One Simple Swap Can Take Your Carrot Cake To The Next Level

There's never a bad time to try to squeeze more vegetables into your diet. What better way to do it than by eating cake? Carrot cake is made with real carrots most of the time, after all. The next time you're eager to dig into this surprisingly sweet, often spicy treat, there's a simple trick you can use to take your carrot cake to the next level. The best part is that it will add a little more nutrition to the mix as well.

Whether you're baking for family, going for a full sheet cake, or just want to throw together some cupcakes, this tip could be a game-changer. According to EatingWell, swapping out your all-purpose flour for whole wheat pastry flour is a simple way to add more fiber and nutrients to your carrot cake recipe. It also has a slightly nutty flavor that will complement the spicy sweetness of your cake.

The difference between white and whole wheat flour is that white flour is made with only one part of the wheat grain — the endosperm (via food52). Wheat flour, on the other hand, is made with the entire grain, which also includes its bran and germ. These parts of the grain are separated from the endosperm because the resulting flour produces a lighter dough that has higher elasticity and forms gluten more easily (via food52). Whole wheat flour is nutty and is denser than white flour.

That is why it's important to make sure that it's pastry flour. A whole wheat pastry flour still uses the whole grain in milling, but the grain is coming from a softer variety of wheat with a lower protein content (via Bob's Red Mill). This way you can pack in that extra flavor and nutrition without missing out on texture.

Experiment the next time you try out a carrot cake. Use whole wheat pastry flour, add some fruit, and top it all of with some walnuts. They're all nutritious ways to pack even more nutrition and flavor into this sweet, crowd-pleasing dessert.