(upbeat guitar music)
- Hey, health nuts,
welcome back to my channel.
My name's Nikole, and
today, I'm very excited,
because we are making cake.
And, anytime I am making cake,
or anything dessert
related, I am extra excited,
because, I don't know about you guys,
but I have a major sweet tooth,
and I, funny enough, used
to not like carrot cake.
That's what we're making
today, it's for Easter,
because it's that time of year.
And yeah, I never was a carrot cake lover.
I think, like most other
things that I don't like,
it's because I had the
really sugary versions
that were at the store.
Just like why I don't like coconut either.
I used to just try the sweetened coconut,
so, once I started making
carrot cake at home,
I was able to adjust the sweetness levels,
and just make it my
own, and I am obsessed.
It's so good, it's so moist.
You get veggies in there,
and call it dessert,
like, what's not to love?
So, I'm gonna share
how I like to healthify
my carrot cake recipe,
as well as a delicious
cream cheese frosting.
No, there is no cashews in this frosting.
There is actual cream cheese,
but I'm going to show you guys
how to lighten it up just a little bit.
This recipe is actually inspired by
my carrot cake muffins recipe
which is already on the blog.
I'll link that down below,
but without further ado,
let's hop into the video.
So, we're first going to start
off with our wet ingredients.
In a small bowl, I'm going to
mix together my almond milk
with some apple cider vinegar,
and what this is going to do
is create a dairy-free buttermilk.
This is also great, even
if you do eat dairy,
it's just great to make
buttermilk on the spot,
without having to buy a huge carton of it.
You can just make as much
as you need for your recipe.
Give it a quick whisk and set it aside
for 10 to 15 minutes
to curdle and thicken.
In another large bowl,
we're going to start adding the
rest of our wet ingredients.
So, I have a couple of eggs here,
I'm just going to crack them in.
Unsweetened applesauce.
This is going to give
the cake lots of moisture
and it also helps reduce
the amount of butter
or oil you need to add.
For sweetener, I have, you guessed it,
my favorite, coconut sugar.
Gives it a really nice, deep
caramel flavor to your recipes.
And then, I'm using avocado oil.
You can really use any oil you like.
Even coconut oil would work.
I'm also adding in some maple
syrup, and vanilla extract.
At this point, you can go ahead
and add in that dairy-free buttermilk
that's been sitting off to the side,
and give everything a
nice whisk to combine.
In the same bowl, we're going to go ahead
and just sift in the dry ingredients.
It's not only quicker,
but it's also less dishes
that you have to wash afterwards.
I have spelt flour, almond flour.
For spices, I have some cinnamon,
ground ginger, nutmeg, and sea salt.
Baking soda, to help it rise.
It's going to activate with
that apple cider vinegar
that we added with the almond milk,
and really give it a nice,
airy, fluffy texture.
And then, just continue to
sift in the dry ingredients.
Whisk to combine both
the wet and dry together,
and then, you can just fold
in your shredded carrots.
Now, I actually just did
this with my food processor.
There's a shredding
attachment that I love.
You can also use a box grater,
or even buy shredded carrots.
I swear, you can buy everything
now, at the grocery store.
And, you're just going
to switch to a spatula
and just gently fold the carrots in.
You don't want to over mix
the batter at this point.
It's okay if it's still a little lumpy.
It's gonna keep it nice and fluffy.
I have a prepared, nine
by nine-inch baking pan,
that I just greased with some coconut oil,
and lined with parchment paper.
The coconut oil underneath
helps it stick better,
and then, I'm just going to
pour in that delicious batter.
Smooth it out with the back of a spatula,
and then pop this into a
preheated oven to bake and rise.
In a bowl, you're going
to combine together
some Greek yogurt or Skyr.
Skyr is just a bit thicker and
I personally really like it.
Then, we're going to
add some cream cheese.
Now, I wanted to make this a
more traditional carrot cake
and just go for the cream cheese,
just look for a good quality one
that doesn't have too many additives.
I always get mine from
the health food section.
And then, to sweeten it
up, I have some raw honey,
and some vanilla extract for
just that burst of flavor.
Blend that all together
with an electric hand mixer,
or you just even do it
by hand, if you want.
And then, once the cake is done,
you can just let it cool in
the pan for a little bit,
and then, transfer to cooling rack.
Once it's fully cooled,
you can then go ahead
and spread over that delicious,
lightened cream cheese frosting.
Honestly, guys, this stuff is so good.
I was just licking it out of the bowl,
eating it like yogurt, so I
had to get it on the cake asap
so I didn't eat it all.
And then, you can just sprinkle
on some crushed walnuts
or pecans, just to give it
nice little crunch on top.
It also looks really pretty.
And then, just slice
it up into nine pieces,
or you can even make
them smaller if you want,
but trust me, you want a
good helping of this cake.
And then, go ahead and dig in.
It's perfectly moist and
spiced with the nutmeg
and cinnamon and ginger.
It's such a delicious treat
for this time of year.
Alright health nuts, there you have it,
that is my healthy carrot cake recipe.
I would love to know what is
your favorite type of cake.
Leave me a comment down below.
Also, if you guys want to
make this recipe gluten free,
be sure to download my free flour guide.
I'll leave a link down below.
It's basically a bunch of healthy flours
that I love to use in Health Nut Kitchen.
I give you guys a flour 101 guide.
It's free, all you have
to do is enter your email,
and you'll get it straight to you inbox,
and in that guide, I actually have
my Health Nut Gluten-Free Flour Blend.
It's so good, you can just sub
the spelt flour in this recipe
for that gluten-free flour blend,
and you won't even know it's
gluten-free, it's that good.
So, definitely check out the
link down below for that,
as well as the recipe for this carrot cake
will be in the info box, as well.
It will be over on the blog
so you can save it, print it,
pin it, whatever you gotta do
to get this recipe into
your mouth by Easter.
All right, I have a bunch, actually.
I just cut up a bunch of squares.
This is very dangerous for
me to have cake by myself.
But, my brother's coming
over shortly to watch Cashew,
so he's going to enjoy some cake, as well.
But, I'm going to take a little bite.
Mm, do you see those layers?
All right, I'm going to
go finish eating this.
Make sure you guys subscribe
if you aren't already.
I post every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday
on this channel here,
and I'll see you guys
on my next video, bye.
(upbeat guitar music)
