Carrot Cake with Honey Cream Cheese Frosting

Honey enhances the earthy sweetness of carrots and makes for a dense, moist cake. Serve this flavorful cake unadorned or gild it with cream cheese frosting—or simply drizzle with honey and top with chopped nuts.

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

• 2 teaspoons baking powder

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 cup honey

• 3/4 cup coconut oil, softened

• 3 large eggs

• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

• 4 large carrots, shredded, about

• 2 2/3 cups Honey Cream Cheese Frosting (see recipe below)

Sweet Nature: A Cook's Guide to Using Honey and Maple Syrup by Beth Dooley and Mette Nielson

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 13 x 9-inch cake pan with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt. In a large bowl, whisk together the honey, oil, eggs, and vanilla. Stir in the carrots. Add the flour mixture and fold together with a rubber spatula until just combined.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake the cake until it is set and firm to the touch, about 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow the cake to cool in the pan for about 20 minutes. Remove the cake from the pan and spread frosting evenly over the top and sides.

SWEET TIP: You can make this as a layer cake by baking the batter in two 8-inch round or square pans.

Honey Cream Cheese Frosting
Makes 3 cups

If you have more icing than you need for the cake, store it in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to one week. It's perfect on toasted bagels or on French toast. Do not use low-fat cream cheese or the resulting frosting will be soupy.

Ingredients

• 12 ounces cream cheese, softened

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

• 6 tablespoons honey

• Generous pinch of salt

Directions

In a medium bowl, whip together the cream cheese, butter, vanilla, honey and salt to taste.