Carrots and bananas - what happens when you put the two together, you get a deliciously rich and different dessert that’s the best of both. The recipe is my own - out with the pineapple, cloves, all-spice and eggs - in goes the bananas and cardamom. They give the cake a wonderful, fruity, honeyed fragrance. The recipe is somewhat different but tastes as good, I might say, even better than the traditional carrot cake.
Recipe: 
2 cups of Betty Crocker pancake flour
2 cups of grated carrots
1 cup finely chopped walnuts
1/2 cup dry unsweetened coconut flakes
1/2 cup golden raisins
1 tsp of baking soda
Mix all of the above in a big bowl.
5 cardamom pods- peel and powder the seeds inside
2 big ripe bananas- peel, mash and beat until fluffy
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup to 1 cup of brown sugar- (your wish)
In another big bowl, mix them well.
I used the pancake flour only because I want to finish off the BIG packet, purchased at Costco last winter. You can always substitute that with all-purpose flour. You can purchase dry unsweetened coconut, golden raisins and cardamom at low prices in an Indian grocery shop.
Now back to cake making - Preheat the oven to 350 F. Meanwhile fold the wet ingredients into dry ingredients, mixing thoroughly but not hard. Add some milk and combine again if the batter is too tight. Pour this mixture into a big round buttered cake pan. Bake the cake at 350 F, for about 30 to 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool it before applying frosting or decorating. The topping on the carrot cake is walnut-coconut caramel (see the post below for the recipe)
Comparable to an Indian version of carrot sweet called carrot halwa, this carrot cake is simply moist, rich and delicious.
Sounds like a cake I gotta try
I’m NEVER gonna catch up at this rate!
Comment by Shyam (aka Shammi) — June 14, 2005 @ 11:49 am
oops… forgot to ask - what sort of frosting is that you’ve used?
Comment by Shyam (aka Shammi) — June 14, 2005 @ 11:50 am
Shyam - It’s coconut-walnut caramel. I also added a link to the recipe above in the post.
Comment by Indira — June 14, 2005 @ 12:16 pm
That looks so tender and delicious! Won’t the pancake flour have baking powder or soda in it? I think Bisquick does have something… Do not know about Betty Crocker.
Comment by mika — June 14, 2005 @ 2:00 pm
Yep, it also has baking soda and some powdered egg yolk too.
But I added baking soda anyway.
Comment by Indira — June 14, 2005 @ 3:24 pm
Never tried a carrot cake, guess now i have now excuses
Comment by kaleidoscope — June 14, 2005 @ 7:36 pm
Indira, here’s the link you’re looking for:
http://thehappysorceress.blogspot.com/2005/05/nice-change.html
Alex devours fruit, and he’ll eat all kinds of veggies; he loves asparagus and edamame! He drinks lots of milk and water, and gets plenty of soy and other proteins. He’s healthy, happy, and I couldn’t ask for a better kid.
Comment by Stephanie — June 15, 2005 @ 7:51 pm
Stephanie, I am happy for you. Thanks again for the prompt response.
Comment by Indira — June 15, 2005 @ 8:00 pm
this I got to try, really looks moisty and rich.
Comment by Thess — June 16, 2005 @ 5:25 am
Hi..
I tryed your Carrot Cake it came good and it’s very simple recipe.I loved it.
Comment by Amu — August 22, 2005 @ 6:33 pm
Delurking to post here. I came upon your website through a web search and visit often because of your excellent food photography. I love the photos of ingredients that you post with each recipe. I made this carrot cake for my sweet toothed husband - I don’t eat anything sweet myself. I added one more ingredient grated nutmeg to your recipe and it turned out great (according to my DH). Keep the beautiful pictures coming. Happy Thanksgiving.
Indira says…
Hello Ashley, thanks for taking time and writing these flattering words about my blog. I am glad that you enjoy the photographs.
Addition of nutmeg to carrot cake sounds wonderful.
Have a great thanksgiving weekend!
Comment by ashley — November 22, 2005 @ 11:41 pm
Should try this sometime. I LOVE carrot cakes. yummmmmmmm!
Comment by Kay — November 24, 2005 @ 10:09 pm
hi indira,
i am getting addicted to ur site. the way u presented all ur recipes is simply GREAT.
the cake looks delicious. can white sugar be substituted for brown sugar?
and do u know the recipe for rasgullas(indian sweet). if yes, please post it really soon
Indira says…
Thanks Anitha! I have to say that is one good addiciton.:)
White sugar works just fine, go ahead.
