This healthy carrot apple and sultana loaf has no added sugar, and it's also low in fat. However, it's very delicious due to the natural sweetness of the fruit and carrots. This healthy carrot cake recipe has a lovely moist texture, making this a yummy treat at any time of the day.
This healthy carrot loaf cake is made with wholemeal flour, which is higher in fibre. Fibre will help to keep you full, and is good for your digestion.
A diet high in fibre has also been shown to help reduce heart disease and a number of other serious diseases (see here for NHS advice about fibre).
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What you'll love about the recipe
- No added sugar. There's no sugar at all in this healthy carrot loaf cake recipe. The cake is sweetened entirely with carrots, apples and sultanas.
- Low fat. The only fat in the recipe is from the egg yolk. Yet you'd never know as the texture of this low fat carrot cake is very moist.
- This healthy carrot loaf is also low in calories. A generous slice has just 121 calories so you can treat yourself to a healthy snack, even at breakfast time! (You might also like this courgette and apple cake recipe with 99 calories, or healthy date cake with 128 calories!)
- Nutrient-dense. The carrots, apples, wholemeal flour and egg contain plenty of vitamins and minerals.
- Quick and easy to make in one bowl.
Ingredients
- Apples. Any kind of dessert apples will work well in this healthy carrot, apple and sultana loaf cake. There's no need to peel the apples - leaving the peel on will help to retain the nutrients.
If you are going to use a food processor to make your cake, just core and roughly chop the apples. If you plan on mixing the cake by hand, then grate the apples - Carrot - as with the apples, don't peel them, and either roughly chop or grate them
- Sultanas: dried fruit will add extra natural sweetness to your healthy carrot and apple loaf, so there is no added refined sugar. If you don't have sultanas, then either raisins, chopped prunes or dates are also a delicious addition
- Cinnamon. Spices are a great way of adding natural sweetness to baking, and cinnamon complements the flavour of apple perfectly. If you don't have cinnamon, you could use mixed spice instead. Or experiment with other sweet spices such as allspice, nutmeg or ground cardamom
- Wholemeal flour adds a lovely nutty flavour to this healthy carrot loaf cake. It is also naturally higher in nutrients than white flour, including B vitamins which are important for energy
- Egg and milk will add structure and moistness. You can use non dairy milk if you prefer. If you are making the cake by hand rather than in a food processor, beat the egg first to make mixing easier
- Baking powder helps the cake to rise. Measure the baking powder carefully, as too much can add an unpleasant metallic flavour to your baking
Optional ingredients and variations
If you like, you could also add a handful of chopped walnuts to this recipe
If you want to make a gluten free version of this healthy carrot cake, use gluten free flour. In the UK you can buy brown gluten free flour which has some fibre added.
Otherwise, use 100g of gluten free flour, plus 25g of a healthy wholegrain such as gluten free oats, buckwheat or ground flaxseed.
How to make healthy carrot apple loaf cake
This healthy carrot, apple and sultana loaf recipe is incredibly easy, as you simply need to mix all of the ingredients together.
If you have a food processor, add the apples and carrot first and blitz until finely chopped. Then add the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, egg and milk.
Stir the sultanas into the mixture by hand at the end so that they remain whole.
If you want to make the carrot loaf cake by hand, use grated apple and carrot, and stir the ingredients together with a wooden spoon.
This quantity of mixture will fill a 1lb loaf tin which is approximately 7x3 inches. I find it is best to put some buttered greaseproof or baking paper in the bottom of the tin, so that the cake is easier to remove.
Expert tips
If you want to make a larger carrot and apple cake, then double the ingredients and use a 9 inch round tin. You'll need to cook the larger cake for an extra 20 minutes until firm to the touch.
Storing healthy carrot cake
This delicious moist cake will store well for a few days in an air-tight container. If you want to store it for longer, freeze it. Wrap well and freeze for up to 3 months.
Frequently asked questions
That depends on the carrot cake! Like many other cakes, carrot cake can be high in saturated fat and sugar. And if there's frosting on the cake, this is likely to increase the fat and sugar even more. This healthy carrot apple and sultana loaf cake is naturally sweetened with fruit, and there's no added sugar. It's also very low in fat.
This healthy carrot loaf cake recipe is low and fat and sugar, which reduces the number of calories in the cake. There are just 121 calories in a slice. Different carrot cake recipes can vary hugely in calories, so if you are concerned, make sure you check on the packaging or recipe.
Other healthy low sugar cakes
This fat free fruit cake and gluten free tea loaf are both delicious. Or if you want a richer, more traditional fruit cake, you might like to try this no added sugar fruit cake recipe. For a seasonal spring time treat, how about this almond and rhubarb cake which is sweetened with just a little honey?
