Even my mom said it’s “very good”. That means something.

I have made a carrot cake for Finn for his birthday every year for the last five years. This is the second year in a row that I have used this specific recipe after perfecting it last year. I have been tinkering with it since his first birthday, trying out a few different variations until I finally got it just right.

This year, inspired by last year’s post I threw together a quick cream cheese icing to go on top. I realized while revisiting it to make his cake this year that in my newborn days haze the instructions were not super clear. I though my mind was so sharp and I was on top of it, but in reality there were shredded carrots all over my living room and I was very very sleep deprived haha. I miss those days, I really do. I can reminisce about them all day long, but this is about Finn and his birthday cake.

Let’s do this.

This cake strikes the perfect balance of sweet and good for you without feeling like you’re eating a cake that was designed with a dog in mind.

Ingredients—
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup sugar
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 cup olive oil
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup greek yogurt
1/3 cup milk
2 cups grated carrots

For the cream cheese icing—
4 oz cream cheese
2 tbsp butter
2 cups powdered sugar
1/8 tsp vanilla extract
Salt to taste

How to make—
Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly coat a baking dish wish olive oil. Grate carrots.
In a mixing bowl combine the dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, cinnamon, sugar, and salt.
In a separate mixing bowl whisk together the wet ingredients: olive oil, eggs, vanilla extract, greek yogurt, and milk.
Slowly combine the wet and dry ingredients in one bowl and mix until, well combined. I like to use my stand mixer for anything that involves greek yogurt as I find it makes for a smoother mix.
Add grated carrots to the mixture until combined.
Bake for 40 minutes.
Allow to cool completely before icing.

For the cream cheese icing—
In a large bowl beat cream cheese and butter until smooth. Again, I like to use my stand mixer here.
Add powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Mix until smooth.

That’s it. It can be a little time consuming if you are grating your own carrots. Last year I bought a preshredded bag. This year I did them myself because we had carrots. I used a cheese grater over a bowl and it worked out great.

I hope you enjoy this recipe!