I am very bad at responding to requests, because I have to eat what I prepare and what I prepare depends on my mood and our food preferences that day. But I will definitely post the recipe one of these days, when my mood strikes. Thanks.
Comment by anitha — December 7, 2005 @ 5:45 am
hi indira,
this is anitha again, the question may sound silly, but i wanted to know, when u say 1 cup, how big a cup are u using? are u using measurement cups?
if not, pls tell me, how much quantity of all purpose flour ur cup holds?
also waiting desperately for the rasgulla recipe. coz i tried it 4 times, referring to various sites but never turned out good. anyways, thanks for all the recipes and also for ur prompt reply.
Comment by anitha — December 8, 2005 @ 12:13 am
Dear Indira:
I have been a silent visitor to your site for a long time and I have tried a lot of your recipes. Sorry, found the time to pen just now! All the recipes I tried came out great. The carrot cake does not turn out as crumbly as you show in the picture. My cake was still moist in the middle and even if I kept it longer in the oven, it didn’t help cook the middle..except it burnt the top and bottom. I used the Bisquick Pancake or all-purpose flour, other than that I used the rest of the ingredients the same as you. What am I doing wrong? I’m planning to make this cake with the topping for my mom’s birthday. Please help!!
Please email srivigowri@comcast.net
Thanks, Srividya
Indira replies:
I’ve sent an email reply, check it out. Thanks.
Comment by Srividya — May 13, 2006 @ 12:13 pm
Hi Indira
I tried this recipe yesterday I too faced same issue as srividya mine was soft inside not sure why( I added 1 egg some butter also), do we need to add 1more cup of APF(all purp flour) if using eggs, reply at ur convenience.
THanks
Lalitha
Comment by Laitha — June 1, 2006 @ 12:07 pm
Hi Indira,
Recently i came across your site while browsing for cakes. After that i am visiting your site daily. Your way of describing the recipe with pictures is excellent .
I tried your banana cake and banana carrot cake. Both were really very tasty. But both did not rise well, i mean it was not fluffy. It was more similar to “Vattayappam” of kerala.I was using maida as the flour.
Would you pls suggest what can be the solution? And i would like to know whether the same recipes can be prepared in microwave?
Comment by Nandini — June 25, 2006 @ 3:00 am
Hi Indira,
Recently i came across your site while browsing for cakes. After that i am visiting your site daily. Your way of describing the recipe with pictures is excellent .
I tried your banana cake and banana carrot cake. Both were really very tasty. But both did not rise well, i mean it was not fluffy. It was more similar to “Vattayappam†of kerala.I was using maida as the flour.
Would you pls suggest what can be the solution? And i would like to know whether the same recipes can be prepared in microwave?
Comment by Nandini — July 6, 2006 @ 2:00 pm
hai very nice receipe appreciable, that u bake a cake without using baking powder and baking soda, eggs, shortening. cool! i was searching for the site to bake a cake and found the awesome site. thankz
Comment by ishdinesh — October 26, 2006 @ 8:28 am
Hi Indira,
I wanted to try this receipe and bought Betty Crocker Pancake Mix yesterday. But I notice that it says “Buttermilk” on the cover. Most of the pancake mix sold here says “with buttermilk” Can I use this mix for the cake receipe? Pl. revert.Tks.
Viji Surendhra
Indira replies:
Hi VJ, I guess you can bake with that mix. But do reduce the amount of baking powder/soda to just a pinch. Also because of slight sour taste of buttermilk in the mix, increasing sugar quantity to couple of teaspoons would help with the taste.
Happy baking and do let me know how it turns out. Thanks.
Comment by Viji Surendhra — December 12, 2006 @ 3:57 am
Hi Indira,
I tried the recipe and it was really delicious.
I used all purpose flour & used cashew instead of walnuts, since i didnt have walnut on hand.
Anu
Indira replies:
Glad to hear that Anupama. Thanks for letting me know.
Comment by Anupama — December 18, 2006 @ 1:18 pm
Hi Indira,
Tried out the cake today for my husband’s birthday. It was too..tooo..toooo… good for words !! Got over in a jiffy.
I used the blender for pulsing the walnuts to small pieces and also blended the wet ingrediants before adding it to the dry one.
Your receipe is easy to follow ,for novices in cooking, like me. Thanks!
