Light and Fluffy Carrot Cake Loaf
The Perfect Post-Holiday Carrot Cake: Light, Fluffy, and Almost Healthy
Jump to RecipeThe new year has just started, and maybe you indulged in a little too much chocolate and too many cookies over the holidays. Now you’re at a point where sugar doesn’t sound quite as appealing—or maybe you’re still savoring the holiday vibes, where cake at 11 a.m. felt completely acceptable. After all, the time between Christmas and New Year’s doesn’t count, right? It’s that magical week where you can do whatever you feel like.
In Germany, we even have a term for it: zwischen den Jahren (“between the years”). It’s not quite the old year anymore, but it’s also not fully the new year yet—a time to pause and do as you please.
This carrot cake is perfect for easing back into normal life after the holidays. It helps make the transition a little easier. It’s still cake, but with carrots, so it’s basically healthy—right? It’s also low in sugar, and if you top it with skyr or Greek yogurt, you’ll get some extra protein, too. It’s light, fluffy, and just the thing to balance out the richer desserts you probably enjoyed over Christmas.
If you liked my banana bread recipe, you’re going to love this one too. The combination of skyr and carrots keeps the texture moist and airy—definitely not dry. Plus, it’s super easy to make! Honestly, the hardest part is grating the carrots (pro tip: use the fine side of your grater for the best texture).
This cake is perfect for January, when life feels tough and motivation is low. After spending so much time in the kitchen over the holidays, no one wants to dive into complicated recipes. But January can also be a dark and long month. Here in Denmark, it’s just dark and grey and cold. They put down the Christmas lights right after Christmas is done, which is way too soon. Spring is still far away and there is nothing to look forward to. You don’t feel like leaving the house, so baking is a great activity to do at home. It’s the perfect cozy activity for when you’d rather not leave the house. So why not whip up this simple carrot cake? It might just make January a little brighter.
Light and Fluffy Carrot Cake Loaf
Course: Dessert, Cake, Sweet10
servings50
minutes180
CelsiusThis simple carrot cake is extra fluffy. Perfect for using any leftover carrots or if you want to feel healthy while eating cake. Top off with some skyr or yogurt to create a balanced snack.
Ingredients
- For the cake:
150g butter (soft)
80g caster sugar + 15g for the top
40g brown sugar (or substitute with caster sugar)
1 tsp vanilla sugar or whatever vanilla you have available
2 large eggs
1 tsp cinnamon (optional)
250g flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
50g skyr or greek yogurt
200g carrots (peeled)
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 180 C (fan).
- In a bigger bowl, whisk together butter, the sugars, vanilla and cinnamon. Make sure the butter is soft enough or melted. Mix well for at least 5 minutes so the batter gets lighter in color.
- Mix in skyr or yogurt.
- Add flour, baking powder and salt. Carefully fold it in to not overmix.
- Finely grate carrots and fold these in as well.
- Grease a loaf tin with butter and sprinkle some sugar inside to coat the tin.
- Pour the batter into the greased tin. Sprinkle on some more sugar. This will create a nice crunch on the outside.
- Bake for about 50 minutes at 180 C until it’s golden brown and a stick comes out clear in the middle.
Notes
- You can easily swap the butter with vegan or lactose free butter.
- If you want the cake to be less sweet, you can just use less sugar. This is usually possible in cakes and doesn’t affect the structure too much.
- You can also add 30g of neutral protein powder to increase the protein. Just add it to the flour. I don’t think it changes the texture or flavor, but it’s of course totally optional.
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