Happy April 1st! Were you expecting me to share some kind of awesome April Fools Day post today? Like Meatloaf Cupcakes with Mashed Potato Frosting, a Bowl of Worms or Mini Bacon and Eggs? Well I really wanted to, but I've been more than a little pre-occupied over the past few days...
You know how some boyfriends bring home flowers and chocolates for their girlfriends? Well my boyfriend is a little different and brought home a baby bird that fell out of a tree and needs hand-feeding every 30 minutes. So whilst he skips off to work in the morning care-free, I've got to balance a baby bird in my arm all day whilst trying to get as much office work done as possible, in between feeds. I wish I was joking but I'm not! Rearing baby birds is not good for productivity!
So if you think you can see some peck marks in the photos for this easy healthy carrot cake recipe, you're right. Turns out this baby bird will pretty much have a go at eating anything if I'm 1 minute late for its feed. I think this is the closest I've ever been to knowing what it would be like to be a mother!
After I posted this Healthy Carrot Cake Mug Cake for One recipe a couple of weeks ago, I haven't been able to stop thinking about carrot cake! I'm not sure whether it's because we've just had Easter or whether it's because it's meant to be spring outside and all we've got are cold temperatures, cloudy skies and rain clouds, but a great big slice of this healthy carrot cake warmed up in the microwave for 30 seconds always makes me feel better.
It's somehow got a dense yet fluffy texture which I simply cannot get enough of and the sultanas soak up loads of the liquid during the cooking process, making them plump and juicy - heaven! Plus, since there is no actual sugar in the recipe (there is a bit of sweetener) it's not so sweet that you feel like you're eating spoonfuls of sugar. That totally means you can eat it for breakfast in my book!
How did I keep the calorie count so low? Well this healthy carrot cake recipe is with applesauce which takes the place of most of the fat and sugar. In fact, there are just 2 tablespoons of oil in the whole cake (it makes 12 servings) and absolutely no added sugar. My sweetener of choice is Stevia powder, but I've heard Truvia works just as well, so take your pick. If you substitute the yogurt in this recipe for a non-dairy alternative, you can even turn this into a healthy vegan carrot cake!
low in cholesterol - low in saturated fat - very high in vitamin A
📖 Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup whole wheat flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 ½ teaspoons stevia powder
- ½ cup raisins
- ½ cup unsweetened applesauce
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- 200 g /7oz grated carrot
- ½ cup fat-free sugar-free yogurt
- ¼ cup skimmed milk
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 180C/356F and grab a 9" non-stick loaf pan.
- In a medium-size bowl, stir together all the dry ingredients - both flours, baking soda, salt, ground cinnamon, stevia powder and raisins.
- Stir in all the wet ingredients - applesauce, olive oil, vinegar, carrot, yogurt and milk - until totally combined.
- Scoop the cake batter into the loaf pan and bake in the pre-heated oven for around 60 minutes, until the top of the cake is springy to the touch and a toothpick, when inserted into the centre, comes out clean.
- Leave the cake to cool to room temperature in the loaf pan before slicing into 12.
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