You might also enjoy these healthy apple muffins or carrot cake muffins which are both made with oats rather than flour.
Have you tried this easy, healthy recipe? Please leave a rating and/or comment at the bottom of the page. Your email will not be published.
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Recipe
Carrot, Apple and Sultana Loaf
Ingredients
- 150 g grated apple approx 2 apples
- 75 g grated carrot approx 1 carrot
- 125 g plain wholemeal flour
- 1.5 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 large egg
- 3 tablespoon milk
- 80 g sultanas
Instructions
- Line a 7x3 inch loaf tin with buttered greaseproof paper. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees (160 fan).
- If you have a food processor, you can just add roughly cut chunks of the cored apples and carrots to the bowl, and blitz until it looks as though they’ve been grated. Add the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and egg, and whizz briefly. Then add around 3 tablespoon milk until you have a softish texture. Finally, stir in the sultanas by hand (otherwise they will become chopped and disappear into the mixture)
- If you are making the loaf by hand, just add the grated apple, carrot and sultanas to a bowl, along with the dry ingredients. Beat the egg and add to the mixture with the milk and mix to a soft consistency.
- Spoon into the prepared loaf tin and bake for 50 mins. Allow to cool, then remove from the tin and peel off the baking paper.
Notes
Nutrition
Please note nutritional information is per serving and is provided for guidance only.
Samantha says
This was really nice, just what i needed to satisfy my sweet tooth without ruining all my clean eating efforts and exercise too much.
I made 8 mini cupcakes instead of the loaf ,and added a little healthy cream cheese frosting . Yummo!
Wendy Faulkner says
Sounds delicious, I love the idea of healthy carrot and apple cupcakes!
Jan says
I was looking for a way to use left over sultanas from Christmas pudding baking. I already had the food processor out so it was perfect. I filled six spots in a loaf muffin tin and baked for 20 minutes. We will definitely be using this recipe again - thanks!
Wendy Faulkner says
Thank you. I love the idea of mini carrot and apple loaves!
Sacha says
Hi there, sorry to ask a potentially obvious question, but do you peel the apples? Many thanks!
Wendy Faulkner says
Hi no problem at all. I don't peel the apples, they'll have a bit more goodness unpeeled. And once they are blitzed or grated, you won't really notice the peel.
Sheila Branch says
Hi,
Your recipes look delicious but I am unsure about the heat on which to cook them. Do your oven settings refer to fan assisted oven temperatures?
Wendy says
Hello. Where there's only one temperature shown, it's for non fan assisted (ie reduce the temperature by 20 degrees if you use a fan oven). I do now show both fan and non fan, but haven't been able to update all the recipes yet. Thanks for your comment.
Katy Norton says
Can I use normal plain white flour please?
Wendy says
Yes of course, that will work perfectly well. I'd cut the milk down to 2 tablespoons though as white flour doesn't absorb quite as much liquid as wholemeal.
Lucy Kirkbright says
Should I use wholemeal self raising flour or wholemeal plain please?.
Wendy says
Hi, you'll need plain flour as there's baking powder in the recipe. Thanks for your question, I'll clarify that point on the recipe card now. Enjoy the cake!
Julian says
Have stuck to recipe but seemed small amount in loaf tin and not a big rise, do I double it or change to standard self raising flour?
Wendy Faulkner says
Hi Julian, can I just check what size loaf tin you are using? This recipe is for a 1lb loaf tin, if you've got a 2lb loaf tin you will need to double the recipe. I wouldn't change to self raising flour as the recipe already has baking powder in it. I hope that helps!
Chantal says
Yum! I’m making this for my parents who have invited us over for dinner tonight. My Dad is a diabetic so was looking for a sugar free recipe.
I also changed it to what I had on hand.
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg (along with 1 teaspoon of cinnamon like your recipe)
- half currants (40g) and half sultanas (40g)
- teaspoon natural, pure vanilla
extract
- plain flour, instead of wholemeal
- small handful of chopped pecan nuts
Wendy Faulkner says
Thank you, I hope your Dad enjoys it:)
Jacqueline Doran says
Love it, heart healthy for me ! Next time I will use more spices and I used almond milk. Very nice!
Wendy Faulkner says
Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed it:)
Emma says
I made it! It's gorgeous. And - you're right - no sugar is needed. It's lovely and sweet on its own. Perfect with a cup of tea.
Wendy says
I'm glad you enjoyed it - thanks for letting me know:)
Emma says
This looks scrummy. Do you think it's possible to substitute wholemeal flour for spelt flour in this recipe?
Wendy says
Hi, thank you for getting in touch. I haven't personally used spelt flour in this recipe, but I think it should make a perfectly good replacement as the gluten levels are not critical. And it should give a lovely nutty flavour. Let me know how you get on!