Fruit-Sweetened Carrot Cake Loaf

2019-04-19 /
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Fruit-sweetened carrot cake loaf, just in time for Easter. This loaf is incredibly moist and naturally sweetened with dates and applesauce. Have it for breakfast, snacks or dessert!

carrot cake loaf

Yes, I’m a little last-minute sharing an Easter recipe, but on my defense, these cookie dough mousse cups were meant as an Easter recipe as well.

Are you doing anything exciting for the long Easter weekend? Shaun and I are in Calgary to visit family and I’m so excited for a second weekend away (after visiting Nelson last weekend). We’re there for 4 days, spending time with family, exploring the city and hopefully stopping in Banff on the way back for a little hike. We haven’t been there since last summer when we drove across Canada and I’m so happy to be going back. Banff was definitely the highlight of our trip last summer, so it should be fun.

I won’t be cooking much this weekend, but I did bring a carrot cake loaf with us. I’ve been testing it all week, which means we have a lot of it in the fridge. I suppose I could share a little.

date mixture in a food processor
carrot cake mixture in a food processor
unbaked carrot cake in a loaf pan

The best part about this carrot cake loaf? It can be a nutritious breakfast or snack, yet it’s sweet enough for dessert.

Unlike my favorite banana bread, this carrot cake loaf is sweetened with dates, applesauce (and pineapple if you’d like), which makes it sweeter. It’s insanely moist thanks to all the fruits and a touch of oil. I love it best when served with sunflower seed butter for a little boost of protein and extra flavor. It’s the best combination, trust me! Plus, this way, you’re combining carbs and protein for a healthier breakfast or snack.

For a real treat, you could serve it as a cake with cream cheese frosting or maybe some coconut whipped cream or nice cream. Whichever way you decide to go, it will be delicious.

Watch How to Make the Recipe:

Looking for more last-minute sugar-free Easter desserts? Here are some of my favorites:

baked carrot cake loaf in pan
carrot cake loaf sliced with nut butter
Fruit-Sweetened Carrot Cake Loaf
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5 from 7 votes

Fruit-Sweetened Carot Cake Loaf

This carrot cake loaf is sweetened with dates and applesauce and is made high in fiber thanks to whole wheat flour. Healthy enough for breakfast and a snack, yet sweet enough for dessert. 
Course Dessert
Cuisine vegetarian
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Servings 8

Ingredients

  • 1 cup Medjool dates, pitted
  • 1 cup applesauce (room temperature)
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 cup carrots, finely grated
  • 1 1/2 cup whole wheat or spelt flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, ground
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, ground
  • 1/4 teaspoon ginger
  • Pinch of clove
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • Walnuts and raisins (optional)

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a loaf pan using butter or oil.
  • In a food processor, add dates, applesauce, oil and vanilla. Process until smooth, about 1-2 minutes. Don’t worry if you have small pieces of dates. Add the grated carrots and pulse a few times. Set aside.
  • In a medium bowl, stir together flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, clove, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Transfer the date mixture to the bowl as well as the eggs. Stir it all together until combined.
  • Transfer to the prepared loaf pan. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Wait 10 minutes before slicing.

Notes

Add raisins and walnuts if desired. I haven’t tried it as I prefer it as is, but add your quantity of choice.
The loaf was a little overly moist using spelt flour, but I still loved it. If you love extra moist (almost lightly undercooked) desserts, you can try it using spelt. Whole wheat flour resulted in a dryer, but still very moist loaf. I used whole wheat bread flour.
I haven’t tried it, but melted coconut oil or a light tasting oil should work too.
I use a spoon and level method for measuring flour.
You can try replacing the applesauce with crushed pineapple (in the same amount) or you can do half pineapple and half applesauce.

If you make this carrot cake loaf, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! I love to hear from you guys. And of course, if you try this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram!

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52 Comments

    • Unsweetened Caroline
      2019-04-23 at 5:33 am Reply

      Hi Alida. Sorry but I haven’t tried it. It would change the recipe significantly if using grain-free flours. I’m not much help until I try it myself. Sorry! If you do try it, let me know. It could help others!

      • CarGo
        2019-11-17 at 12:22 pm Reply

        5 stars
        Delicious! Made it as per the instructions (no mods), and with spelt flour. It was beautifully moist and succulent. My eight year old, who hates all cakes, gobbled three slices and is begging for more. Keep the fruit-sweetened recipes coming!

