,
I don't mind gluten; what would you recommend for flour to substitute your mixture? I have brown rice flour, almond flour, spelt wholewheat flour and some tapioca but was wondering if I can make a mixture of other flours or use something other than the GF mixture to create the same moist cake as the one in your recipe.
thanks again!
Kyra
Audrey says
Hi Kyra,
Of the choices you mentioned, I guess I'd go with a mix of rice, tapioca and almond flour (to replace the sweet sticky rice flour). But if you can manage it, I'd recommend trying to grab some -- it's really inexpensive and adds a lot of springiness and lightness to a cake. Otherwise I've been told people made this recipe with regular wheat, so I suspect just spelt might work though it will affect the flavor some. Good luck with it -- I'd love to hear what you end up using!
Sharon Witham says
Can this recipe be used for cupcakes and if yes, how long should I bake them?
Audrey says
Hi Sharon,
Yes, it will work for cupcakes. I would check them at the 17 minute mark and see if a skewer inserted in the center comes out dry.
Enjoy them :)
Flirty Foodie says
I love it! Love the recipe. The easy of it all (brava as usual!). I was looking for an easy gluten free recipe for two friends, and this one won! And I agree with you, carrot cake always has walnuts and raisins, always.
Audrey says
Thank you so much! ♥ :) And glad we agree on the add-ins!
Kimberly says
Any alternatives to the cashew and coconut. These are no-nos for me but I love carrot cake? Thanks!
Audrey says
Hi Kimberley -- can you eat other nuts or seeds? Macadamia nuts or sunflower seeds would work in place of the cashews in this.
As for the coconut oil, I can think of two ways to make it work:
- if you're ok with non-dairy butter, than use that.
- or you can just omit the coconut oil altogether. Add in 1 tbsp of a an oil of your choice {like olive oil, etc.}, which will just help a little as an emulsifier, and reduce the water/milk to a 1/4 cup instead. The coconut oil helps this frosting to solidify when chilled, but if you don't mind a fluffier frosting then this alternative will work great!
If these substitutions don't work, let me know and I'll be happy to think of something else so you can enjoy some carrot cake :)
Paola Fuentes says
Carrot cake. Yum, yum, yum!
Audrey says
Agreed, Paola :)
Kristen says
I love raisins in my carrot cake, too, along with toasted pecans or walnuts, and either pineapple or chocolate chips. I guess I am not picky as long as it is smothered in cream cheese frosting!
Audrey says
Glad to hear the raisin support being expressed here -- I was beginning to second guess my taste there a bit :) Glad to know I'm not in the minority with my raisin in carrot cake love.
Amanda Paa says
obsessed with those carrot hearts! this sounds like such a great recipe, and i love that you give the option of whatever add-ins you'd like. i personally am a golden raisin and walnut fan. xo
Audrey says
Thanks Amanda! I love those carrot hearts too -- a fun and sneakily healthy way to decorate ;) And golden raisins + walnuts are definitely great together! I'm more of a Thompson raisin person though :)
gretchen | kumquat says
this looks divine... i love carrot cake. i've never used cashews for frostings, etc. but this looks like the place to start. and those carrot hearts are adorable!
Audrey says
Thanks Gretchen! Those carrot hearts were making me pretty happy too :)
Alyssa @ Simply Quinoa says
Love how you've lightened up this carrot cake. And those little carrot hearts? ADORABLE!
Audrey says
Thanks Alyssa. I love those little carrot hearts too :)
Genie says
Carrot cake is such a moist cake we enjoy ours naked, but I might try your icing recipe. Love the carrot hearts!
Audrey says
Thanks Genie. I love the icing in this recipe -- it's really light and fluffy. You can cut it in half too if you like your cake less iced, or have it on the side to spread on individual cake slices too -- it works either way.
Natalie says
I loved those little carrot hearts when I saw them on IG, but I never would've guessed they were carrot cutouts!! Great idea <3 I love the chunky mix-in-filled style of this cake! So yummy :D
Audrey says
I love those little carrot hearts to bits. If it wasn't so finicky, I'd cut all my fruit and veggies into shapes ;)
Raia says
I think I'm adding this to my menu for dinner. 'Cause it has lots of carrots. :D
Audrey says
Absolutely, Raia! ;) This cake doubles as a breakfast and a dinner perfectly well :)
Christina @ The Beautiful Balance says
Raisins and walnuts are an absolute MUST in carrot cake for me! This cake is incredible and I love the cashew frosting, it looks so light and creamy!
Audrey says
Me too, Christina. I'm so surprised a few people were so incredibly opposed to the idea of raisins -- I just really didn't even expect it! Maybe it's because I love raisins, but they just seem a perfect fit for a spiced cake like this...
Michelle says
I didn't have raisins so I just chopped a bunch of prunes (3/4 cups) and used 1/4 cups of candied pecans because it's the only nuts I have. Turned out delicious! I don't have cashews so t
I have not frosted. What can I use instead of cashews? Thanks for the recipe!