I make this hearty Carrot Cake recipe more than any other dessert since it’s a hit with everyone! I usually make it as an 8×8-inch, one-layer square cake, but see Notes for instructions on baking muffins, a loaf or as baked donuts.
Carrot Cake
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 mins
- Yield: 8 to 10 (or makes 12 muffins) 1x
Ingredients
- 1½ cups nondairy milk
- 4 ounces pitted dates (7 to 8 Medjools or 14 to 16 Deglet Noor), chopped
- ½ very ripe banana, sliced
- ¼ cup raisins
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or seeds from 1 vanilla bean)
- 1¾ cups old-fashioned rolled oats
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
- 1½ cups grated carrots (2 to 3 medium)
- ½ cup raisins
- 2 ounces walnuts, chopped (about ½ cup; optional)
- Vanilla or Lemon Frosting (optional)
Instructions
- Place the nondairy milk, dates, banana, ¼ cup raisins, and vanilla into a small bowl, and set aside for at least 15 minutes (so the dates can soften).
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line an 8×8-inch baking pan with parchment paper.
- Grind the oats into flour with a blender. Transfer to a medium bowl, and whisk in the cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, and cloves.
- Place the milk, dates, banana, raisins, and vanilla in the blender, and blend until smooth.
- Stir the date mixture into the bowl of dry ingredients. Fold in the grated carrots, ½ cup raisins, and walnuts (if using).
- Spoon the batter into the pan and spread evenly. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the top is medium brown. Let cool for 10 minutes before removing from the pan and placing on a cooling rack. Cool completely before serving plain or with Vanilla or Lemon Frosting.
Notes
If you’d like 12 cupcakes or muffins, bake in a muffin pan with parchment paper liners at 350°F for 25 to 30 minutes.
To bake a standard loaf, decrease the milk by ½ cup, line a 9×5×3-inch loaf pan with parchment paper, and bake at 325°F for 50 to 55 minutes, or until the top is medium brown. Let cool completely before serving.
To bake as donuts, see the instructions below (under the photo of the frosted donut).
- Prep Time: 35 mins
- Cook Time: 45 mins
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/10 recipe, 1 piece
- Calories: 187
- Sugar: 17.3g
- Sodium: 18mg
- Fat: 5.7g
- Saturated Fat: 0.7g
- Carbohydrates: 32.9g
- Fiber: 4.5g
- Protein: 4.7g
- Cholesterol: 0
Above: To make baked donuts, spoon batter into a non-stick donut pan, filling to the top and smoothing batter flat. Bake for 20-25 minutes. If you press on the cake lightly and it bounces back a bit (instead of staying indented), it's likely ready. These continue to set up as they cool.
Cool for 5-7 minutes before removing the donuts from the pan (if left in too long it will be hard to get the donuts out). Using a fork or knife, gently go around the donuts (outside and inner circle) to loosen them from the pan. Even though we're using a non-stick pan, we are not using any oil so we need to help them out a bit. After loosening the edges, invert onto a cutting board (shake a bit if still not coming out the first time) and let cool at least 5-10 minutes more before serving plain or with Vanilla or Lemon Frosting. Makes 10 to 12 donuts.
Can this cake be frozen?
Yes! 🙂
Any suggested substitutes for the banana? Applesauce? Mango?
If it's the flavor you object to, you can't taste the banana in the final bake, as it's blended in and isn't much. If you are sensitive to banana, then use 1/4 cup applesauce. 🙂
Looks good! If you don’t like raisins can you omit?
Sure! 🙂
In the recipe, 1/4 cup is initially mentioned and 1/2 cup raisins is again mentioned towards the end. Which one is correct.
They are both correct: 1/4 c goes into the date mixture to be blended, and 1/2 c goes in whole with the carrots and nuts. 🙂
Hi Cathy, can I use a mix of oat flour and whole wheat « pastry » flour instead of just oat flour?
And if add 1/2 cup of crushed pineapple, is it ok to drain it and cut the non dairy milk to 1 cup? Thanks for all your recipes 👍
Store bought flours are finer than home-ground so it may be a bit moister; esp using pastry flour which is finer. It's a heavy cake, so not sure pastry flour is the right way to go. Maybe whole wheat flour? I've not tried that pineapple sub, but right idea to decrease the milk; and yes drain the pineapple. If you're using frosting, you can use the juice for that instead of water or in part. 😉
I love this. I make it in a loaf shape. Its delicious without the frosting. Sometimes I toast it in the airfryer. It freezes well.
This is an amazing recipe and I've been making it every week - in other words, I don't want to run out. I notice you have not even one chocolate dessert, I would love a chocolate recipe by you 🙂 Thank you so much.
Hello, thanks for the comment. TrueNorth Health, where I teach, does not use chocolate due the caffeine and fat, so I don't either since my recipes follow their guidelines. 😉
This looks delicious but the sodium is much more than stated. Just the sodium in the baking powder and baking soda totals approximately 2,235 mg or 223 mg per serving.
You can use sodium-free baking powder (Hain) and soda (Ener-G).
I’d like to adapt these into good morning muffins - which include carrots, walnuts, raisins, AND apples and dried coconut. Any suggestions for the amount to use for those last two ingredients? I buy the muffins from Whole Foods and they’re great - but I’m trying to watch my added sugar intake.
I would just reduce the carrot by the amount of apple you want to put in, and the coconut is fine w/o adjustment. 🙂