Healthier apricot carrot cake

Cake with vegetables sounds healthy, but is usually far from it. This version lightens up the traditional recipe with dried apricots, applesauce, and coconut sugar; reduces the fat and swaps in coconut oil; and swaps out half of the white flour for whole wheat. Add in walnuts for Omega-3s (or leave them out to make this school safe) and you have a healthier option for your Easter table that’s equally delicious and showstopping.

Take me to the cake!

I’m still struggling with the eternal question: Is it worth it to healthify desserts? If my kid factors into the equation, then yes. He’s often satisfied with a “healthy” sweet. I, on the other hand, really wanted a doughnut for breakfast and no amount of healthy treats was going to cut it.

However! If there’s a recipe ripe for healthifying, a dessert starring a vegetable is it.

I started recipe testing this cake by dumping everything into a bowl and calling it a day. The results were delicious, but dense, so I decided to do as others have done and whip the eggs and sugar at the start to make the crumb a bit lighter. Often, cake directions tell you to cream butter and sugar / butter and eggs / sugar and eggs (as in this case) until they’re “light and fluffy.” Unfortunately, the coconut sugar is so dark that you’ll never really achieve this. What you want instead is just to aerate the eggs, sugar, and other liquids. Don’t worry about it too much, just make sure that you see lots of bubbles once all of the liquid is combined.

Alone, this cake is delicious, but tastes like a muffin or a quick bread, not a cake. But slathered in cream cheese frosting, this is a CAKE.

Can I tell you a secret about making the frosting? I don’t measure the sugar. You heard that: I don’t measure the sugar. I mix in a couple of large spoonfuls and then add more to taste. I like a frosting that isn’t too sweet and the beauty of cream cheese frosting is the tang, which gets totally masked by too much sugar.

Apricot carrot cake

Adapted from Bake from Scratch and Natasha’s Kitchen

Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes (about 45 minutes of active time, including frosting the cake)
Yield: 8 GIANT slices, 10-12 normal slices

1 cup apricots, chopped
1 Tbsp flour (AP or Whole Wheat)
4 eggs
1 cup coconut sugar
¼ cup coconut oil, melted
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup whole wheat flour (pastry or white whole wheat are also great)
1 cup AP flour
1 tsp baking soda
1½ tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp allspice
¼ tsp fine sea salt
12 oz carrots; trimmed, peeled, and shredded (about 3 cups, lightly packed shredded carrots)
1 cup walnuts, toasted (optional)

Preheat the oven to 375.

Grease two 9-inch cake pans, or a 12-cup muffin tin liberally with melted coconut oil or cupcake liners. Set aside.

In a small bowl, chop the apricots and toss with 1 Tbsp of flour (either AP or whole wheat). Set aside.

Toast your walnuts in the preheating oven, keeping an eye to ensure that they don’t burn while you continue prepping your other ingredients. Set aside.

Trim, peel, and shred your carrots. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk together the eggs and sugar for about 3 minutes on a medium high setting (or on high if your hand mixer isn’t very strong). The eggs won’t get lighter in color because the coconut sugar is quite dark, but you will see lots of little air bubbles formed and the volume of the liquid should increase.

Reduce the speed of your mixer to low (medium-low for a hand mixer) and slowly add the oil, applesauce, and vanilla extract.

Sift the dry ingredients together into the wet ingredients. Fold until just combined and no lumps remain.

Fold in the carrots, apricots, and toasted walnuts (if using).

Pour half of the mixture into each cake pan (or, fill each muffin cup until about 2/3 full).

Bake, rotating halfway through, for 20-23 minutes for the cakes or 15-18 minutes for the muffins. You want the cakes to be springy when touched and for a tester to come out with a few crumbs or clean.

Let the cake cool entirely before icing.

Cream cheese frosting
2 blocks cream cheese, softened
2 sticks butter (1 cup), softened
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
1 1/2 cup powdered sugar, plus more to taste

Combine the cream cheese and butter in a large bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the paddle attachment on your mixer or your hand mixer, combine and whip the butter and cream cheese on high for 3-4 minutes. Add the vanilla and salt and whip on medium to combine.

Add the powdered sugar a few Tbsp at a time and SLOWLY whip the sugar into the rest of the mixture on low (otherwise you’ll have powdered sugar all over your kitchen). Once the initial amount of powdered sugar is incorporated, add more, a few Tbsp at a time, to taste. When all of the sugar you want is incorporated, turn the mixer back to high and whip for 3-4 more minutes.

