protein carrot cake recipe with cream cheese frosting (2024)

I was on the phone with my grandma the other day and she said “you might as well make two carrot cakes and freeze one, I always have one on hand. They are so good just as bread”. So it’s probably not hard to see where my love of carrot cake comes from. In fact, my love ofdesserts(myprotein lemon bars,banana bread,protein cinnamon rolls) has always come from one of my grandma’s!

This protein carrot cake is straight from my grandma’s kitchen. Ok, well the love and inspiration are but the flavors are inspired by this roasted carrot pantry I had that made me shed a tear for how good it was. And the ingredients are very calculated in order to maximize protein content per slice.

Why this protein carrot cake will make you do the happy food dance

• Goat cheese: This cheese is so much more protein than cream cheese. It’s got 5g per serving while cream cheese is 1-2g! It adds such a wonderful savory flavor when paired with a sweet cream cheese frosting!
• Roasting carrots: Roasting carrots does 2 things. It helps dry them out to not weigh down the cake and it brings out their natural sweetness. This means the cake itself needs less added sugar overall.
• It’s better cold: So yes, you need to let this cake fully chill but I promise it's SO worth it! And it makes it easy to make in advance!

Did this recipe put a smile on your face? Let us know! ⭐️

recipe ingredients

notes

• Greek yogurt: You have to use Greek yogurt because a regular yogurt will be too liquidy for the cake. Use non-fat greek yogurt for the highest protein content.
• Almond flour: Try to use super fine almond flour for the best texture.
• Carrots: This recipe news about 4 large carrots shredded but you can also use small carrots pulverized in a blender.
• Pineapple: Crushed pineapple is key here. Just drain off any obvious excess liquid but otherwise use it as is from the can.
• Frosting: This frosting uses cream cheese and goat cheese. It’s best that both of these are room temp to start and plain in flavor.

substitutions & variations

All substitutions are a 1:1 substitute unless otherwise noted. See recipe card for quantities.

• Maple syrup —> agave: You can replace the maple syrup with agave. I wouldn’t use honey because it will react with the baking soda and I don't recommend unsweetened applesauce because its too moist.
• Hemp seeds —> coconut shreds: If you aren’t looking for more protein, you can leave these out or use finely shredded coconut.
• Make it gluten-free: Use a 1:1 gluten-free flour (also known as gluten-free baking flour) in place of all purpose flour.

This recipe has not been tested with other substitutions or variations. If you replace or add any ingredients, please let us know how it turned out in the comments below!

how to make carrot protein cake (with photo & video!)

Be sure to scroll to the recipe card for the fullhigh protein carrot cake recipe!

1. Roast the carrots until soft and they smell sweet.
2. Mix dry ingredients in a bowl
3. Add the wet ingredients and mix until just barely combined.
4. Fold in the mix-ins like the hemp seeds, carrots, and pineapple
5. Bake in an 8x8 pan then let it chill
6. Make the frosting and let that chill
7. Assemble and enjoy!

quick recipe video

expert tips

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. Don’t over-mix: Ovemixing carrot cake will overdevelop the gluten leading to a gummy and dense cake.
4. 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.
5. 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.

common questions

troubleshooting & testing notes

I made this with all almond flour and here’s what happened.

The cake texture actually was pretty good but it was crumbly and dry while still being moist. Like, I’m not sure how that works but it was just off and didn’t stay together.

I didn’t let this cake chill and here’s why you should.

When you don’t let your cake chill, it melts the frosting and then you have a sloppy mess. So do as I say, not as I do.

how to store & meal prep it

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 or the whole cake 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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