The Fantabulous Whole Wheat Carrot Cake

A Messy Cook's Note:

This cake is pretty amazing. It's made without refined flour or sugar, but the taste and texture are sublime: it's not heavy at all. Besides that, there are plenty of carrots, nuts, and pineapple mixed in. Carrot cake is one of my favorites, and it's even better when I can actually feel good about eating it! :-) Frost with a cream cheese frosting (spreading apricot preserves between the two layers is good too). Prep time does not include grating carrots.

• Total Time: 1 hrs
• Prep Time: 25 mins
• Cook Time: 35 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 16

• 2 cups white whole wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 3/4 cup oil
• 3/4 cup honey
• 4 eggs
• 2 cups grated carrots
• 1 cup unsweetened crushed canned pineapple, drained
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:

1. Combine dry ingredients.
2. Add oil, honey, and eggs; mix well.
3. Stir in remaining 3 ingredients.
4. Bake in two greased 9-inch cake layer pans for 35-40 minutes at 350 degrees.
5. Cool in pans several minutes, then remove from pans and cool completely on wire rack.
6. You can also bake this in a 9x13 pan as a sheet cake -- just as good, and easier than frosting a layer cake!

Reviews

[chinasmom2000]

Very good and so much healthier than your average carrot cake! I replaced 1/2 the oil with applesauce and it still came out moist. The only thing I would do different in the future is add more spices. Thanks, Messy Cook; this will be my go-to carrot cake from now on!

[colofoodie]

Very good recipe. I used nutmeg and ground ginger in addition to the cinnamon, and finely ground raw apple in place of pineapple, with excellent results. To make it into a birthday cake, I spread apple butter between the layers and poured an orange maple glaze on top -- really delicious and not too heavy after a big dinner. (For the glaze: melt 2 T. butter, heat with 1/4 c. pure maple syrup and the zest of an orange, then whisk in 1 c. powdered sugar. Pour immediately over the cooled cake.)

[GracieZG]

I went to a lovely moonlight wedding a couple of weeks ago, and this carrot cake was the wedding cake. The bride, who is somewhat of a gourmet chef herself, actually baked it. I have uploaded my photo of the cake so everyone can see how incredibly beautiful this cake can be. Everyone at the wedding raved about it, and this was a health-conscious crowd. If you go to the images, it is a flat cake with two heart-shaped cakes on top. You will also see some chocolate hearts wrapped in gold and gold flowers. The photo itself looks very golden because it was taken at night under the outdoor lights (and the moon was full!). Kathy, the bride, also had gold roses in her bouquet, one for each of the single ladies at the wedding. Oh, and she used spelt flour instead of whole wheat. Highly recommended.