Reviewed: Oct. 25, 2009

I made this, using fine carrot pulp from carrot juicing, and raw, unfiltered honey. The honey blended well with the cream cheese and stayed blended, even overnight. Then I served it to some of the most demanding dinner guests imaginable: fellow churchmen eating a pot-luck meal. After one hour, it was three-fourths gone. All who tried it, loved it, and at least fifteen people asked for the recipe. Honey is a flavor enhancer. Refined sugar dominates any mix it goes into, so that what you taste is flavored sugar. But honey does not suppress and dominate other flavors; it brings them out. So you can actually taste the carrots, the pineapple, the spices, and the walnuts, with a bare hint of extra sweetness. And best of all, it produces no "sugar high" and "sugar crash," nor does it make you drowsy after you eat it, nor suppress your immune system, as refined sugar tends to do.

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Terry

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Richmond, Virginia, USA

Living In: Millburn, New Jersey, USA

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Reviewed: Aug. 26, 2009

Great healthy cake. For anyone wondering... I substituted whole wheat flour for 2 of the cups of flour with no ill effect. Also, I baked it in a bundt pan (the person I was baking it for could not have any type of icing, so I thought a bundt shape would be prettier), and it came out fine.

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MrsMartin

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Reviewed: May 24, 2009

I followed the ingredients exactly (except the frosting) and it's awesome! I baked it in a sheet pan instead of 9x13 pan (it only took 18-20 minutes to bake).

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LORI Q

Cooking Level: Expert

Living In: Baker, Montana, USA

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Reviewed: Apr. 26, 2009

If you are used to not having much of any sweets, this may satisfy your sweet tooth craving for carrot cake. However, if you're looking to avoid refined sugar and still get a tasty treat...you are better off indulging in a small slice of the full-sugar stuff. Pretty tasteless unless you put a load of cream cheese frosting on it. Will stick to the "real deal" next time.

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FNCHEF

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

Living In: Prior Lake, Minnesota, USA

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Reviewed: Feb. 24, 2009

I was pleasantly surprised by this cake. I kind of knew this might be something I would like since I am not a big fan of sugary sweet desserts. I made this recipe into cupcakes for the Valentines party at my son's daycare. I was not sure that the kids (2 year olds) would like them since they were not that sweet but I did not want my son to have a bunch of artificial colors and super sweet junk so I made them. I figured at least he would eat them. The surprise was that on the following Monday, one of the teachers complimented me on the cupcakes and said the kids absolutely loved them. Who says toddlers will only eat junk? Hubby loved these too. Great recipe.

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mamade45

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Reviewed: Oct. 7, 2008

Fabulous! We were looking for a good sugar-free cake, for my my daughter's first birthday.... as we try to avoid giving her sugar. We made this cake... and it was a HUGE hit with everyone, esp my health conscious friends at her birthday party!!

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Tiph

Cooking Level: Intermediate

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Reviewed: Jun. 30, 2008

I liked the idea of using honey instead of sugar, but I did not like the texture of the cake. It was not moist.

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mikamuffin

Living In: Berkeley, California, USA

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Reviewed: May 26, 2008

I've also added some berries and apples to the recipe and skipped the glazing - super fine recipe!!! My family loves it.

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Yulia

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Reviewed: Aug. 28, 2007

This recipe is FANTASTIC!! For those of you looking for a healthier alternative to refined sugar. This takes the cake!! I also used 3 cups of carrots instead of 2 and used safflower oil instead of vegetable. I try to bake with honey as much as possible, and the "impossible" seems to be getting easier and easier. Keep the baking with honey recipes coming!!! Thanks for a great recipe.

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luvs2cook4u

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Reviewed: Jul. 8, 2007

We really enjoyed the cake, but did not care for the frosting.

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MCuba

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Reviewed: Mar. 5, 2007

Very good delicious cake. I use my food processor to grate the carrots, walnuts, and pineapples very finely, so my kids don't see them. Then they love it, and I feel good that they aren't eating refined sugar.

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UnicDreams

Living In: Reno, Nevada, USA

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Reviewed: Jan. 21, 2007

Best carrot cake I ever had! Frosting was very tasty, too.

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Anne O

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Living In: State College, Pennsylvania, USA

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Reviewed: Jan. 9, 2007

Very good cake. Not as sweet as traditional, but in my opinion even better. My family loves this cake and it is not so sweet as to send my daughter into orbit like many sweets can.

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Merinda

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Reviewed: Dec. 26, 2006

This recipe is the only one I've found up to the task of replacing my sugar carrot cake. This is a great recipe! Just as good and moist as the other cake. I made it as muffins for my 2 year old's birthday, and they tasted GREAT as muffins. Very moist, very flavorful, very yum. And since honey is a whole food, it doesn't do a whammy on your body the way sugar does. Yay!

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Persimmon

Cooking Level: Intermediate

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Reviewed: Nov. 26, 2006

This cake was very good! I did increase the carrots to 3 cups as suggested by another review. The frosting was good, but I personally prefer traditional cream cheese frosting usually used on carrot cakes (cream cheese and confectioners' sugar).

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Mommy D

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Reviewed: Oct. 25, 2006

Brava! This is a wonderful recipe. I've made it twice and I liked it both times, a little better the second time when I increased the carrots to 3 cups and the pecans to 1 1/2 cups. It was moister and very dense. If you don't like a dense cake, leave the amounts the same as the original recipe. The moisture was there both times I made it. The cream cheese frosting is to die for and to decorate the cake, I crushed a Nonni's Gingerbread Macadamia nut biscotti and sprinkled it on top. It is a limited time release biscotti that I bought at Sam's Club and had on hand available for this Fall time of year. It added a nice pretty golden dusting to the top of the cake and although the flavor came through a little, it didn't overpower the flavor of the cake. Top Notch recipe!

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Jo M G

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Reviewed: Mar. 29, 2005

Great carrot cake. Didn't have enough honey to make the frosting, but people enjoyed it without. Smells heavenly.

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BARNKITTY

Cooking Level: Expert

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Reviewed: Feb. 15, 2005

Excellent recipe. I served it with a dollop of whipped topping enstead of the cream cheese frosting. The problem that Lece described sounds like she used baking powder enstead of soda.

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COOLMOMMAB

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Reviewed: Sep. 23, 2004

This is a great carrot cake recipe! As I keep finding with the cakes I've been making lately, this cake tastes even better after the day it is made. I used 2 9-inch rounds for this cake. I did find the frosting for this cake to be a bit "strange". It's mainly just cream cheese, and as a result, the honey "separated out" once I had iced the cake. By the second day, the cake was looking stranger and stranger (a brown, streaky appearance and the icing had split along the line where the two cake layers come together)...but it sure did taste good! If anyone has some tips to prevent this, please post!

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AMYANDBREN

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Living In: Stephens City, Virginia, USA

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Reviewed: Aug. 4, 2004

I have no idea where I went wrong in this recipe (i did drain the pineapple), but after 50 mins, the cake was very dark on the outside and like pudding on the inside. I turned the oven back on for about 20 mins, then shut it off and left the cake in over night. The flavour was pretty good, despite the strange consistency of it. I dont think i will try this one again though, the taste definately wasn't anything special...

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