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Wholewheat carrot cake

“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.”- Winston Churchill.


My very first whole wheat cake !

If you have visited my space before , you might have noticed that healthy baking is not my forte. Guilty as charged! But I recently joined a great initiative by a magnanimous baker to distribute healthy baked goods to underprivileged kids and we were asked to keep the bakes whole grain.

Having never made a cake with atta before , and especially given the little angels I would be baking them for , I wanted to get it just right. Inspired by several recipes I saw online , I figured out a recipe in my head . A “healthier” cake , its 100% whole wheat and has loads of carrots, but it still has eggs , sugar and oil. Its still cake after all !

Let me tell you , until I actually sliced it and had a bite , I was biting my nails nervously throughout! The cake surprised me . It was moist and tasted delicious . It had a certain earthiness to it thanks to all those carrots and the wheat flour , that appealed to me .The texture was perfect for what I had in mind.

I have opted out of nuts and dried fruits , but I think a handful of them would go gloriously here . Also , if you like cinnamon , do add a teaspoon of it along with the sifted flour as cinnamon and carrot are a match made in heaven!

 

I love how easy this cake is , and how soft. An all time favourite made a little bit more real and a tad more guilt free maybe ?! Wholewheat and wholesome !

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Wholewheat carrot cake

Moist , easy , wholesome and 100 % whole wheat carrot cake!
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings 10 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 180 grams or 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 1/2 tsps baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 150 grams or 3/4 cups granulated sugar
  • 3 Eggs , at room temperature
  • 180 ml or 3/4 cups vegetable oil
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 250 grams or 1 1/2 cups grated carrots ( 3-4 medium sized carrots )

Instructions
 

  • Preheat your oven to 180 C/ 350 F. Line your loaf pan (9 x 4 inches) with parchment paper , or butter and flour well.
  • Sift together the flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder. Keep aside.
  • Whisk together the oil, sugar , honey , eggs and vanilla extract .
  • Whisk in the sifted flour , until just combined.
  • Fold in the carrots using a spatula.
  • Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake at 180 C/ 350 F for 45-48 minutes until top springs back when touched and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out dry.
  • Cool for 10 minutes in pan , and then remove from pan . Cool completely on wire rack.

Notes

 
  • This cake keeps well for 4-5 days in an airtight container , upto a week in the fridge.
  • I find carrot cakes bake differently , depending on the carrots and moisture content. So keep an eye on it while baking, start checking around 40 minutes .
 

113 thoughts on “Wholewheat carrot cake”

    1. Hi Alma ! Weigh the ingredients in grams .. do let me know how the cake comes out… happy baking !

    1. Hi… i am not really particular about brand in baking powder or soda but most often i end up using weikfeld as that is easily available to me

    1. Hi Vidya !I wouldn’t try this cake in a 6 inch pan. The batter would be too deep and since whole wheat cakes are tricky, the centre may remain raw or the sides might be too crusty by the time centre cooks. You could try half the recipe and bake for around 40 minutes. If you do try the full recipe in a 6 inch pan, I would suggest 45 to 55 minutes at 160 C. Hope this helps !

  1. Tried this recipe as I only bake healthy cakes … It was awesome.. very moist and fluffy.. I tried many recipes and failed most of the times but this was a hit.. Thank u so much for this recipe..

  2. Tried ur recepie…it was amazing…infact better than refined flour..but I think we can reduce the sugar to just half cup ..considering we re adding honey also. I don’t prefer too sweet ones…but I never expected wheat cake to be this good..and it was very soft..thank you.

    1. Thanks so much for trying the cake … Glad you liked it. Thanks for the suggestion as well. Will keep in mind , next time I try the cake !

  3. Hi,
    I made this carrot cake today and it turned out deliciously moist!
    I will definitely make it again and again!
    It was a hit with my family!
    Thank you for the great recipe.

  4. Hi, Great recipe, works very well. Made it with jaggery and added some spice- cinnamon +nutmeg +all spice . Really tasted good and gave it a wintery taste

  5. Hi,

    This cake made my day !! A big Thanku !!
    A super easy with a wonderful outcome … that too wholesome with whole wheat ..,
    Got many appreciates today 🙂
    Please do keep posting such wonderful recipes & make people happy
    Have a good day !!