Orange and almond upside down cake

Jump to the recipe!

Upside down cakes, specifically citrus upside down cakes, are a dime a dozen this time of year. And I get it! Citrus is where it’s at in the winter and what else do you do with the giant bag of oranges or lemons that you find in your fridge?

Also, WTF do you do with kumquats? I always want to buy them because I’m a sucker for anything miniature, but they freak me out. And I’ll be honest: I’ve read online that you can eat them raw, skins and all. STRONG DISAGREE. The ones I’ve had are entirely too bitter to eat without any cooking. But this cake is the magical trick!

I love this cake for many reasons, but primarily because it’s less sweet and naturally gluten-free. It bakes in under 30 minutes, you only need one bowl, AND it’s fancy enough for company, but simple enough for a weeknight.*

* (Don’t you love when people say that? Who has time for dessert on a weeknight?? But if you did, this would be the cake to make.)

A couple of notes:

• To make this cake dairy-free, just sub in some non-dairy yogurt and use clarified butter or coconut oil for the syrup.

• When prepping your pan, butter JUST the sides of the pan, not the bottom. The butter/sugar syrup won’t spread out properly, which means, you’ll have pockets with syrup and pockets without.

Orange almond upside down cake

4 cara cara oranges, 4 clementines, and a pint of kumquats
½ cup plain yogurt
¼ cup olive oil
½ cup brown sugar
2 eggs
¾ cup + 2 Tbsp finely ground corn meal or polenta
2 cups almond meal
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp kosher salt
2 tsp orange zest 
½ tsp almond extract

For the syrup:
2 tsp butter
3 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp water

Preheat the oven to 350.

Butter ONLY the sides of a 9-inch baking pan and set aside. *See notes above

Peel the oranges and clementines, removing the outer pith. Slice the oranges into 1/8-inch thick slices (you should get about 7 slices per medium orange) and remove the seeds. Set aside.

Slice the kumquats and set aside. (No need to peel these, but I do remove the seeds for ease of slicing. When you hit a seed, just pop it out with your knife or give the slice a gentle squeeze and the seeds will pop out.)

In a large bowl, whisk together the yogurt, olive oil, brown sugar, and eggs.

Stir in the corn meal, almond flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir to combine.

Add the orange zest and almond extract and stir again to combine. Set aside.

To make the sauce: In a small saucepan, combine the butter, brown sugar, and water. Heat over a medium low flame and stir frequently, just until the sugar has dissolved and the sauce thickens slightly, about 3-4 minutes.

Pour the hot syrup into your prepared baking pan and swirl to cover the bottom of the pan. Place the orange, clementine, and kumquat slices in any pattern you like, nestling them into the syrup. It’s okay if there are some open spots.

Top with the cake batter and smooth out gently so you don’t move the citrus.

Bake for 23-25 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let cool for 5 minutes. Run a small knife around the sides of the cake. Place your cake plate upside down over the cake and, using oven mitts or a towel to protect your hands, carefully invert the cake and place the cake stand right side up. Carefully lift off the baking pan, being careful of any steam that might escape.

Yield: 8-12 slice

Lemon basil ricotta cake

Bright, zingy lemon and herby, green basil make a perfect pair in this lightly sweet cake that’s easy, quick, and refreshing. #meandthemoose #lemoncake #basil #lemonbasil #cakerecipe #weeknightcake

You may find the idea of turning on the oven insulting given that the weather is so unbelievably hot and humid. But hear me out: This cake requires one bowl and less than 30 minutes in the oven. AND is chock-a-block with sweet, tangy, summery flavor. A weeknight cake if there ever was one.

Take me to the cake!

Bright, zingy lemon and herby, green basil make a perfect pair in this lightly sweet cake that’s easy, quick, and refreshing. #meandthemoose #lemoncake #basil #lemonbasil #cakerecipe #weeknightcake

Bright, zingy lemon and herby, green basil make a perfect pair in this lightly sweet cake that’s easy, quick, and refreshing. #meandthemoose #lemoncake #basil #lemonbasil #cakerecipe #weeknightcake

One of my favorite things about finally having a yard is growing our own herbs. And we can't keep up with how fast the basil grows. It's a good thing I L.O.V.E. pesto. And we've definitely been throwing a handful of basil into just about everything, including our cakes.

