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    Home » Recipes » Desserts

    Carrot Cake with Cottage Cheese Frosting

    Published: Mar 25, 2016 · Updated: Mar 20, 2018 by Natalie · 14 Comments

    Rustic, sweet and heavenly fragrant, Carrot Cake with tangy Cottage Cheese Frosting is super HEALTHY and easy to make dessert. It's nutritious, made with whole wheat flour, loaded with nutrients, refined sugar-free and low-calorie. The family favorite spring cake! 

    Carrots are in season so let's overdue with carrots, shall we... ;) Last week I made some raw Carrot Cake Energy Balls, which are like tiny versions of real carrot cake. So today I thought, well why not give you a recipe for the real deal... The Carrot Cake - my version...  a healthier version.

    If you tried my Carrot Cake Energy Balls, I’m 100% sure you will love this carrot cake too. Well, to be completely honest, this recipe is a quite classic one but I modified it a bit, to be more nutritious and healthier. SO this Carrot Cake is made without unnecessary/empty calories. 

    Easy Carrot Cake with Cottage Cheese Frosting made with all HEALTHY ingredients, refined sugar-free and low-calorie. Perfect Easter spring dessert. NATALIESHEALTH.COM #nosugar #lowcalorie #cake #dessert #Easter #healthy

    This cake is made from whole grains – whole wheat flour, and it’s naturally sweetened with fresh carrots and honey. Instead of cream cheese, that is usually used for making a carrot cake frosting, I used cottage cheese. Cream cheese is full of fats and loaded with additives while cottage cheese contains less fat, and it’s full of healthy proteins. 

    Also instead of using butter to bind the ingredients in frosting, I used super healthy coconut oil. With mentioned small modifications, I turned classic fatty and sugary carrot cake into nutritious and HEALTHY spring dessert in which you can enjoy without thinking of unnecessary calories, unhealthy sugars, and fats. Great, isn’t?!

    Easy Carrot Cake with Cottage Cheese Frosting made with all HEALTHY ingredients, refined sugar-free and low-calorie. Perfect Easter spring dessert. NATALIESHEALTH.COM #nosugar #lowcalorie #cake #dessert #Easter #healthy

    I spiced this Carrot Cake with warm spices – cinnamon and nutmeg that gave the cake an overwhelming scent and flavor. Carrots nicely softened the biscuit in the oven and turned this cake into a moist and flavorful beauty that matched perfectly with sweet and sour cottage cheese frosting.

    This Carrot Cake may be simple... but it's absolutely my favorite spring dessert. Rustic, sweet and heavenly fragrant, moist and made with all HEALTHY ingredients. AND it's sooo easy to prepare. I love it!

    Easy Carrot Cake with Cottage Cheese Frosting made with all HEALTHY ingredients, refined sugar-free and low-calorie. Perfect Easter spring dessert. NATALIESHEALTH.COM #nosugar #lowcalorie #cake #dessert #Easter #healthy

    My husband isn't the biggest carrot cake fan (Yeah I know!... like WHAT?!) ... but this Carrot Cake passed his ultimate test. Carrots are so cleverly hidden in a batter that you won't even noticed it. Still, carrots enrich this cake with natural sweetness and give the wonderful texture.... and, of course, all of its nutritional and healthy benefits.

    Easy Carrot Cake with Cottage Cheese Frosting made with all HEALTHY ingredients, refined sugar-free and low-calorie. Perfect Easter spring dessert. NATALIESHEALTH.COM #nosugar #lowcalorie #cake #dessert #Easter #healthy

    I hope you liked this recipe, and I really hope you'll make this Carrot Cake many times this spring. Actually, carrots are in season throughout the whole year, so you can enjoy in this healthy Carrot Cake whenever you want. 

    Enjoy!

    Recipe

    Carrot cake | www.natalieshealth.com

    Carrot Cake with Cottage Cheese Frosting

    By Natalie
    Easy Carrot Cake with Cottage Cheese Frosting made with all HEALTHY ingredients, refined sugar-free and low-calorie. Perfect Easter spring dessert.
    4.6 from 28 votes
    Print Recipe
    Prep Time 10 minutes mins
    Cook Time 30 minutes mins
    Total Time 40 minutes mins
    Course Dessert
    Cuisine International
    Servings 8 slices
    Calories 235 kcal

    Ingredients
      

    • 1 ½ cup whole wheat flour
    • 1 teaspoon baking powder
    • ½ teaspoon baking soda
    • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
    • ½ teaspoon nutmeg
    • 4 eggs
    • 2 tablespoon extra virgin coconut oil melted and cooled
    • 5 tablespoon honey
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    • 2-3 tablespoon milk cow's low-fat or plant milk
    • 2 cups raw carrots grated

