A healthy and easy carrot cake recipe that is so delicious, gluten-free, made with oats and free of refined sugars! It is healthy enough to start your day for breakfast and is topped with buttery refined sugar-free icing made naturally with maple syrup and tapioca flour!
Yep, you read right, cake for breakfast! Too good of a carrot cake to save for just Easter!
Do you wish you could eat cake like every day for breakfast? And it "be acceptable"? Well now you can literally have your cake and eat it too... first thing in the morning!
I prefer mine with a ginormous size cup of bullet proof coffee.
This easy carrot cake recipe is SOOO moist, fluffy and made with nourishing healthy gluten-free and dairy-free ingredients. Even in the icing!
I even gotcha covered with cholesterol reducing oats inside the batter. So if you need more oats in your diet- this recipe is perfect for you! Because you are eating oats, carrots, coconut flake- CAKE for BREAKFAST! YES. YES. and YES!!!
Are you wondering how to make carrot cake? Traditionally I see carrot cake recipes made with eggs, flour, cinnamon, pineapple, coconut flakes, shredded carrots, and pecans. Show my kiddos nuts and they will fully disapprove of this easy carrot cake. But keep those nuts outta the cake and they gobble it right up!
I'll be honest, I almost gave up on making carrot cake healthier and kid approved. It took a few tries and gluten-free flour is not cheap! So tossing a few cakes left me in the kitchen depleted of energy and left with mounds of dishes. Let the waterworks begin. Then lets try again. And again. And again. Whaaa, Whaaaa! But that's my personality. I don't give up till I get it right.
And right it FINALLY was my friends! Third time was a charm.
Don't you hate it too when a recipe flops? Well I did the floppin' for ya:-) The first batch used pineapple and nuts and the boys did not like the texture. The next round I added too much moisture and it flopped. The third round was perfect! Instead of pineapple I used extra apple sauce- which is smooth and still naturally sweet. I skipped the nuts but you can totally add them in if you prefer.
Since this easy carrot cake is on the lighter side, I added a homemade "icing" for you! It is made with vegan butter, maple syrup and tapioca flour whipped together to form a light sweet cream. Easy does it!
Let me help with the steps.
How to make this easy carrot cake breakfast recipe:
First, lets shred the carrots. I prefer super fine or slightly thick using a triangular cheese grater. Of course the fine grating side takes way longer, but it makes the texture in this cake smoother for any picky eaters who do not want to see obvious vegetables.
Next, grab two large bowls. One for the wet ingredients. One for the dry ingredients. Add the wet ingredients to a bowl and whisk together. In the other bowl add the dry ingredients then make a well in the center and add the wet ingredients. Mix together well and then fold in the carrots (and nuts if you want to add them though they are not in the recipe).
Bake the carrot cake in a 9x9 inch square baking dish for about 55-60 minutes at 350 degrees or until a knife comes out clean when you check it in the oven.
When the cake has cooled slice off the edges then cut it into 9 squares.
Time to make refined sugar-free icing!
To make refined sugar free icing (in other words without confectioners sugar) mix maple syrup, tapioca flour and butter! That's it!
It took me quite a few tries to perfect for my e-books. But I did it. Yay!!! And this icing is perfect in the morning because it won't give you processed sugar energy spikes - fake energy that does not last!
Tapioca flour is naturally slightly sweet and has the same consistency as confectioners sugar. So to sweeten it up add maple syrup or honey and whip it together with ghee, butter, or dairy-free vegan butter. I usually have vegan butter spread around so that is what I use.
Let's take a moment to recap. Is this really about finding an easy carrot cake recipe or healthy carrot cake recipe? Or the fact that it is both and can should be eaten for breakfast?! It's like eating a bowl of oatmeal-cake-in-one! It's a light, moist and deliciously healthy oatmeal carrot cake with buttery refined sugar-free icing!
Please pin to save and if you make the recipe please tag me on Facebook and Instagram @delightfulmomfood #delightfulmomfood so I can see what you are up to!
PIN This healthy easy carrot cake breakfast cake!
Easy Breakfast Carrot Cake With Buttery Refined Sugar-Free Icing
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Ingredients
Carrot Cake
- ⅓ cup almond meal flour
- 2 cups gluten-free flour
- ½ cup tapioca flour
- ½ cup gluten-free oats
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ginger
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 ½ cups apple sauce
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- ½ cup shredded unsweetened coconut
- 2 cups grated carrots
Icing
- ½ cup butter vegan/dairy-free or ghee preferably
- ½ cup maple syrup
- 1 cup tapioca flour
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare a 9x9 inch baking pan by spraying it with cooking spray.
- Grate the carrots.
- Gather two large mixing bowls. In one combine the almond meal, gluten-free flour, tapioca flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and shredded coconut and mix till combined. Make a well in the center.
- In the other mixing bowl combine the apple sauce, eggs, maple syrup and vanilla and mix till combined. Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and mix to combine then fold in the grated carrots.
- Pour the batter in the prepared baking dish and bake for 55-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool to room temperature. Turn the cake over on a cooling rack to finish cooling.
- Make the icing: Using an electric mixer, add the icing ingredients: ½ cup butter, ½ cup maple syrup and 1 cup of tapioca flour. Whip on low to start then gradually turn it up to high and whip for 30 seconds. May need to scrape the sides with a spatula into the icing then whip until the icing is smooth.
- Optional to slice the side off the cake. Spread the icing over the cake or use a 1M icing top to for frosting designs. Top with carrot swirls or crushed pecans or walnuts.
- Serve room temperature or warmed slightly.
Nutrition
Mind you these are MASSIVE size pieces and can easily be sliced into 12-16 pieces.
Toni says
I have another healthy carrot cake recipe that I use, but I'll try this one. However, I won't be adding a cup of maple syrup; will probably use xylitol, then add a couple Tbls of liquid. Thanks for your experimentation!
Danielle Fahrenkrug says
That works great! You can also try the liquid Monk fruit version. But let me know how your version works out! 🙂
mira says
This carrot cake looks amazing! Can't wait to try it!
Danielle at Delightful Mom Food says
Thank you Mira! It's a healthier twist, and SOOO tasty and filling! - Perfect if you have a sweet tooth in the mornings!