Carrot cake is the best cake. Yeah, I said it. The reason it’s the best cake is because normal cake is boring, and carrot cake is full of adventure in the form of nuts! raisins! spices! and, uh, carrots! Whereas many cakes are dry, carrot cake is almost always—pardon the term—moist, due to the carrots involved. You have to be pretty baking-impaired to end up with a dry carrot cake. Still, in my 31 years of carrot-cake consumption (yes, I was eating carrot cake at my birth), I’ve had some sub-par versions. The biggest downfall is not enough stuff. Every bite of carrot cake needs to have stuff: a nut here, a raisin there, and carrot in every bite, of course. It’s not called “flour cake,” people! The other mistake is not using cream cheese frosting. Cream cheese frosting is the only frosting for carrot cake, full stop. No buttercreams allowed. We all know that the point of frosting is to mainline sugar directly into our bloodstreams, but the cream cheese cuts the sugar with just enough tang to take the glucose-edge off.
All of this is to say, when I asked the Healthyish food editors to tackle a carrot cake recipe, I had a lot of criteria. Then I decided that it should be gluten-free, because I like to torture them. (Me to the food editors: “Let’s make cookies you can eat for breakfast! How about gluten and dairy–free brownies?! What about a turkey burger that’s not overcooked and gross?) They tolerate me, then they produce something brilliantly delicious. Of all the carrot cakes I’ve consumed, this may very well be the best version I’ve ever tasted, gluten-filled or gluten-free, and everyone else who’s tried it has agreed.
Senior food editor Chris Morocco, who developed this recipe, went in with a 100-percent almond flour base, and it totally paid off. (He credits Martha Rose Shulman for the inspiration.) No messing around with GF flour blends, which vary widely and don’t always produce consistent results. The other great thing about this recipe is that it comes together like any other cake: dry ingredients (almond flour, baking soda, baking powder, spices) in one bowl; eggs, sugar, and vanilla in another bowl; mix together with the add-ins and some coconut oil, and bake for just over half an hour. Morocco took my “tons of stuff” mandate so much to heart that his first version fell apart under the knife and he had to scale back a little on the add-ins. Speaking of those, he made the inspired decision to use golden raisins as well as unsweetened coconut flakes. Because it’s so moist (there I go again with that word), the cake will stay delicious for days—just be sure to keep it in the fridge.
And now let’s talk about this frosting, because it was my turn to be dubious when Chris told me that he’d mixed some Greek yogurt in with the cream cheese. Did he go one healthyish step too far? I asked myself before taking a bite. The answer is a resounding “HELL no.” The ⅓ cup of Greek yogurt that makes its way into this otherwise-classic cream cheese frosting is nothing but a delight. This frosting has a bit more tang and a pillowy texture, like a super-luxe face mask. I ate a little off the side of the cake, then I ate a little more, and a little more, and… Well, some days you eat cake for dinner. And, if that’s what’s happening, well, it better be your favorite cake.