    1. So glad you and yours liked the cake so much! Hope you find other recipes here that work equally well for u.. Thanks for the thumbs up Rekha!

  6. Hi,
    I made this cake today. Turned out well as expected, as I gone through the reviews before finalising it. Just one substitute I need….I found only one fall, I don’t want to add this much vegetable oil. 150 ml is my week’s total intake of oil.
    Thanks for a good recipe.
    Regards Ana

    1. Thanks so much Ana for trying the recipe. So glad you liked it. About the oil, I am can’t help much. Reducing the oil won’t work. The recipe does freeze well. So you could freeze half or more of the cake and then use whenever you wish to eat. Or you could half the recipe and make a smaller cake or cupcakes

    1. Will one recipe be enough to bake as a bundnt cake or should I double it? Can the sugar be reduced as well since we are using honey?

      1. Hi…

        You will need to double the recipe for a Bundt cake . And you can reduce the sugar a bit if you want , but the cake isnt that sweet to begin with. Hope you like it. Happy baking !

    1. Hi Archana… I have never steamed this Cake but you can try it on stovetop method using a pressure cooker or large vessel

    1. Hi Jessy… You could… An equal quantity of melted butter… But then the cake might firm up when refrigerated..

  7. Hi! I found the perfect recipe! So moist and although a bit dense I think it was the perfect texture that matched with the flavour. HAPPY!!!:)

      1. Excellent recipe. Making it for your second time this week… my boys loved it. I reduced sugar to 1/2 cup this time since i found it very the first time.. thanks for the recipe…

  8. Hi!
    This is the best carrot cake I have ever made!! It was a super hit with my family, I added raisins and decreased the sugar by a bit.
    Thank you for the recipe

  9. I would love to try this recipe Akshatha… It is all just whisk and no beating, right? I don’t know why I suddenly got this doubt. Thought would clarify before giving it a go.
    Thanks in advance.
    Hugs
    Catherine joseph

    1. Hi Catherine… sorry for the late response – was travelling for a bit !yes, its all whisk ! 🙂 🙂

  10. A pinch of cinnamon powder and some chopped walnuts will take this recipe to another level! Tried it today…Thank u for this!

  11. I tried wheat carrot cake today..to make it healthier used brown sugar…nd smeared honey all over as soon as I took the cake out of d oven….it was the yummiest cake I’ve ever made….thankyou so much

    1. Hi Cathy.. an 8x 8 or 9 x 9 would work fine. Your cake would be done earlier so start checking around the 35 minute mark..

    1. Hi Archana… thanks for trying the cake. Glad you liked it. The entire cake would be around 2800 calories so each slice would be less than 250 calories ( assuming you get 12 good slices) . The calories may vary depending on your oil, and other ingredients..

  12. I tried it today,but within 5 minutes it was properly baked. I preheated it at 180 degree..super cake it was must saY

  13. A wonderful recipe… The cake turned out wonderfully soft and moist. I used palm sugar in place of regular sugar and ghee+coconut oil in place of vegetable oil. This one is a keeper for sure. Thank you loads!

    1. Thats great to know Soumya ! With the palm sugar and the coconut oil and the carrots, the cake would have tasted tropical !! Thanks for giving the recipe a go !

  14. I happen to really dislike baking soda in cakes. Any ideas for a substitute that will produce the same result?

    1. U could try baking powder Carol… But i really cant think of another way around the soda. If it helps, u cant taste it in the cake.. whats the reason u dislike it ?

  15. Hi! Any substitute for eggs and honey? I’m a Jain and can’t use either. I also wanted to avoid using bananas.

      1. Hi.. yes , you can. The results wont be exactly the same ( slight changes in texture n taste ) but it works. You can use 3/4 cup of splenda original sweetener or 6 tablespoons of Splenda sugar blend. Happy baking !

  16. Hi
    I want to make a small cake with just 1 egg. How should I go about with the proportions in the cake ?
    Should I simply divide all the ingredients by 3 and take the quantity accordingly like only 60gms of flour instead of 180 and so on …?

    1. Hi Kshama … i have halved the recipe , never tried 1/3 of it.. you can go ahead and try it. Yes, divide each ingredient by 1/3 where possible..

  17. Hai..my cake turned out great..that too on stove top!!! Very good recipe..thank you so much. I have a doubt though, can i refrigerate the left over batter and use it tomorrow?