    For frosting

    • 1 cup cottage cheese
    • 2 tablespoon Greek yogurt
    • 2 tablespoon honey
    • 2 tablespoon extra virgin coconut oil melted and cooled
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

    Instructions
     

    • Preheat oven to 356F (180C).
    • In a bowl, mix the dry ingredients - flour, baking powder, baking soda and spices.
    • In a separate bowl whisk eggs. Add melted but cooled coconut oil, honey and vanilla. Mix well.
    • Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix thoroughly. Stir in grated carrot and mix well with a spoon. Add milk if the mixture is too thick.
    • Pour the mixture into the baking pan and bake for 25-30 minutes (check with a toothpick, if it comes out clean the cake is ready). Remove from the oven and allow to cool. During that time, prepare the frosting.

    Frosting

    • Mix all ingredients with the electric mixer until the mixture is smooth.
    • Let the mixture set for 20 minutes in the fridge.
    • Spread on top of the cooled cake.
    • Keep in an airtight container refrigerated until serving.

    Notes

    As a measure I used a US cup (240 ml).

    Nutrition

    Calories: 235kcal | Carbohydrates: 39g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 95mg | Sodium: 265mg | Potassium: 277mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 18g | Vitamin A: 5550IU | Vitamin C: 2.5mg | Calcium: 100mg | Iron: 1.8mg
    Tried this recipe?Don’t forget to rate it and leave the comment. I would love to hear what you think.
    DisclaimerThe nutritional information provided is approximate and is calculated using online tools. Information can vary depending on various factors, but I have endeavored to be as accurate as possible.
     
    Xoxo, 

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    Easy Carrot Cake with Cottage Cheese Frosting made with all HEALTHY ingredients, refined sugar-free and low-calorie. Perfect Easter spring dessert. NATALIESHEALTH.COM #nosugar #lowcalorie #cake #dessert #Easter #healthy

    About Natalie

    Natalie is a writer, recipe developer, and creator of Natalie's Health. She combined knowledge of nutrition, diet and exercise and specialised in developing healthy recipes and writing about a healthy lifestyle. Her recipes and articles have been featured in many popular media outlets, like Shape, Greatist, Pure Wow, Mashed, The Huffington Post, ELLE Magazine, and many more.

    Comments

    1. Sonia Ramlal says

      June 28, 2021 at 12:40 am

      Hi Natalie,
      Looking forward to trying your Carrot Cake recipe. Sounds delish!
      Thank you for sharing.
      I just have one question as I am new to baking carrot cakes, do I pour the batter into a greased pan or a greased and floured pan before baking?
      Looking forward to your reply:)

      Reply
      • Natalie says

        June 29, 2021 at 10:08 am

        I prefer greasing the pan and flouring it before pouring the batter. That way I'm sure batter won't stick. But just greasing is fine too. :) Enjoy the cake!

    2. Jo says

      April 28, 2019 at 12:36 am

      Hi Natalie,
      The recipe looks lovely however coconut oil isn’t healthy.It is high in trans fat.The cottage cheese icing looks great though.
      Thanks Jo

      Reply
      • Natalie says

        May 19, 2019 at 6:16 pm

        Hi Jo! Coconut oil is in fact saturated fat, and (animal) saturated fats are kinda bad. But still, there's a bit difference between other saturated fats (animal ones) and coconut oil. Coconut oil is PLANT based oil. I use virgin coconut oil meaning it's not processed (refined) like other plant-based oils (vegetable oils etc). Also, coconut oil may have a bad reputation, but again many studies showed that it has some really strong anti-inflammatory properties. So it may be named "bad" but still not as bad as other fats and other unhealthy stuff people eat every day.

        I think the key to a healthy life is to eat all in moderation with the exception of highly processed foods and trans fats, fast food and sugary food. I ditched those LONG time ago... it changed my life completely. And while I use coconut oil in my baking and cooking, I also use other monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats that keep my body in balance. For example, I use extra virgin olive oil every day in my salads. Also flaxseed oil and walnut oil.

    3. Carre says

      November 08, 2018 at 10:01 pm

      5 stars
      I cannot wait to try this! So glad to find a recipe substituting cottage cheese for cream cheese!

      Reply
      • Natalie says

        November 09, 2018 at 11:00 am

        I'm glad you like it Carre. Enjoy!

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    I’m Natalie, the creator of Natalie’s Health — a foodie passionate about healthy living. I craft recipes with wholesome ingredients that nourish the body and inspire vibrant health. My journey began with my own health challenges. My recipes have been featured in Shape, Greatist, ELLE, and more.

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