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Is this not the cutest cake you have ever seen?? It’s a carrot cake for one person, and not only is it cute: it tastes amazing! And it is totally legitimate breakfast food. You could also use it as a snack or dessert.
With spring in the air, my mind was on carrot cake. I have several carrot-cake-inspired recipes on my list of recipe ideas, but a THM:E single-serve carrot cake won out. It turned out even better than I had hoped it would, and I had so much fun photographing it.
I do have a full-size carrot cake recipe here on my blog (and in my cookbook), but it’s not exactly a traditional carrot cake. More like carrot bars. It’s really good, but I do plan to make a more authentic carrot cake at some point. If given the choice, would you rather see a carrot cake recipe that fits a THM:S or E fuel type?
Wondering what makes all that deliciously creamy frosting? I used some reduced-fat cream cheese (and kept the amount within 5 grams of fat so it’s suitable for a THM:E meal), but I needed more volume so I added some cottage cheese as well! Even if you’re not a cottage cheese lover, hear me out. Mixed with the cream cheese, some vanilla, and sweetener, it tastes great, especially when you mash up the cottage cheese bits with a fork. If you put the frosting between the two cake layers instead of on top, the slight texture blends right in with the cake and you don’t even notice it! If you like, you can substitute Greek yogurt, but I hate the tang of Greek yogurt in frosting about as much as some of you may hate cottage cheese.
So what’s the serving size on this beauty? Well, if you’re having it for a meal on its own, say, for breakfast – eat the whole thing! It includes protein from the oats, egg whites, and cottage cheese, so you’re good to go. If you’re tacking this onto the end of an E meal for dessert, you may need to stick to half of the cake as a serving so you don’t overdo the carbs. It really all depends on what else you’re eating in the meal.
Need more E dessert recipes? Click here to see a picture index of mine!
As always, check out the Notes section of the recipe for extra info. Check out the links in and below the recipe to see the products I use and recommend. Some of the links included in the recipe and blog post are affiliate links, which means that if you make purchases through these links, I make a small commission to help defray the costs of running this blog (at no extra charge to you). Thanks for your help!
You may also enjoy:
- Starting THM
- my recipe index
- my recipes grouped by fuel type, allergy info, and theme
- my THM:E dessert recipes
- ⅓ c. oat flour
- ⅓ c. finely-grated carrot (approx. 1 small carrot)
- ¼ c. egg whites
- 2 T. oat fiber
- 2 T. Greek yogurt
- 1 T. water
- ½ tsp. baking powder
- ¼ tsp. cinnamon
- ⅛ tsp. ginger
- 1/16 tsp. salt
- 1/16 tsp. (2 doonks) THM Pure Stevia Extract Powder
- 1½ T. reduced-fat cream cheese (softened)*
- 2 T. low-fat cottage cheese**
- Dash vanilla extract
- Sprinkle of THM Super Sweet Blend, to taste
- Whisk the cake ingredients together to mix well. Pour the batter into a well-greased 2-cup glass oven-safe dish (Pyrex and Anchor make these) and bake at 350* for 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out cleanly. Take the cake out of the oven and let it cool. I recommend freezing it until it is well chilled, then slicing it in half with a sharp knife.
- To make the frosting, mash the ingredients together with a fork to reduce the cottage cheese to a fairly smooth texture.
- Spread the frosting onto the bottom half of the cake, top with the top half (duh), and add a dab of Reddi-wip and a little cinnamon on top if you like. Enjoy as breakfast, snack, or dessert! (This is probably enough for 2 dessert servings unless you're really hungry, but if you're having it for breakfast, eat the whole thing!)
**Trust me on this one. The cottage cheese works. If you mash it up and put the frosting between the cake layers instead of on top of the cake, you don't notice the texture. You can try substituting Greek yogurt, but I don't like the tang that it adds.
No, oat fiber and oat flour are not the same thing. Oat flour is just ground-up oats and is a THM:E flour. Oat fiber can usually only be found online (we buy ours here from Netrition) and is a Fuel Pull ingredient. Oat fiber is much drier than oat flour, and I like to use it along with oat flour to decrease the gumminess that oat flour brings to baked goods. Substitute at your own risk.
I do not recommend microwaving this cake because the carrots probably won't get soft, but you can try if you feel so led.
Suggested products:
- Oat Flour (iHerb)
- Gluten-Free Oat Flour (iHerb)
- Oat Fiber
- THM Oat Fiber (gluten-free)
- THM Super Sweet Blend
- THM Gentle Sweet
- 2 cup glass dish
Is the cake removed from the 2 cup baking dish before or after cooling?
I honestly can’t remember how I did it, but as long as the dish is greased well it shouldn’t matter. I would let it cool a few minutes in the dish to solidify, then remove so it cools down faster. 🙂
Another question about this recipe. What kind of grease is used to keep this an “E”?
I’m not quite sure what you mean, Lynnita…are you referring to the grease used in the pan? If so, any nonstick cooking spray will work. I use an olive oil spray. It’s such a small amount that it’s well within THM E guidelines. 🙂
Turned out beautiful and delicious! I had the cutest 6 year old assisting me!
We used eythritol for the cake using the coversion chart you have on your blog. We used powered Swerve to taste for the frosting.
Wonderful! I’m so glad you liked it!
how is this made in advance? or better eaten right away?
You can definitely make and refrigerate it a day in advance. 🙂 The flavors are best when eaten within two or three days.
If I add a little pineapple to this (maybe 2 chunks when grinding the carrot?) how should I offset the extra moisture so my cake isn’t too moist?
I’m not sure how big your chunks of pineapple are, but two small chunks shouldn’t make a big difference. 🙂
First – an E and an S version of carrot cake would be awesome! (I know, I know – I want it all!) 😉
Second – oat flour, in a pinch, just grind whole oats in the blender?
Thanks! Blessings on your day!
Hi Juli! We make our oat flour by grinding oats in a coffee grinder, and a blender would work too. 🙂
I don’t always feel like sharing, so this is a good one to have in the repertoire! 😉
An “S” Carrot Cake would be great to be able to have a thick layer of cream cheese frosting. But since I love carrot cake so much, I would be happy to have a crossover if needed. Thank you, Briana, for your recipes! Happy Easter!
E? or S? you ask… in my opinion carrot cake needs pineapple too so i guess that means i prefer E. except cream cheese frosting would likely push it to cross over. i’m so thankful God has given you and others the flair for creating so many interesting recipes! i don’t do well without a recipe or 2 to guide me.
How would flax meal be as a sub for oat fiber?
I’m afraid it has a very different taste, texture, and nutrition profile, so it’s not a great substitution.