    1. Hi Ameena… U can… Bring it to room temperature before baking. The height wont be as much as the freshly baked batter though…

    1. Hi Happiness… The honey imparts some flavour and a little colour. You can replace it with two tablespoons liquid (milk or water) . Or just leave it out and add an extra tablespoon of sugar…

  18. It’s the perfect cake! Taste and texture is great and that it is healthy too is an added bonus ! Thank u for this recipe !

  19. Thanks for your Nice fool proof recipe Akshata. Baking a whole wheat cake for the first time 🙂
    In case I want to substitute oil for butter/ margarine any idea what the recommended quantity should be ?

    1. Hey Anisha… it would be the same amount butter as oil..not sure about margarine as I never use it , but i am guessing it should also be the same amount

  20. Hi, Sarala. Can I reduce the number of eggs? If I use olive oil, will it taste different? Thanks

    1. Hi Shirley… i wouldn’t reduce the number of eggs here , the cake wouldn’t have the same texture. Olive oil would work – slightly different taste but otherwise the same texture as with any vegetable oil!

  21. Hi
    I baked this cake. It came out well. Thanks for the wonderful recipe. One quick question – Can I substitute wheat flour with all purpose flour and follow the same measurements. Will it be soft and moist like this.

    1. Hey Tanya…. thanks so much for trying… happy it turned out well! Yes, you can sub all purpose flour here but i do have another carrot cake on the blog with all purpose.. you can have a look there too! Happy baking !

  22. Hey Akshata! Can I double the recipe?

    And if I was using a round cake pan. Can I use a 7 inch cake pan you think?

    1. Hi Sarala… you can double it ! I would say a 8 inch . In a 7 inch , it might rise up too high . You can try it though. Fill the pan only 3/4th full and bake at 160 C.. keep an eye on it!

    2. I love this cake. However, I’m trying to avoid eggs. Is there a dairy free substitute that you would reccomend for the eggs in this recipe?

      1. Hi Carol.. i really havent tried replacing eggs here… but people wrote in to me after trying yoghurt or applesauce instead
        . They were happy with the results. You could give it a go Carol!

  23. Haii…i have tried this recipe and it came out so well n tasted extremely yummy ….. it has now became a regular cake …specially my hubby became an addict to this ..thank u so much and pls keep posting New once.all the best …

    1. Hi Shinnu…. thanks so much ! I am glad your husband liked it too… Thanks for trying and letting me know!

  24. Hi … have been looking for a recipe for a wholewheat carrot cake. Seems like my search has ended. Wanted to check one thing … have u ever tried replacing the sugar with jaggery powder ? And if yes, does it work with the same quantity ?

    1. Hi Sandhya.. I have not tried using jaggery powder myself. But someone tried the recipe with it and said it worked. ☺

      1. I did make this cake..though posting a bit late….the cake was super delicious Akshata..my husband n my kids enjoyed every bit of it..thanks a ton…n do keep posting more yummylicious recipes….☺☺

    1. Thanks Nidhi for trying the recipe . Wholewheat cakes are still very new to me so I am glad this one worked out for you !!! Thank you for sharing!

    2. In the past, before the internet provided these wonderful baking cooking ideas , we had them on our woman weekly magazines, I used to love them and made them, I was never using sugar, always honey and oil instead of butter, I used common sense, with any ingredient I was not kin , replaced them with other appropriate things as long as they conferred well , all successful , my point is I am still alive by having always used the honey instead of sugar, Now I make them like the recipe with sugar , with some exceptions , and so with olive oil instead of butter, This carrot cake looks just fantastic I love the ingredients too, I will try it SOON,

  25. Thats great Neha ! I have heard about heated honey and toxicity too. Honey when heated loses some of its healthy features, but unless you have lots of heated honey on a very regular basis , it will not harm you as such. This is what I have understood by some extensive reading. in this recipe, the two tablespoons of honey should be safe 🙂

  26. Came out grt. . Lovely recipe. Do post more healthy cakes n cookies..Jus wanna clarify one thing.. is it ok to use honey in different batter. As I am told honey become toxic when heated..

  27. Hi Neha… you can try substituting the three eggs with 1/2 cup thick curd and one small banana….

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