A Butter Free, Nutty & Healthy Version of a Moist Carrot Cake Recipe

As a biochemist, I know quite a lot about the way our metabolism works and the positive and negative effects food can have on our body. This knowledge has empowered me to make conscious healthy choices in my diet, and has made eating healthy a priority in my life. The never ending challenge for someone like me, is how to turn an unhealthy indulgence -and particularly desserts- into a nutritious intake that agrees with my healthy philosophy & applied lifestyle.

Today, I have the honor of presenting one of those challenges, successfully accomplished after analyzing the best carrot cake recipes I could think of.

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I am a carrot cake fan who has experimented with different recipes over the years, to come up with the healthiest version of a carrot cake you could ever imagine. The carrot cake recipe I am presenting in this article is a whole wheat, ovo-vegetarian version that substitutes butter with the unsaturated, healthy fat contained in one cup of ground almonds; which besides making it healthier, add a deliciously nutty flavor to the cake. In consequence, this is a butter free, dairy free cake as well.

I have also excluded the fattening icing that usually covers carrot cakes and is full of unnecessary fat and sugar. This carrot cake is sweet, nutty and moist and doesn't need icing at all. If you are a carrot cake icing fan you won't miss it. If you don't really care that much for the icing, you'll be grateful you didn't eat the extra empty calories it adds to the cake (more so because it remains just as delicious).

This easy carrot cake recipe is rich in healthy, nutritious, wholesome, unrefined ingredients and high in fiber, which enhances the gradual release of sugar into the bloodstream, thus reducing the glycemic index of the cake. It also has beneficial spices such as cinnamon and ginger which boost your immune system, trigger your metabolism and enhance digestion.

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1 orange zest

3 large eggs

1 ¼ cups light brown sugar

2 ½ cups finely grated carrots

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground fresh ginger

¼ teaspoon salt

1 cup ground almonds

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ cup whole wheat flour

½ cup all purpose flour (or again whole wheat flour if you want to make it 100% whole wheat, which will result in a more dense cake)

¼ cup pecans roughly chopped

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1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

2. Grease a round 8 inch baking pan and dust with a light coating of flour.

3. Grate the zest of the orange and set aside.

4. Using a handheld mixer, whisk the eggs and sugar with the orange zest for five minutes until pale and full of air. Add the grated carrot and beat to incorporate.

5. Using a spatula, slowly add in the spices, salt, ground almonds, baking soda, baking powder and flour, then quickly mix until all the ingredients are combined.

6. Mix in the pecans.

7. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake and removed comes out clean.

8. Remove from the oven. Cool in the pan for 15 minutes, and then remove from the pan. Serve once it has completely cooled down.

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