This carrot cake loaf is the perfect moist and delicious slice to have with coffee. It’s made healthier by using olive oil, whole wheat flour, and low-fat cream cheese for the frosting.
This cake is such a quick and delicious spin on a classic carrot cake. We’ve skipped the butter and vegetable oil and used healthy olive oil instead. And I’ve skipped the full-fat cream cheese and used light cream cheese for the frosting instead. Usually, I’d never go for low-fat options because so often they’re loaded with extra sugars, but when it comes to cream cheese it’s just made using skim milk. Total winner!
Moist Carrot Cake Loaf
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So, this carrot cake loaf is made pretty much the same way any carrot cake is made. Here’s how.
Carrot Cake Loaf Step by Step
- Mix all your dry ingredients together. If you don’t have self-raising flour, that’s totally fine you can make your own. Measure out your olive oil and eggs and shred the carrots.
- Combine all the wet ingredients together, add the grated carrot and fold them into the flour mix.
- Place batter into a lined 2lb loaf tin and bake.
You don’t need any fancy equipment for this recipe at all. A spatula and some bowls and a baking tin are all you need for this perfectly moist healthy carrot loaf cake. This is the perfect mid-morning sidekick for your coffee or tea.
How to make self-raising flour
If you’re not an avid baker it doesn’t really make a whole lot of sense to stock more than one type of flour in your pantry. So make your own self-raising flour.
- Measure 1 cup of all purpose of plain flour into a dry measuring cup.
- Whisk in 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder. That’s it.
And that’s all there is to it. You can literally have your “healthy” cake and eat it too!
Need more cake recipes to go with your coffee?
Tools used to make this Recipe Name
Lighter Healthier Carrot Cake Loaf
Ingredients
- zest and juice 1 orange
- 1/2 cup golden raisins or regular raisins
- 2/3 cup sunflower oil plus extra for greasing (apple sauce)
- 2 eggs
- 3/4 cup soft light brown sugar
- 2/3 cup wholemeal self-raising flour
- 2/3 cup self-raising flour
- 2 tsp each ground cinnamon and ground mixed spice
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 2 1/4 cups carrots coarsely grated
- 1/2 cup walnuts chopped, for the topping
For the icing
- 8 ounce tub light cream cheese
- 1/4 cup butter softened
- 2/3 cup icing sugar sifted
- 2 tablespoons malt powder Ovaltine or Horlicks
Instructions
- If you have time to do it the night before, put the orange zest and juice in a bowl with the sultanas. If you don’t have time, on the day simply stir the zest, juice and sultanas together and microwave on Medium for 1-2 mins.
- Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and grease and line the base and sides of a 2lb loaf tin. Whisk together the oil and eggs. Mix together the sugar, flours, mixed spice, cinnamon and bicarb in your largest mixing bowl. Add the sultanas with any juice and zest left in the bowl, grated carrot, and whisked egg mixture into the dry ingredients, then thoroughly mix with a wooden spoon. Tip into the loaf tin and bake on the middle shelf for 1 hr, or until a skewer comes out clean. Cool the cake in the tin.
- Once cool, remove from the tin and make the icing. With an electric whisk, beat together the soft cheese, butter, icing sugar and cinnamon until smooth. Spread over the top of the cake and decorate with walnut halves.
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