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Home » Baking

Date Carrot Cake

Last updated: Dec 21, 2024 | Published: Apr 11, 2022

Jump to Recipe·5 from 1 review

A naturally sweetened date carrot cake topped with cream cheese icing. Great as a breakfast, snack, or dessert.

I love a good carrot cake, and it's been a while since I made one. So, when I looked up some recipes last week, I was surprised by how much sugar is in most carrot cakes. The first recipe I found used three cups. I thought that seemed like a lot until the next recipe I looked at included nearly six!

date carrot cake stacked with icing and walnuts

Look, I'm no health nut looking to drain the joy out of life and tell you to eat carrot sticks dipped in yogurt instead of cake. No. Eat cake. Maybe not every day, and maybe not one with six cups of sugar.

Jump to:
  • 🥕 Ingredients
  • 🥣Instructions
  • 🍍Substitutions
  • 🥡 Storage
  • ⏲️Top tip
  • 🍰More cake recipes
  • 📖 Recipe
  • 💬 Comments

These sickly, sweet cake recipes inspired me to create a carrot cake recipe without sugar. Well, what I mean is a carrot cake without refined white sugar. Instead, I wanted to make a cake sweetened with the Medjool dates I kept seeing in the store and a little Vermont maple syrup since it's maple sugaring season in Vermont.

While, to some extent, sugar is sugar, more natural forms of sweeteners, such as dates and maple syrup, at least come with a few health benefits and lower glycemic indexes than refined white sugar, meaning they won't make your blood sugar won't spike if enjoyed in moderation. Learn more about Medjool dates.

For another recipe with dates, try my cinnamon overnight oats with dates.

sliced date carrot cake with icing ready for serving

And after a little experimenting, I think I got it.

I'll be the first to admit that this isn't the traditional carrot cake. But I guess that's already obvious. This cake has a looser, crumbly texture and may lean more towards the likes of banana bread than carrot cake.

I also left out the tooth-achingly sweet cream cheese frosting. But no fear. Instead, I made the world's easiest maple cream cheese icing, which does the job without all the extra sugar and butter of the usual frosting.

Since this teeters between cake and bread, it's great for breakfast, an afternoon snack, or dessert. In other words, any time of day.

🥕 Ingredients

Here's everything you need to make this easy date carrot cake.

all of the ingredients for date carrot cake on counter
  • flour
  • baking powder
  • baking soda
  • kosher salt
  • cinnamon
  • ginger
  • nutmeg
  • vegetable oil
  • pineapple
  • eggs
  • Medjool dates
  • carrots
  • walnuts
  • maple syrup
  • cream cheese

Medjool dates are large, soft dates with a creamy texture and caramel flavor. Though the outside of these dates is wrinkled and looks dry, they're a fresh fruit found in most produce departments. They break down easily in a blender (making them perfect for sweetening a smoothie) and are often used in unbaked desserts. Here are a few more ideas on how to use them.

See the recipe card below for all of the specific ingredient quantities.

🥣Instructions

To get this date carrot cake started, whisk together the dry ingredients in one large bowl.

mixing ingredients for the date carrot cake

In a second bowl, stir together the wet ingredients, including the pineapple, eggs, and oil. To incorporate the dates into the cake, you'll first need to puree them in a blender or food processor with a little water until they form a smooth paste. Then stir into the wet mixture.

Grate a couple of carrots before adding them in, along with the walnuts.

cake batter being added to the pan

Then, pour it all into a greased bread loaf pan. You could use a cake pan, though you'll likely want to lower the cooking time. I haven't tested it in anything but a bread loaf pan.

Bake the cake for 40-45 minutes at 350 degrees F until a toothpick stuck into the center comes out clean. Next, remove the cake from the oven and let it cool completely before icing.

date carrot cake cooling on rack

While the cake cools, prepare the icing.

Hint: While this icing is just two ingredients, it does take a precise mixing to avoid clumps. First, put the cream cheese in a small bowl and heat it in the microwave for 10 seconds to soften. Whisk the cream cheese until smooth, then add in the maple syrup a tablespoon at a time, whisking until incorporated after each addition.

Not heating the cream cheese or adding the maple syrup all at once will likely result in lumpy icing with a weird texture. If it doesn't look right, it's easy enough to try it again.

maple cream cheese icing being whisked in a bowl

Once the date carrot cake is cool, drizzle over the icing and enjoy.

🍍Substitutions

Walnuts- Instead of walnuts, pecans would be a good substitute

Pineapple - If you have crushed pineapple instead of chunks, that's fine. Personally, I like the chunks of pineapple within the cake.

Dairy-free - The only dairy in this cake is in the icing. Luckily, there are some good dairy-free cream cheeses out there and I think they'd work just as well.

🥡 Storage

Store the cake in the fridge, covered, for up to three days. You don't want to leave this sitting out with the cream cheese icing on it.

⏲️Top tip

The thing I always look out for when making a cake or quick bread like this is that it's properly baked. Bake it too long, and it'll be dry. But it might be raw in some areas if it's not baked long enough. So, in addition to testing for doneness with a toothpick, you can also:

1) See if the cake/bread springs back a little when pressing the top.
2) Look for some separation from the pan around the edges.

🍰More cake recipes

  • Lemon Rosemary Olive Oil Cake
  • Mulled Wine Cake
  • Rhubarb Oat Breakfast Cake
  • Caramel Pear and Cardamom Cake
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📖 Recipe

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carrot cake with dates and icing on cutting board

Date Carrot Cake


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5 from 1 review

  • Author: Steve Peters
  • Total Time: 1 hour
  • Yield: about 8 servings/slices 1x
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Description

A naturally sweetened date and carrot cake topped with a cream cheese icing. Great as a breakfast, snack, or dessert.


Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 1 ¼ cups flour
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ginger
  • ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • about 3 carrots
  • 7 Medjool dates, pitted
  • ½ cup pineapple chunks with juice
  • ½ cup vegetable oil
  • 2 large eggs
  • ¼ cup chopped walnuts
  • 2 ounces cream cheese
  • 3 tablespoons maple syrup

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and grease a bread loaf pan with cooking spray.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients, including the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg.
  3. Grate the carrots with a box grater or food processor. You need 1 ½ cups total.
  4. Prep the dates by removing the pits and putting them in a food processor or blender with a splash of water and puree until you have a smooth paste.
  5. In a second bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients, including the pineapple, oil, eggs, and date puree. 
  6. Combine the wet ingredients into the dry and then stir in the carrots and walnuts until the dry ingredients are completey incorporated.
  7. Pour the batter into the bread loaf pan and smooth the top. 
  8. Bake in the center of the oven for 40-45 minutes or until completely baked through.
  9. Allow the cake to cool while you prep the icing. Heat the cream cheese in a small bowl in the microwave for 10 seconds. Whisk until smooth. Add in the maple syrup, one tablespoon at a time, until incorporated.
  10. Ice the cake and serve.

Notes

If the cake batter seems too thick when you go to pour it into the loaf pan, add an extra splash of pineapple juice. It should be the consistency of thick batter that easily pours out of the bowl.

  • Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Cook Time: 40 minutes
  • Category: Desserts
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: American

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  1. Steve says

    April 11, 2022 at 5:46 pm

    I like this cake because it has a lot of flavor without being too sweet and the simple cream cheese maple icing is the perfect topping.

    Reply

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