Healthy-ish Carrot Cake

It was recently my dad’s birthday and he requested carrot cake for his birthday cake. Prior to this I had never really had carrot cake so I was excited to try making it! We found a delicious recipe from Once Upon a Chef that we liked so much we made another the day after we finished the first cake! The second time we made it, we wanted to make it a bit healthier, so we added less sugar and added some whole wheat flour. There is also less frosting, but you would never know! This carrot cake is so delicious that you don’t even need an occasion to bake it!

Adapted from Once Upon a Chef

Ingredients

For the Cake:

1/2 cup dried currants

1 pound carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

3/4 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped

4 eggs

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar

3/4 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup yogurt

For the Frosting:

4 oz cream cheese, softened

1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

Pinch salt

Directions

For the Cake:

Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 350°F. Butter and flour a 9x13-inch heavy-duty metal cake pan.

Soak the currants in 1/2 cup hot tap water for 15 minutes. Drain and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and cloves. Transfer 1/4 cup of this mixture to a small bowl and add the drained currants and the chopped nuts; toss to combine.

In a food processor fitted with the steel blade, process the carrots until very finely chopped, to about the consistency of couscous. Transfer to a small bowl.

In the bowl of the same food processor (fitted with the steel blade), mix the eggs and sugars until blended. With the machine running, slowly add the oil in a steady stream until combined. Using a rubber spatula, scrape the mixture into the flour mixture. Stir with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until well combined, then stir in the carrots and the currant-nut mixture.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, about 40-45 minutes. Let cool on a rack to room temperature.

For the Frosting:

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the cream cheese, butter, vanilla and salt. Mix on low speed until combined, then increase the speed to medium-high and beat until aerated and light, about 2 minutes. Gradually add the confectioners' sugar, mixing on low to combine. Once all of the sugar is mixed in, increase the speed to medium-high and beat until fluffy, about 1 minute.

Using an offset spatula, spread the frosting over the cooled cake.

Enjoy!