Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

I’ve never been a huge fan of carrot cake—that is, until I made my own. Most store-bought versions I’ve tried have been dry and tasteless, but not this one. This spiralized carrot cake is moist, full of spices, and just the right amount of sweet. By spiralizing your carrots, and then slightly blending them, you save a bunch of time, as you don’t have to labor over grating your carrots. The spiralized carrots also provide a fun, and healthy, topping for the cake. You can experiment with how to incorporate the spiralized carrots into the design of your carrot cake, but at least you know your dessert will not only be pretty but filled with healthy and clean ingredients.

Yields 1 cake (serves 8–10)

5 jumbo carrots (5 cups spiralized)

3 cups coconut sugar

1 cup coconut oil

1⁄2 cup vegetable oil

8 large cage-free eggs

2⁄3 cup Greek yogurt

4 tablespoons pure maple syrup

2 teaspoons vanilla

5 cups whole-wheat flour

11⁄2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon plus a couple dashes, divided

1 teaspoon ground cloves

1⁄2 tablespoon melted coconut oil

1 (16-ounce) tub cream cheese (can be full-fat or low-fat)

2 teaspoons vanilla

1⁄2 cup powdered sugar

1 tablespoon pure maple syrup

1⁄4 cup pecan halves

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two (9") cake pans. Cut carrots in half and slice off both ends. Spiralize using a small-noodle blade. Set aside.
  2. In a large bowl, combine coconut sugar, coconut oil, vegetable oil, eggs, Greek yogurt, maple syrup, and vanilla until smooth.
  3. In a separate medium bowl, combine whole-wheat flour, baking powder, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, and cloves. Gradually pour these dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, mixing in thoroughly.
  4. Place 4 cups of the spiralized carrots (leave the remaining 1 cup for the top of the cake) into a blender and lightly pulse so carrots become shredded (but not puréed). Mix carrots thoroughly into cake batter.
  5. Divide batter evenly into the 2 cake pans and place in the oven. Bake for 25–35 minutes or until top begins to get slightly golden. You can check if cake is ready by inserting a toothpick into the middle: The toothpick should come out clean. If there is batter on it, it needs to be cooked for longer.
  6. When cakes are ready, remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Turn oven temperature to 425°F. Put remaining carrot noodles on an aluminum-foil-lined baking sheet and lightly drizzle with melted coconut oil. Top with a dash of cinnamon if desired. Bake for 10 minutes or until carrots begin to soften.
  7. Prepare frosting by mixing together cream cheese, vanilla, powdered sugar, and maple syrup by hand or with a mixer. Once cakes have cooled, spread frosting on the top of one cake. Place the other cake on top of it. If your cakes are bumpy or uneven, you may need to cut the top off of each to even out the surface. Once the top cake is on the bottom cake, ice the rest of the cake, including the top and all sides.
  8. Top with roasted spiralized carrots and pecans. If you want to get fancy, you can place the noodles so they create a swirl on the top, and the pecans can be placed around the perimeter of the cake to create a border. Top with a dash of cinnamon if desired.