Speaking of basil, this recipe calls for a PACKED 1/4 cup, which is a fair amount of basil:

Bright, zingy lemon and herby, green basil make a perfect pair in this lightly sweet cake that’s easy, quick, and refreshing. #meandthemoose #lemoncake #basil #lemonbasil #cakerecipe #weeknightcake

See?

I didn't “healthify” this recipe at all, but I did use the smallest amount of sugar possible in the batter to have a sweet cake without it being cloyingly so. Not for nothing, there's another 3/4 cup of confectioner's sugar in the glaze (and more if you add the optional cream cheese frosting), so this baby doesn't want for sweetness.

It took some tinkering to figure out the right amounts of basil and lemon to impart a strong flavor without turning the cake bitter (too much basil) or sour (too much lemon). In the end, the basil is a background herby note that plays really well with the bright lemon flavor.

Bright, zingy lemon and herby, green basil make a perfect pair in this lightly sweet cake that’s easy, quick, and refreshing. #meandthemoose #lemoncake #basil #lemonbasil #cakerecipe #weeknightcake

And ricotta! I adapted this recipe from the famous French yogurt cake and the textures are very similar. I think the ricotta makes the cake ever-so-slightly more dense and a little more savory. However, I’ve used yogurt in a pinch when I was out of ricotta and it works perfectly as well.

A quick note: I’ve cooked this cake in all kinds of vessels. The recipe gives directions for a 9” round cake pan, but I’ve also cooked it as a loaf cake, in an 8x8 brownie pan, and in a vintage 10x8 pan (pictured). The shortest cooking time was 20 minutes and the longest was about 30 minutes (for the thicker loaf). Start checking at about 20 minutes, regardless of which vessel you choose.

Bright, zingy lemon and herby, green basil make a perfect pair in this lightly sweet cake that’s easy, quick, and refreshing. #meandthemoose #lemoncake #basil #lemonbasil #cakerecipe #weeknightcake

Lemon basil ricotta cake

Time: About 45-55 with prep, mixing, baking, and glazing; more to cool and frost, if desired
Yield: About 8-10 servings

2 eggs
1 cup ricotta (I've had equal success with part-skim and whole; you can also use greek yogurt)
1/2 cup sugar
¼ cup olive oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 Tbsp lemon zest (zest of two extra-large lemons)
¼ cup basil (packed!), minced
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 ½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt

For the glaze:
¾ cup confectioner’s sugar
¼ cup of lemon juice (juice of 1 very large lemon)

For the cream cheese frosting (optional):
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
8 oz (1 block) cream cheese, room temperature
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar (plus more if you like a sweeter frosting)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 Tbsp lemon zest (from 1 large lemon)
large pinch of salt

In a large bowl with a hand mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, mix together the butter and cream cheese on medium low speed until well mixed, about 3 minutes.

Add the powdered sugar a few Tbsp at a time and mix on low speed until just combined. Taste for sweetness and add more powdered sugar if desired.

Add the vanilla, lemon zest, and pinch of salt and turn the mixer (hand or stand) up to high and mix for about 5 minutes until the texture of the frosting has become slightly less dense.

*I’m very loosey goosey about my cream cheese frosting because I firmly believe that it’s the hardest frosting to mess up. It tastes amazing and the texture is creamy and smooth even if it hasn’t been mixed exactly the right amount. I also like my frosting less sweet, so you may want to add more sugar in the end.

Make the cake
Preheat the oven to 350. Lightly oil a 9-inch cake pan (see notes about other sized pans above)** and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the eggs, ricotta, sugar, olive oil, vanilla, lemon zest, and basil and mix well.

Add the dry ingredients and mix just until the wet and dry components are combined and no clumps of flour remain. The batter will be very thick.

Pour (or plop, as this is a thick batter) the mixture into your prepared pan and bake for 20-30 (again, see notes above for variation in cooking times)** minutes or until the top is golden and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. (We have a very hot oven, so yours may need more time, but check often to avoid overcooking.)

Let cool for about 5 minutes.

While the cake is cooling, make the glaze. Add the confectioner’s sugar to a medium bowl and slowly pour in the lemon juice, whisking constantly, until you’ve reached your desired consistency (a thin glaze soaks into the cake better, so use your judgment) .

Once the cake is slightly cooled, pour your glaze over the entire top, making sure that the liquid goes into the holes. I sometimes use a brush to coax the glaze into the holes, but this isn't strictly necessary.

Let cool completely in its baking dish.

Frost with the cream cheese frosting, if desired.