    • Rachel
      2019-07-26 at 9:46 am Reply

      5 stars
      Wow another delicious recipe! Keep them coming 🙂
      I made it together with my kids and we all absolutely loved it! This is a real treat
      Thank you so much

  • Victoria
    2019-05-01 at 5:01 pm Reply

    5 stars
    I am in love with this recipe and how “sweet” it tastes with no sugar! It has been the perfect pick-me up treat. Thank you!!

  • Rachael
    2019-05-04 at 7:22 pm Reply

    5 stars
    I just made this, and I’m trying to not eat the whole batch in one sitting! So delicious! I added walnuts and dark chocolate chips for a more “dessert” kind of feel, and it’s absolutely fabulous. And quick to pull together too! Thanks Caroline!

  • Joanna
    2019-06-07 at 1:17 am Reply

    4 stars
    I enjoyed making these with a few substitutions. I omitted ginger, nutmeg, and clove, ’cause I didn’t have them. I added a few tablespoons of almond flour, and some water because whenever I bake with whole wheat flour, the finished product turns dry and dense. Taste-wise, it’s good. Would you know how many calories are there in one slice?

    • Unsweetened Caroline
      2019-06-08 at 8:31 am Reply

      I’m happy you liked the taste of it! I’m sorry you gave it a 4 star review though as you didn’t exactly follow the recipe. It might be a little misleading for others looking at doing the recipe. Thank you for explaining your substitutions though. I don’t calculate the calories for the recipes on my blog at this time, but it’s something I’m hoping to do in the future. Sorry for the inconvenience! Have a great weekend. 🙂

  • Faaiza
    2019-08-16 at 7:53 am Reply

    Hi!
    I’ve just come across your blog & loving all your recipes. This carrot cake recipe is just what I was looking for. I wondered what your thoughts on rye flour for this recipe are? Would it work?
    I tend to bake with spelt/rye/grain free flours, I’m no expert in that but it’s because I try to avoid wheat for health reasons.

    I hope you can let me know what you think!

    Thanks

    🙂

    • Unsweetened Caroline
      2019-08-17 at 9:47 am Reply

      Hi Faaiza, thank you so much! To be honest, I’ve never used rye flour myself (other than buying rye bread), so I can’t be sure. However, I have tried the recipe with spelt flour and it was delicious! If you try it with rye, let me know! Otherwise, I hope the spelt gives you an option. 🙂

  • Posy
    2019-08-18 at 12:00 pm Reply

    5 stars
    This is delicious!!! I’ve been looking for whole fruit sweetened dessert recipes for a long time, and they’re definitely few and far between. Thank you for this site! I’m excited to try your other recipes. I made a few modifications to the carrot loaf: used 1 whole apple instead of applesauce (chopped and whirred with dates), 1/3 c olive oil for a slightly richer crumb, and doubled the ginger for a little more spice. Yum!!!

  • Carol-Ann
    2019-11-10 at 6:10 pm Reply

    I tried it twice and both times it was so wet that it was unedible yet the outside was brown. So upset that I wasted all those ingredients. Straight into the green bin.

    • Unsweetened Caroline
      2019-11-11 at 5:03 am Reply

      I’m so sorry that happened. I’m not sure what to say as I’ve never had this issue and I’ve had great feedback from everyone who’s tried the recipe. Did you by any chance change something in the recipe?

  • Em
    2019-11-15 at 10:31 am Reply

    5 stars
    I didn’t have any applesauce or dates, but I do have two bags of carrots and two bunches of bananas, both at the end of their rope. So I crossed my fingers and switched the applesauce and dates for two cups of mashed bananas (and made muffins instead of bread in case they were a little soft) and this has turned out quite well! Now I’m eager to get to the grocery store and try this as it was meant to be.

    It’s quite difficult to find “sugar free” baking recipes where sugar isn’t just replaced with honey or maple syrup, so I’ve really been enjoying this site!

    • Unsweetened Caroline
      2019-11-16 at 5:35 am Reply

      Hi Em, thank you so much for your sweet comment! I’m so glad it turned out well, even with the substitutions. I’ll have to try it myself too! I hope you’ll enjoy the original recipe as well. 🙂 Happy weekend!

