With a tangy cream cheese frosting whipped up with high protein goat cheese, this protein carrot cake recipe boasts 15 grams of protein. There’s no protein powder and the batter is made in one bowl.
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Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour an 8x8 pan. Set the cream cheese and goat cheese out to soften.
Spread the 2 cup carrots on a tray and bake for 5-10 minutes until dried out. Remove and set aside.
Mix the 2 eggs, 1 cup greek yogurt, ⅓ cup oil, ½ cup maple syrup, ½ cup milk, and 1 tablespoon vanilla in a large bowl. Then add the 1.5 cup all purpose flour, ¾ teaspoon ginger, 1 tablespoon cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon cardamom, ½ cup almond flour, ½ teaspoon salt, 3 teaspoon baking powder, and 2 teaspoon baking soda and mix until just combined.
Gently fold in the Zest from half an orange, ½ cup hemp seeds, and ¼ cup crushed pineapple. Transfer to the 8x8 baking dish and bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
While it bakes, make the frosting by using a hand mixer to combine the 4 oz cream cheese, 4 oz goat cheese, 4 cups powdered sugar, ½ teaspoon salt, and Zest and juice from half an orange. Place this in the fridge to chill until ready to use.
Once the cake is done, remove from the oven and let cool for 30 minutes. Then cover and transfer to the fridge to completely chill. Once chill, frost with the frosting and top with walnuts or excess roasted carrots just before serving.
Video
Notes
Expert Tips
Bring to room temperature: The cream cheese and goat cheese are SO much easier to work with this way. So set them out right away to soften.
Roast the carrots first: While the carrots roast, you can measure everything out. But having the carrots ready to go saves you from having the baking powder and soda react in the batter before it gets to the oven. This can happen while waiting to mix in a last ingredient.
Don’t over-mix: Oemixing carrot cake will overdevelop the gluten leading to a gummy and dense cake.
Let it all chill out: Let the cake fully cool to room temperature first, then cover and move to the fridge. Make the frosting and let it also chill in the fridge to firm up.
Grease and flour your pan: Nonstick or not, this will ensure you don’t have a cake stuck to the bottom. That would be very sad.
Storage tips
Fridge
This cake can be kept in air-tight containers for up to 1 week in the fridge. It will start to get very wet after day 3.
Frozen
You can freeze the frosted cake (once totally chilled) for up to 3 months. To freeze it, wrap slices in plastic wrap and then place them in plastic zip-top bags.
Reheating
Ideally, this cake is eaten cold, so leaving it to thaw int he fridge overnight is best, or even on the counter for 30 minutes. But you can pop it in the microwave in 15-second intervals to quickly thaw it.
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Additional substitution information can be found above in the substitution section of this post.
Nutrition Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate and for informational purposes only.