Vegan carrot and cranberry gingerbread cakes

This vegan gingerbread cake has carrots, cranberries, spelt and whole wheat flours, and lots of other goodness to add a little goodness to a warmly spiced holiday classic. #meandthemoose #veganrecipes #veganbaking #gingerbread #gingerbreadcake #holidaybaking #healthyholidaybaking

This delicious gingerbread cake just happens to be a little healthier than your average holiday dessert, but no one ever has to know!

Take me to the cake!

This vegan gingerbread cake has carrots, cranberries, spelt and whole wheat flours, and lots of other goodness to add a little goodness to a warmly spiced holiday classic. #meandthemoose #veganrecipes #veganbaking #gingerbread #gingerbreadcake #holidaybaking #healthyholidaybaking

While I don’t LOVE the concept of healthifying desserts, I do love a dessert that happens to be a little more nutrient dense while not sacrificing taste. And that’s what we’re focusing on with this cake and with many of our desserts and here’s why:

There are SO MANY BLOGS that have cornered the market on fancy and indulgent holiday treats. And let's face it: Kids who are off schedule and also on a sugar crash are not fun to be around. So, maybe it’s not such a bad idea to focus on adding protein and fiber (in the forms of spelt flour and fresh fruits and veggies).

This vegan gingerbread cake has carrots, cranberries, spelt and whole wheat flours, and lots of other goodness to add a little goodness to a warmly spiced holiday classic. #meandthemoose #veganrecipes #veganbaking #gingerbread #gingerbreadcake #holidaybaking #healthyholidaybaking

I love this recipe so much, mostly because I love any form of gingerbread and nothing says "Welcome to the holiday season" as much as this warm, spicy combination of molasses, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves. We've boosted the nutrition by using a combination of spelt and whole wheat flours. The spelt has more protein and fiber than regular flour, but mimics white flour in flavor and texture. And whole wheat flour is great because, well, whole wheat.

This vegan gingerbread cake has carrots, cranberries, spelt and whole wheat flours, and lots of other goodness to add a little goodness to a warmly spiced holiday classic. #meandthemoose #veganrecipes #veganbaking #gingerbread #gingerbreadcake #holidaybaking #healthyholidaybaking

The molasses and spice flavor is also strong, but not overwhelming, so both adults and toddlers can enjoy these bad boys. The maple syrup, carrots, and whole cranberries also add more sweetness and moisture while keeping these vegan. And while the ingredient list isn't exactly short, this recipe is less fussy than some vegan ones because it doesn't require a flax egg or anything exotic. An added bonus to this treat is that it checks a lot of allergy boxes: There are no nuts, dairy, or eggs. And while I haven't tried this with any gluten-free flours, I would assume that any tried-and-true gluten-free mix would work here.

This vegan gingerbread cake has carrots, cranberries, spelt and whole wheat flours, and lots of other goodness to add a little goodness to a warmly spiced holiday classic. #meandthemoose #veganrecipes #veganbaking #gingerbread #gingerbreadcake #holidaybaking #healthyholidaybaking

This recipe baked up perfectly in two 5' x 2' cake pans, a large bundt, as well as small bundt pans.

And did I mention that you only need one bowl?

For the topping: I think these are fantastic plain or with a light dusting of powdered sugar. Depending on your needs, I also topped these with a maple cream cheese frosting that was amazing with the cake. I would recommend doing this if you want to bring these to a party and dairy isn't an issue. I haven't personally tried these with the cake, but there are some great coconut whipped toppings on the market and coconut cream whips up into an easy easy dairy-free whipped cream for a vegan option. 

This vegan gingerbread cake has carrots, cranberries, spelt and whole wheat flours, and lots of other goodness to add a little goodness to a warmly spiced holiday classic. #meandthemoose #veganrecipes #veganbaking #gingerbread #gingerbreadcake #holidaybaking #healthyholidaybaking

Vegan carrot and cranberry gingerbread cakes

Time: 20 minutes prep; baking time varies, see notes in recipe
Yield: 12 mini bundt cakes, 2 5’ x 2’ cakes, or 1 large bundt

½ cup olive oil
½ cup + 2 Tbsp maple syrup
½ cup molasses
½ cup unsweetened applesauce
2 cups grated carrots
1 ½ cups whole fresh or frozen cranberries (or 1 cup fresh cranberries and 1/2 cup dried cranberries)
1 cup + ¼ cup spelt flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1 Tbsp cinnamon
1 Tbsp ground ginger
¼ tsp ground cloves
½ tsp sea salt

Preheat the oven to 350.

