Carrot Cake with Yogurt Frosting
I recreated our favorite restaurant dessert from home for Caleb’s birthday this year. It's simple and delicious.
Cake
1 1/2 cups coconut sugar
Splash of vanilla extract
3/4 cup butter, ghee, or coconut oil, melted and cooled
4 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
3 cups grated carrots
Optional: pecans for topping, pecans and raisins for mix-ins
Frosting
16 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup plain greek yogurt
1/2 cup maple syrup
Splash of vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 350°F and prepare two 9” cake pans by spraying with oil and lining the bottom with parchment paper.
Make the cake. Combine wet ingredients in a bowl using a mixer or whisk, add dry ingredients, and mix until smooth. *Add a handful of optional mix-ins. Divide batter into cake pans.
Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the center is set. Once slightly cooled, gently flatten the tops with the palm of your hand to level. Cool completely and remove from pans by loosening edges with a knife if needed.
Make frosting by combining ingredients in a mixing bowl until completely smooth.
Assemble cake. Top the bottom layer of cake with a thick layer of frosting, add the top cake layer and top again with more frosting. Add optional garnishes. Once frosted, serve immediately.
Notes: Our preferred variation is using all-purpose flour or 1:1 gluten free all-purpose flour (King Arthur) and butter. I prefer using a full fat yogurt and cream cheese for this recipe. Feel free to add more syrup or swap for honey if desired. You can use three 6” cake pans, a large 9x13” baking dish, or a cupcake pan instead and adjust bake time accordingly. To cool cake faster, add to the freezer. Any leftover frosting would make an excellent fruit dip. Any uneaten cake could be made into cake balls drizzled with white chocolate after frozen. You can sub the cream cheese for more Greek yogurt but the end consistency may change slightly.
