I turn 23 today! To celebrate, we’re having this whole wheat, refined sugar-free, and vegan carrot cake. Sounds pretty granola, I know, but we all love granola.
A normal birthday cake just wouldn’t work for this blog, and no one wants a migraine from eating sugary cake on their birthday (I almost wrote a sugary cake, and then realized that implied that I’d eat the entire cake).
This cake is made with half sifted whole spelt flour and half kamut flour, which is my new favourite thing. I got some to make bread with and ended up making kamut pancakes every day for a week.
Kamut has a buttery quality that adds depth and richness to cake, which is great, because this healthy carrot cake is very low in added fat. The icing is coconut whipped cream with maple cinnamon roasted pecans. Keep in mind that they coconut milk must be refrigerated overnight.
The pecans make it a million times better, so please include them. If you have a nut allergy, you could maybe do something similar with pepitas and just sprinkle them on the top.
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Carrot Birthday Cake with Coconut Cream and Maple Roasted Pecans
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 ½ cup whole spelt flour
- 1 ½ cup kamut flour
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons ground flax
- 1 cup maple syrup
- ⅓ cup grape seed oil
- ¼ cup almond milk
- ¼ cup applesauce
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 2 large carrots shredded (about 2 cups)
Maple Roasted Pecans
- 1 ½ cup pecan halves
- 3 tablespoons maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
Topping
- 1 batch Coconut whipped cream
Instructions
Cake
- Heat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and grease two 8-inch round baking pans.
- Sift the spelt flour, kamut flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and ground flax into a large bowl.
- In a smaller bowl, combine the maple syrup, grape seed oil, almond milk, applesauce, vanilla, and apple cider vinegar.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until just combined. Fold in the shredded carrots. Pour into the prepared pans and bake for 25-30 minutes at 180°C (350°F). I baked mine for 25 minutes and they were perfect, so keep a close eye when you get around that time. Cool completely before icing.
Maple Roasted Pecans
- Dry roast the pecans in a pan over medium heat until fragrant, about five minutes. Remove from heat and immediately add the maple syrup and cinnamon. Cool completely.
Assembly
- To assemble, halve each cake so that you have four layers. Layer with coconut whipped cream, making sure that you leave enough for the top of the cake. Press the pecans into the top in whatever pattern you'd like, and into the sides if you want to. Serve cold. Store covered in the refrigerator. It will keep well for several days.
Tiana says
Absolutely delicious!!!! I have been trying to find a « health »version of a carrot cake that my 4 kids will not question it lacking in anything. It was an instant hit. I also adapted them into a cupcake because my youngest son was desperate for cupcakes and it worked beautifully at around the same baking time of 25 mins obviously with a toothpick test. I also adapted the amount of coconut whip cream needed to one can that worked for our families needs for icing just the tops and not multiple layers as well as the pecan amount. Thank you for share yet another amazing recipe!
Alexandra Daum says
I’m so happy to hear that, thanks Tiana! I haven’t made this recipe in so long, time to try it again.
Nicole says
That looks pretty dang good