In a large bowl, combine the wet ingredients. Add the shredded carrots and cranberries and mix well.

Add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Let sit while you grease your baking tins with olive oil.

If using mini bundt pans, fill all the way to the top. These don’t get a huge amount of rise, so the bundts will stay pretty flat. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until a tester comes out clean.

If making mini cakes, fill about ¾ of the pan and bake for 40-45 minutes.

If using a large bundt pan, fill 3/4 of the way and bake for 45-50 minutes, rotating half way through baking.

Spooky seed butter graveyards!

Speaking of scary: I count myself so incredibly lucky that M doesn't have any food allergies. He's outgrown the tomato sensitivity he had early on, but that was an annoyance, not a life-threatening emergency. I can't even imagine worrying that a farmer, factory-worker, chef, teacher, babysitter, or other parent somehow mislabeled something or included an ingredient that could really hurt my kid. Especially from mid-October to January, there are treats everywhere!

In that vein, these Halloween goodies are nut-free and egg-free and can easily be made gluten- and dairy-free as well. The chocolate is all store-bought, so use your go-to brands to be safe. ALSO- and most importantly- these treats are SOOOOOOOO GGGGOOOOOOODDDDD and relatively healthy!

Spooky seed butter graveyards

Chocolate skeletons
1 oz milk or dark chocolate
Wilton skull and bones sprinkles

Heat the chocolate in the microwave, 10 seconds at a time, until melted. On a plastic wrap covered plate, make nickle-sized circles or ovals of melted chocolate. Carefully place the skull and bone sprinkles into the chocolate. Refrigerate until set.
 

Chocolate mug cakes
Adapted from this recipe

6 Tbsp whole wheat flour (or gluten-free flour mix)
3 Tbsp + 1 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder
½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
1/4 cup maple syrup
4 tsp olive oil
6 Tbsp milk (I used dairy milk, but almond, cashew, or soy would also work)
1 tsp vanilla extract

Combine the dry ingredients in a small bowl and whisk to remove lumps. Add the wet ingredients and stir to combine. Pour equal amounts into two ungreased mugs. With one mug at a time, microwave on high for 1 minute, check for doneness, and cook for 30 more seconds. (Note: we have a very weak microwave, so if you have a stronger one, check after 30 seconds. I usually tip the cup around to see if anything is moving.) When cakes are cooked, use a fork to remove them from the mugs and let them cool on a plate. Don’t worry about removing them cleanly, as they’ll be broken up for the “dirt” in the graveyards. Let cool.

Sunflower-seed butter chocolate avocado pudding
Adapted from this recipe

¾ large ripe avocado (mine was about 7.5 oz with pit and peel)
½ large ripe banana (mine was 7 oz with peel)
¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
¼ cup maple syrup
¼ cup Spiced seed butter
2 Tbsp milk (I used dairy, but almond, cashew, or soy would also work)

Combine all of the ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth and creamy. If making the Spiced Seed Butter specifically for these graveyards, be sure to read the directions and follow them exactly. You won't be sorry; this seed butter is GREAT. Makes about 1.25 cups of pudding.

Assembling the graveyards

Remove the chocolate skeletons from the fridge to warm up. Pour a few chocolate rocks on the bottom of your graveyard container(s). (Possible substitutions include chocolate-covered raisins, chocolate chips, carob chips, or you could skip this part entirely.) Nestle your chocolate skeleton(s) on the side of the glass container, pressing gently to try and mold the chocolate to your container (or skip this step too for allergen sensitivity, if needed).

Crumble the chocolate cake completely and gently add a layer of cake crumbles, pressing down lightly. Be sure to keep the cake crumbles behind your chocolate skeletons, if using.

Add a pudding layer and press gently to remove air bubbles. Clean up the sides of the glass container. Cover with more cake crumbles.

For the graves: Roll out a small amount of gray or white fondant using powdered sugar to prevent sticking. (I bought a tiny container of Wilton gray fondant at Michael's and threw away the box before checking the ingredients and can't find the information online. If fondant isn't an option, gluten-, dairy-, and/or egg-free cookies or marshmallows also make good "graves.") Cut out a very small square and tap with your fingers to round the corners. With an edible pen, melted chocolate, or gel frosting, write RIP on the grave and nestle into the cake crumbs. Place a crumb or two behind the grave to prop it up.

Yield: 4 medium graveyards or 6 small graveyards