Fruit-sweetened carrot cake loaf. This loaf is incredibly moist and naturally sweetened with dates and apple sauce. Have it for breakfast, snack or dessert!
A delicious fruit-sweetened dessert. 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 nutritious breakfast or snack.
To take it to the next level, try serving it with ice cream (like this date-sweetened vanilla ice cream) or your favorite frosting. Whichever way you decide to go, it will be delicious.
And if you’re looking for a vegan carrot cake loaf, check out my Vegan Carrot Cake Loaf with Streusel Topping.
How to Make A Fruit-Sweetened Carrot Cake Loaf:
Here are the steps that you need to make a delicious carrot cake loaf.
- Getting Ready
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a loaf pan using butter or oil.
- Combine the Wet Ingredients
In a food processor, add the 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.
- Combine the Dry Ingredients
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.
- Bake
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.
Tips to Make the Best Carrot Cake Loaf:
- Make sure that you use the spoon and level method to measure flour. To do this, take a spoon to scoop the flour and add it to a measuring cup. Take the back of a knife to scrape and level the top. If scooping the flour directly with the measuring cup, you will end up using more flour than the recipe requires.
- Use Medjool dates for the best results. I don’t recommend using Deglet Noor dates, which aren’t as sweet.
- Add raisins and/or nuts to the batter if you want a crunch and extra sweetness.
Fruit-Sweetened Carrot Cake Loaf FAQ:
You can replace the olive oil with melted coconut oil or a light-tasting oil, like avocado oil.
I tested this recipe with spelt and whole wheat flour. The loaf was a bit too moist using spelt flour, but I still loved it. If you love extra moist (almost lightly undercooked) desserts, you can try it using spelt flour. Whole wheat flour resulted in a dryer, but still very moist loaf. I used whole wheat bread flour.
I haven’t tried it myself, but some have successfully made it using a flax egg. If you want a vegan recipe, you can check out this vegan carrot cake loaf with streusel topping (though this one is not fruit-sweetened).
If you want to try a gluten-free option, I recommend using a 1:1 gluten-free flour mix. I haven’t tried it myself yet, so I can’t guarantee the same results. But it’s worth a try!
You can replace the applesauce with crushed pineapple (in the same amount) or you can do half pineapple and half applesauce.
More Fruit-Sweetened Dessert Recipes:
- Mini cookie dough chocolate mousse cups
- Vegan Berry Cheesecake Cups (Fruit-Sweetened)
- Fudgy gluten-free brownies
- Whole wheat carrot cake waffles
- Spiced banana cake with cream cheese frosting
- Chocolate coconut oat bars
Watch How to Make the Recipe:
Fruit-Sweetened Carot Cake Loaf
Ingredients
- 1 cup pitted Medjool dates
- 1 cup apple sauce (room temperature)
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cup finely grated carrots
- 1 1/2 cup whole wheat or spelt flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- Pinch of clove
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Walnuts and raisins (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a loaf pan using butter or oil.
- In a food processor, add the 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.
Video
Notes
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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