SPICE PORT

Carrot Cake

Carrot Cake

🥕 No-Sugar, No-Flour Carrot Cake

This cake is moist, soft, naturally sweet, and warmly spiced. It uses bananas and dates for sweetness instead of white/brown sugar, and ground oats and almonds instead of regular wheat flour.

Servings

About 8–10 slices

Preparation time

20 minutes

Baking time

35–45 minutes

Oven temperature

175°C / 350°F

Ingredients

For the carrot cake

  • 2 large carrots, finely grated — about 1½ cups
  • 2 very ripe bananas
  • ½ cup soft pitted dates
  • 2 large eggs
  • ⅓ cup plain Greek yogurt
  • 2 tablespoons melted coconut oil or butter
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup finely ground oats/oat flour
  • ½ cup almond flour or finely ground almonds
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
  • ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ⅓ cup chopped walnuts
  • 2 tablespoons unsweetened shredded coconut, optional
  • 2 tablespoons raisins, optional

For the date paste

  • ½ cup pitted dates
  • 3–4 tablespoons hot water

For the yogurt frosting

  • ¾ cup thick Greek yogurt
  • ¼ cup cream cheese
  • 1–2 tablespoons date paste
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ¼ teaspoon cinnamon

Step 1: Prepare the dates

Place the ½ cup pitted dates in a small bowl.

Pour over 3–4 tablespoons of hot water and leave them for about 10 minutes.

Once softened, blend or mash them into a thick paste.

If the dates are already very soft, you can simply mash them with a fork.

Tip: Don’t add too much water. The date mixture should be thick rather than runny.

Step 2: Prepare the carrots

Peel the carrots and grate them finely.

For the best texture, use the small side of a box grater rather than producing large carrot shreds.

If your carrots are extremely watery, gently squeeze them with your hands or a clean kitchen towel. You don’t want them completely dry—just remove excess liquid.

You should have approximately 1½ cups grated carrot.

Step 3: Prepare the bananas

Place the ripe bananas in a large mixing bowl.

Mash them thoroughly with a fork until they become almost smooth.

The riper the bananas, the sweeter and more flavorful the cake will be.

Best choice: bananas with plenty of brown spots on the skin.

Step 4: Mix the wet ingredients

Add the following to the mashed bananas:

  • 2 eggs
  • ⅓ cup Greek yogurt
  • 2 tablespoons melted coconut oil or butter
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • Prepared date paste

Whisk everything together until well combined.

The mixture should look creamy and fairly thick.

Step 5: Add the carrots

Add your grated carrots to the wet mixture.

Stir gently until the carrots are evenly distributed.

At this stage, the mixture will be quite moist. That’s normal.

Step 6: Mix the dry ingredients

In a separate bowl, combine:

  • 1 cup oat flour
  • ½ cup almond flour
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon cardamom
  • ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ¼ teaspoon salt

Mix thoroughly so that the baking powder and spices are evenly distributed.

Step 7: Combine everything

Gradually add the dry ingredients to the carrot mixture.

Fold gently with a spatula.

Don’t overmix.

Once you no longer see dry flour, stop mixing.

Fold in:

  • ⅓ cup chopped walnuts
  • 2 tablespoons coconut, if using
  • 2 tablespoons raisins, if using

The finished batter should be thick and spoonable, not liquid like a traditional cake batter.

If it seems extremely wet, add another 1–2 tablespoons oat flour.

Step 8: Prepare the cake pan

Use an approximately 8-inch / 20-cm round cake pan.

Grease the pan lightly with coconut oil or butter and line the bottom with parchment paper.

Pour the batter into the pan.

Use a spatula to spread it evenly.

Gently tap the pan against the counter once or twice to remove large air pockets.

Step 9: Bake

Place the cake in a preheated oven at:

175°C / 350°F

Bake for approximately 35–45 minutes.

Start checking around 35 minutes.

Insert a toothpick or skewer into the center.

  • If it comes out with wet batter, continue baking.
  • If it comes out with a few moist crumbs, it’s ready.
  • If it comes out completely dry, the cake may have been baked slightly too long.

Because this cake contains carrots, bananas, and yogurt, it should remain somewhat moist in the center.

Step 10: Cool completely

Allow the cake to sit in the pan for about 10–15 minutes.

Then carefully remove it and place it on a wire rack.

Let it cool completely before frosting.

This is important because the cake becomes firmer as it cools.

If you frost it while hot, the frosting can become runny.

🥣 Creamy Yogurt Frosting

While the cake cools, prepare the frosting.

Mix together:

  • ¾ cup thick Greek yogurt
  • ¼ cup cream cheese
  • 1–2 tablespoons date paste
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla
  • ¼ teaspoon cinnamon

Beat or whisk until smooth and creamy.

Taste it.

If you want it sweeter, add another small amount of date paste.

Spread the frosting over the completely cooled cake.

Top with a few chopped walnuts and a light sprinkle of cinnamon.

🌰 Optional toppings

You can decorate the cake with:

  • Chopped walnuts
  • Pecans
  • Unsweetened coconut
  • Pumpkin seeds
  • A little cinnamon
  • Thin carrot strips
  • Chopped dates
  • Crushed almonds

For a particularly pretty presentation, sprinkle chopped walnuts around the edge and place a few thin carrot ribbons in the center.

⭐ Tips for the best carrot cake

1. Use very ripe bananas

This is one of the most important things.

Green or barely ripe bananas won’t provide enough sweetness.

Brown-spotted bananas give the cake considerably more natural sweetness.

2. Don’t skip the dates

The dates provide sweetness and also help give the cake a moist, rich texture.

If you don’t want to use dates, you can increase the banana, but the cake will be less sweet.

3. Don’t overmix

Once the oat and almond flour are incorporated, stop mixing.

Overmixing can make the cake heavier.

4. Let it cool

Freshly baked, this cake will be soft.

After cooling, the almond flour, oats, carrots, and eggs will firm up and give you a much better slice.

5. Refrigerate the frosted cake

Because the frosting contains yogurt and cream cheese, store the finished cake in the refrigerator.

It should keep well for approximately 3–4 days in a covered container.

🍰 If you want it even more decadent

For a richer carrot-cake flavor, add:

  • ½ teaspoon extra cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon ginger
  • ¼ teaspoon cardamom
  • ½ cup walnuts instead of ⅓ cup
  • ¼ cup unsweetened coconut
  • A little orange zest

The combination of carrot + cinnamon + cardamom + orange zest + walnuts is especially good.

Important note

This recipe contains no refined sugar and no wheat flour, but it isn’t sugar-free in the nutritional sense: bananas, dates, carrots, and yogurt naturally contain carbohydrates and sugars.

If by “no sugar, no flour” you mean a cake with no added sugar, no dates, no honey, no maple syrup, and no flour at all, I can also give you a long, detailed 100% sugar-free/no-flour carrot cake recipe.