Whole Wheat Carrot Sheet Cake is a healthier version of a classic that’s just as moist with applesauce and pineapples topped with cream cheese frosting!
There’s simply nothing better than finding healthy recipes for your favorite Desserts. Just like Healthy Banana Cake, this Carrot Cake Recipe allows you to enjoy the rich, indulgent flavors of your favorite cake with healthier ingredients.
WHOLE WHEAT CARROT SHEET CAKE
Carrot Cake is a classic dessert! But its rich and wonderful flavors usually come with a lot of heavy ingredients and calories.
This is sure to become a go-to after dinner treat, and one you’ll find yourself bringing to plenty of potlucks. That’s because this Carrot Cake is always a huge hit. It doesn’t matter if you’re serving it to kids, adults, or both. Nobody can say no to the fluffy Carrot Cake and addicting, sweet frosting.
Healthier Swaps:
Fortunately, this Whole Wheat Carrot Cake is oil-free, uses egg whites, and is made with wheat flour. This makes it a much healthier Carrot Cake without sacrificing the incredible taste.
And of course this great recipe has the wonderful nutrition from carrots. Carrots are packed vitamin A, fiber, and other important nutrients. Eating carrots also helps contribute to weight loss.
This recipe is a great way to sneak carrots into the diet of your pickiest eaters. You can even use a food processor to grate the carrot more finely, if you’re concerned about anyone complaining about the vegetables. If you don’t call it Carrot Cake they might never notice the veggies they’re eating.
Sheet Cakes are Easy to Boot!
Along with how delicious it is, Healthy Carrot Cake is oh-so easy to make. If you’re new to baking, this Healthy Carrot Cake recipe is a great place to start. The step-by-step guide makes it so simple. It’s barely more complicated than getting a store-bought cake and it tastes so much better!
All you have to do is whisk together the egg whites in a stand mixer, then mix in sugar, apple sauce and other wet ingredients. Sift in whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour and other dry ingredients. Once the batter is mixed add in the carrots, pineapples and raisins. Pour the Carrot Cake batter into a medium-sized sheet cake pan, and let it bake. Once it’s baked and cooled just add the frosting and enjoy! You can also top the cream cheese frosting with walnuts for some extra crunch.
MORE HEALTHY CAKE RECIPES
Flourless Chocolate Walnut Cake
Oreo Poke Cake
Strawberry Shortcake Poke Cake
Healthy Banana Cake
VARIATIONS ON WHOLE WHEAT CARROT SHEET CAKE
- Frosting: The cream cheese frosting that tops the cake might be the best part of this recipe. If you’d like to experiment the next time you make the frosting there are some easy changes you can make. Try adding some lemon juice, maple, or a little ginger for flavor. If you’d like to make non-dairy frosting try using dairy-free margarine and cream cheese. You can make the whole recipe dairy-free by replacing the milk in the cake with almond milk.
- Flour options: If you don’t have whole wheat pastry flour, there are other flour options to use in the dry ingredients. This recipe calls for one part whole wheat flour and one part all purpose flour. You can switch to use just one or to use white whole wheat flour. You can also make a gluten-free cake by using coconut flour, almond flour, or some other plant-based flour alternative.
- Apple sauce alternatives: If you don’t have the apple sauce for your Wholewheat Carrot Cake there are other ingredients you can use to add moisture. Try using coconut oil, olive oil, or low fat Greek yogurt. Coconut oil and olive oil will both be a 1 to 1 exchange with the apple puree. The only problem with using coconut oil, or any other oil, is that your cake will obviously no longer be oil-free. So if you’d rather use Greek Yogurt, just use half the amount of Greek Yogurt than applesauce the Carrot Cake recipe calls for.
- More Sweeteners: Instead of using granulated white sugar try exchanging it for brown sugar, coconut sugar, or maple syrup. To use brown sugar or coconut sugar the exchange is 1 to 1. For maple syrup the exchange is ¾ maple syrup to 1 cup sugar. You’ll also need to reduce the other liquids in the wet ingredients if you use maple syrup.
MORE HEALTHY DESSERTS
Whole Wheat Chocolate Zucchini Bread
Applesauce Bread
Oatmeal Banana Cookies (3 Ingredients!)
Black Bean Brownies
HOW TO STORE WHOLE WHEAT CARROT SHEET CAKE
- Serve: Freshly baked Healthy Carrot Cake can last at room temperature for 1-2 days. To keep the Carrot Cake soft cover it in tin foil or plastic wrap once its cooled. But you shouldn’t leave the frosting at room temperature for longer than 8 hours.
- Store: If properly covered, or placed in an airtight container leftover Carrot Cake can last in the fridge for up to a week.
- Freeze: To make ahead, keep the Carrot Cake separate from the frosting. Kept in a freezer bag or wrapped tightly the Healthy Carrot Cake can last for 4-6 months. You can either make the frosting fresh when you defrost the Wheat Carrot Cake, or freeze it in an airtight container for 3 months.
Ingredients
Carrot Cake:
- 6 large egg whites
- 1 ⅓ cups white sugar
- 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1/2 cup 2% milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups whole wheat flour
- 1 cup flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 8 ounces crushed pineapple with juice , undrained
- 2 cups carrots , finely grated
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 1/4 cup walnuts , finely chopped (optional)
Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 12 ounces light cream cheese , softened
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter , softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
To Finish:
- 1/4 cup walnuts , finely chopped (optional)
Instructions
Carrot Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a 9x13 baking pan with baking spray.
- To your stand mixer add the egg whites and beat on high speed for 1 minute.
- Lower the speed to medium and add in the sugar, applesauce, milk and vanilla until well combined.
- Sift together the whole wheat flour, flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.
- Add it to the stand mixer on the lowest speed until just combined.
- With a spatula fold in the pineapples, carrots and raisins.
- Pour batter into baking dish and cook for 35-40 minutes or until the cake springs back when gently pressed.
Cream Cheese Frosting:
- To your stand mixer add the cream cheese, butter and vanilla extract on high speed until smooth and creamy.
- Turn off the stand mixer, add the powdered sugar and turn on the stand mixer on the lowest speed for 5 seconds.
- Turn speed up to medium until light and fluffy.
To Finish:
- Wait until cake is cooled and spread with cream cheese frosting.
- If desired, sprinkle with walnuts.
Nutrition
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Hi ~ with all changes you made to recipe, can I also swap out Swerve for sugar in cake & Swerve for frosting , powdered sugar? I know that regular sugar adds weight, heft (maybe I am using wrong description!) to recipe, sometimes it is successful, sometimes not.
Thank you!
Hi Cindy, I’m so sorry I haven’t tested it that way. My experience with Swerve has been pretty good, so I think you *should* be okay, but I wouldn’t make it for a special occasion thinking it will work well for sure, I’d test it first.
In this recipe you used 6 egg whites,could you sub flax or chia eggs and what would be the amount.
Hi John, I am sorry I haven’t tried it that way so I am not sure what the measurements would be to make it work.