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Carrot cake has always been my Mum’s favourite type of baked treat so it’s no surprised that it’s also one of mine too! Although a standard recipe does contain a large amount of oil and icing sugar it isn’t the unhealthiest cake in the window. However to make it the healthiest it can be and near enough guilt free *chuckles at unintentional rhyming* I swapped a couple ingredients to create a healthy spiced carrot cake recipe.

You’ll be surprised that it has all the characteristics of a regular carrot cake, so much so If you didn’t tell anyone it was a ‘healthy version’ they wouldn’t know and I may go as far as saying its actually tastier than your average recipe!

The Cake
2 medium carrots
1 medium egg
½ cup maple syrup
¼ cup semi skimmed milk
1 ½ cups whole wheat flour
¼ cup 0% Greek yoghurt
3 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp melted coconut oil
1 ½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
1 ½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp nutmeg 

The Frosting
1 cup mascarpone cheese
3 tbsp  0% Greek yoghurt
2 tsp natural powdered sweetener 
1 tsp vanilla extract (can adjust to how sweet you would like the frosting)

How to bake the carrot cake… 
1. Preheat the oven to 180c (gas mark 4) and line a baking pan with grease proof paper.
2. Mix together the dry ingredients in a small bowl (flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt) and put this to one side.
3. In a separate bowl beat together the coconut oil, egg, and vanilla. Next slowly stir in the golden syrup and Greek yoghurt whisking thoroughly to ensure the mixture is smooth.
4. Now alternate between adding the dry ingredients and the milk to the mixture, folding and stirring until the batter is even. 
5. Next, grate the 2 medium carrots and fold this into the mixture evenly.  
6. Pour the carrot cake mixture into the pre heated pan and spread evenly across. 
7. Bake for approx. 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. 
8. Once baked, remove the cake from the pan and set aside on a baking tray to cool ready for the frosting. 

How to make the frosting… 
1. The frosting is the easiest thing to make and can be adjusting to your own personal taste. Add the Greek yoghurt, mascarpone, sweetener and vanilla extract into a bowl and fold until the mixture is even. If you prefer your frosting a little sweeter add more of the sweetener or if you prefer it to have a more distinctive vanilla taste, simply add more vanilla extract! 
2. Use a spatula to spread the frosting onto the cooled cake (I wanted my frosting to have texture so I lightly dragged a fork across the top to create waves). 
3. Let the frosting set for approx. 1 hour before slicing/ serving or pop it into the fridge for an extra moist cake.