Pop quiz! What cake helps you get a partial serving of your daily vegetable needs and can help make your eyes more healthy? Carrot Cake - YUM! And, I’ve tweaked this recipe a bit to make it more healthy than most. This recipe even has two ingredients in it to help you reach your daily fruit intake as well. So, push those bad feelings about eating cake aside, and let’s enjoy this one!
Years ago, when I first started making this recipe I used all the oil it called for. It was tasty, for sure, and very moist, but it didn’t stack well for making a multi-layered cake, and I wanted it to be healthier anyway. So, as I often did back in the day, I made two separate recipes and took them into the Animal Hospital for everyone to try some of each and give me their honest feedback. I found that they enjoyed the recipe with part of the oil, substituted for applesauce, just as much as the original. And, that partial substitution gave this cake more body and held it together better for stacking. Here is the cake that I took to work with me. One layer oil, one layer applesauce and oil. It was fun polling the group for their thoughts!
Ready to try the recipe? First, as always a few special notes about some of the ingredients:
Oil instead of butter. You will repeatedly see in my recipes that I use oil and not butter. That is just my preference. I find that oil makes a much more moist cake, and I do not like the texture that butter creates in cakes. And, as you just read, I replaced a good amount of the oil for applesauce.
Applesauce. Adds more body to the cake, makes it healthier, and adds to the sweetness. You can use original, cinnamon, whatever you’d like!
Carrots. The main ingredient! Whether you grate them by hand or with a food processor, it doesn’t matter. I find it is MUCH faster and easier on the hands and wrists if you use a food processor, but I did grate them by hand for years. There are 2 ¼ cups in this recipe, which is a lot, but adds nice moisture and taste to the recipe.
Finally, pineapple. Why not? The original recipe didn’t call for it, but I loved the addition of it to the recipe. It adds sweetness, moisture, and tastes and looks great in the cake. I buy the crushed pineapple in 100% pineapple juice, squeeze some of the excess juice from the can, and add it in the recipe. Simple!
A note about nuts. I’m not a nut person, so you won’t see nuts in this recipe. Feel free to add them if you like. Same goes for raisins. Not my thing, but go ahead and throw them in too if you like them!
Room temperature ingredients. Remember to get all of your refrigerated ingredients to room temperature prior to mixing to ensure they mix well and evenly! So important!
Let’s get started!
Instructions:
First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Also, get those cake pans or cupcake liners in place. I like to not only grease and flour my pans, but I also cut a piece of parchment paper to line the bottom of the pan so that the cake releases well.
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, an salt. Remember when you are measuring your flour to spoon it into the measuring cup, then level with the back of a knife. You never want to pack the flour down in the measuring cup, as this will lead to a much more dense cake.
The next part requires your stand mixer. Whisk the oil and sugar on MEDIUM for 3 minutes. Then, add your eggs one at a time and mix well after each addition. Next, add the applesauce and mix well.
Finally, add your grated carrots and pineapple and mix those in well.
Fill cupcake liners ⅔ to 3/4 full. There is a delicate balance here between not filling them full enough and overfilling them. This is a heavy, dense, moist cake. It will not rise a lot, and therefore will give you some flatter cupcakes.
Supplies used in creating these cupcakes and cakes include: 
Measuring spoons, Measuring cups, Bowl set, Stand Mixer, Spatula set, Cake pans, Cake Boards, Cupcake pans, Cupcake liners, Ice Cream scooper, Parchment paper, Cooling racks, Frosting Bags, Tips, Ties and Caps, Cake leveler, Turntable, and Cupcake storage. Click here to be taken to my Amazon Cake and Cupcake Baking Supply List. For page transparency: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Years ago, when I first started making this recipe I used all the oil it called for. It was tasty, for sure, and very moist, but it didn’t stack well for making a multi-layered cake, and I wanted it to be healthier anyway. So, as I often did back in the day, I made two separate recipes and took them into the Animal Hospital for everyone to try some of each and give me their honest feedback. I found that they enjoyed the recipe with part of the oil, substituted for applesauce, just as much as the original. And, that partial substitution gave this cake more body and held it together better for stacking. Here is the cake that I took to work with me. One layer oil, one layer applesauce and oil. It was fun polling the group for their thoughts!
Ready to try the recipe? First, as always a few special notes about some of the ingredients:
Oil instead of butter. You will repeatedly see in my recipes that I use oil and not butter. That is just my preference. I find that oil makes a much more moist cake, and I do not like the texture that butter creates in cakes. And, as you just read, I replaced a good amount of the oil for applesauce.
Applesauce. Adds more body to the cake, makes it healthier, and adds to the sweetness. You can use original, cinnamon, whatever you’d like!
Carrots. The main ingredient! Whether you grate them by hand or with a food processor, it doesn’t matter. I find it is MUCH faster and easier on the hands and wrists if you use a food processor, but I did grate them by hand for years. There are 2 ¼ cups in this recipe, which is a lot, but adds nice moisture and taste to the recipe.
Finally, pineapple. Why not? The original recipe didn’t call for it, but I loved the addition of it to the recipe. It adds sweetness, moisture, and tastes and looks great in the cake. I buy the crushed pineapple in 100% pineapple juice, squeeze some of the excess juice from the can, and add it in the recipe. Simple!
A note about nuts. I’m not a nut person, so you won’t see nuts in this recipe. Feel free to add them if you like. Same goes for raisins. Not my thing, but go ahead and throw them in too if you like them!
Room temperature ingredients. Remember to get all of your refrigerated ingredients to room temperature prior to mixing to ensure they mix well and evenly! So important!
Let’s get started!
Instructions:
First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Also, get those cake pans or cupcake liners in place. I like to not only grease and flour my pans, but I also cut a piece of parchment paper to line the bottom of the pan so that the cake releases well.
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, an salt. Remember when you are measuring your flour to spoon it into the measuring cup, then level with the back of a knife. You never want to pack the flour down in the measuring cup, as this will lead to a much more dense cake.
The next part requires your stand mixer. Whisk the oil and sugar on MEDIUM for 3 minutes. Then, add your eggs one at a time and mix well after each addition. Next, add the applesauce and mix well.
Slowly add the dry ingredients to your wet ingredients. I like to leave my mixer on low and allow it to mix as I'm slowly pouring in the dry ingredients.
Finally, add your grated carrots and pineapple and mix those in well.
Fill cupcake liners ⅔ to 3/4 full. There is a delicate balance here between not filling them full enough and overfilling them. This is a heavy, dense, moist cake. It will not rise a lot, and therefore will give you some flatter cupcakes.
Bake at 350 until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. I typically start checking my cupcakes at 19 minutes and my cakes at 35 minutes. Cook times will vary based on your oven and how full you fill your cupcake liners or cake pans. This recipe may take a little longer with all the moisture in the ingredients.
Allow cakes or cupcakes to cool for 10 minutes prior to removing them from the pan. Cool completely prior to frosting.
Allow cakes or cupcakes to cool for 10 minutes prior to removing them from the pan. Cool completely prior to frosting.
And finally, ENJOY!
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