  • Natalie
    2020-01-13 at 6:38 pm Reply

    5 stars
    Great recipe!!! I tried it using flax eggs and it worked really well. I made it for my 16 month old daughter, and she gobbled it.

  • Aleef Noor
    2020-01-15 at 7:33 pm Reply

    Hello,
    This recipe is exactly what I was looking for, but I don’t have applesauce. Is it okay to leave it out?

    • Unsweetened Caroline
      2020-01-17 at 5:10 pm Reply

      Hi Aleef, unfortunately the applesauce is an important part of the recipe as it adds moisture and some sweetness. The loaf may be dry without it. The closest alternative would be mashed bananas (in the same amount), although this would change the flavour. Otherwise, you could try adding oil, although I can’t guarantee any amount or that the result would be the same. I highly recommend sticking to the recipe if possible. Hope you’ll find something that works!

  • Alisha Ross
    2020-02-03 at 8:06 pm Reply

    5 stars
    Can’t wait to try the recipes for Passover!! Thanks for the great recipes. I appreciate it so much!!

  • Michelle Hauser
    2020-02-24 at 10:20 am Reply

    5 stars
    This recipe is incredible; just incredible. I gave up sugar and white flour 4 years ago and also gave up baking. I do miss special-occasion baking, though, and this recipe fills the bill. You are a culinary genius.

  • Samantha
    2020-05-27 at 7:08 am Reply

    5 stars
    Absolutely loved this recipe!
    Did a few switches:
    – Subbed four option for brown rice flour
    – Subbed applesauce for mashed bananas
    – Subbed vanilla extract for vanilla bean
    – Did not have enough carrots so did half carrots, half apple
    – Subbed olive oil for coconut oil

    It turned out really well and i enjoyed it so so much! The natural sweetness was great, and not too sweet so it was right up my alley.
    I will be trying it again this weekend, this time I will try mixing brown rice and chickpea flour, and substituting the eggs for flax eggs!

  • Danica
    2020-06-20 at 7:26 am Reply

    5 stars
    These were amazing! I have been on a no sugar challenge including added sugar and this site has been really nice. Thank you so much! Is there any way you can turn this into muffins?

    • Nourished by Caroline
      2020-06-20 at 8:46 pm Reply

      Hi Danica, thank you so much for the sweet comment. I’m always happy to help! As for making them into muffins, I haven’t tried it yet. However, I’ve had success making other bread recipes into muffins by baking them for 15-18 minutes. It’s worth a try! If you want a recipe that’s been tested, I do have a recent carrot muffin recipe on the blog. They do have maple however, so I’m not sure if they fit your preferences. If so, look for maple carrot muffins on the blog. Hope this helps!

  • Fiona
    2020-07-06 at 2:43 am Reply

    5 stars
    Another fantastic recipe! I am so in love with your banana loaf recipe that I thought I’d try this one and it was so good. I used spelt flour and melted coconut oil in place of butter. I also added in some raisins (that looked a bit sad, so I soaked in hot water for 10 mins first) and chopped walnuts. The loaf is so juicy and moist, it’s the perfect recipe. Pulsing the carrots makes them disappear into the batter you you don’t get that ‘carroty’ look as with most carrot cakes. I think that’s a bonus though. I love that I can share this with my toddler for a morning snack. So happy to have found your wonderful website, thank you 🙂

  • Wendy
    2020-07-17 at 6:48 pm Reply

    Hi, I saw that you said you could also add pineapple, but it didn’t say how or how much. Can you specific, as I would like to try it that way. Thanks!

    • Nourished by Caroline
      2020-10-02 at 9:21 am Reply

      Thank you for rating the recipe. 🙂 I haven’t tried it into muffins yet, but from experience with turning other breads into muffins, my guess would be around 18-20 minutes. If you try it, let me know how it turns out! I’ll also update the recipe when I try it too.

  • blancamecof
    2020-10-07 at 2:56 am Reply

    Hi Caroline! Loved this recipe and I’m looking forward to trying it. However I’ve got to ask, how do you make the applesauce??

  • Brier
    2020-11-02 at 12:34 pm Reply

    5 stars
    Great recipe!
    I made this with about 15 regular sized dates, and all purpose flour. The loaf turned out great.. I wouldn’t make it any other way now! It is especially tasty toasted with butter or peanut butter.

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