Honey Sweetened Whole Grain Carrot Cake

This Honey Sweetened Whole Wheat Carrot Cake is great on its own for breakfast or topped with honey sweetened cream cheese frosting for dessert. This is no ordinary carrot cake loaded with tons of white sugar. This version really brings out the carrot flavor and natural sweetness.

Ingredients for Honey Sweetened Carrot Cake

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons coconut oil

1/4 cup honey

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice

2 eggs

1 spoon of vanilla

3 ounces whole wheat flour, by weight

3 ounces whole grain oatmeal, by weight

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

2 teaspoons of cinnamon

1 tonka bean, ground (this spice can be hard to find; skip it if you don’t have one)

1 1/2 cups grated carrots (use the shredding disk on your food processor)

1/4 cup chopped walnuts

Addresses

Heat your oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8 x 8 baking dish and set aside.

You want your coconut oil to be in liquid form for this recipe. That happens at 76 degrees F. If your oil isn’t hot enough to be liquid, heat it until it is. Be careful not to let it get hot, as it will prematurely cook the eggs in the next step.

Put the coconut oil, honey, orange juice, eggs, and vanilla extract in the work bowl of your favorite food processor fitted with a multi-purpose blade. Process for two minutes.

Meanwhile, combine whole wheat flour, whole oatmeal, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and tonka bean in a large bowl. Beat to combine well. Add grated carrots and walnuts. Stir well.

Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and stir until just combined. Stirring too much will result in a tough carrot cake. Transfer to greased baking dish. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 35 to 45 minutes.

Ingredients for Honey Sweetened Cream Cheese Frosting

8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

1/4 cup coconut oil, at room temperature

2 tablespoons of honey

Addresses

Beat all three ingredients together until very creamy. You can do this with a stand mixer, a hand mixer, or with a wooden spoon. I wouldn’t recommend the latter unless you’re using it as part of your exercise program!

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