Viji Surendhra
Comment by Viji Surendhra — December 19, 2006 @ 12:05 pm
I am going to try out the recipe for father’s day on Sunday..it soubnds so good and the slice looks goooooddddddddddd
Comment by Fatima — June 11, 2007 @ 5:28 pm
Great Receipe and I have baked this cake three times for folks that do not eat eggs and they just love it.
Your website is my most visited website for cooking; my wife a great cook, but when I am in charge of cooking Mahanadi is my reference base.
Thanks for a keeping this interesting; love the pictures - makes you want to cook & more EAAAT
Sudhi
Comment by Sudhi — June 24, 2007 @ 9:27 am
Five-star recipe! Had an abundance of bananas to use up, so I made this today. I used the Aunt Jemima “just add water” pancake mix, the full cup of brown sugar, and added a tsp of vanilla. For the topping, I made a cream cheese-like frosting, using neufatel cheese, 1/4 cup of butter, and powdered sugar to taste.
Did have to cook mine for quite a while — almost 50 minutes. For the last 20 minutes or so, I kept it covered with a piece of foil so the inside would continue cooking without burning the top. In the end, it turned out perfect. Can’t wait to have it for dessert!
-amanda
Comment by amanda — July 1, 2007 @ 4:37 pm
Hi Indira,
Haven’t tried your recipe as yet,,,it looks delicious…
where would I find more of your recipes?
Have a good evening
Comment by Fatima — August 18, 2007 @ 7:55 pm
Hi Indira,
Wish you a Happy and Prosperous New Year 2008 !!
I have been experimenting your recipes and they come out so good that I always turn to your site whenever I want to try something new with any vegetable or ingredient. For now, I have been looking for Eggless sponge cake on your site because all that I tried came out as a disaster.. that now I gave up on it except if I could get it on your site .. only then could I be able to experiment again. Sometimes, it comes out crusty (I put it at 350 F preheated oven)and instead of bulging up .. the cake lowers down in the middle..sometimes hard ..Can you post any eggless sponge/chocolate cake that I can try? Thanks in advance !!
Comment by Gita — January 1, 2008 @ 1:00 am
Hi Indira,
I just visited your site and found it too good. I tried your Eggless Carrot Cake – a moist, delicious cake. It was excellent. Keep up the good job. I want to try out this recipe Banana Carrot cake. I have got a query for this. Pls tell me what is 1/2 cup dry unsweetened coconut flakes (is it dessicated coconut. Secondly, can I use white sugar instead of 1/2 cup to 1 cup of brown sugar. Pls reply.
Vanessa
Comment by Vanessa — January 25, 2008 @ 1:40 am
[…] This is one among the many simple yet delicious recipes from Indira. This is the very first cake I have ever baked and to my surprise it came out very well the first time itself. I first baked it in Aug 2007 and since then I’ve baked it so many times that I know the recipe by heart. For recipe, click here. […]
Pingback by EgglessCooking.com » Blog Archive » Carrot Cake — March 19, 2008 @ 7:02 am
Dear Indira,
I would like to let you know that I baked them as muffins and they turned out very good. My mother in law is leaving to India tomorrow and she asked me to bake this cake, so that she can take it with her. I was so happy that she asked me and it came out very well also. If you are interested you can check out the pictures. Thank you once again. This one is definitely a “no-fail” cake recipe.
You have made my day with your lovely comment.
Please convey my regards and wishes to your mother-in-law, Madhuram.
-Indira
Comment by Madhuram — April 10, 2008 @ 9:56 pm
Indira, you made my day with your lovely recipe. I baked her this cake, as soon as she came here in November. At that time itself she told that I should bake this cake before she leaves so that she can take it with her. Usually mothers and mother in laws prepare our favorite sweets and snacks and bring them here with love and affection. So when she asked me to bake the cake to take it with her, I was more than happy, because she is a person who doesn’t expects or asks anything. I’m not exaggerating, there are no words to describe that moment. Literally tears rolled down. I think that’s the least I can do for her, living so far away from each other. Moments like this really make me feel guilty for living abroad!
Comment by Madhuram — April 12, 2008 @ 8:30 am
hi ,
nice recipe, have made carrot cake with egg, but now ‘ll definately try it without eggs n with bananas,
can it be done in microwave too…..
Comment by neha — April 17, 2008 @ 6:16 pm
I tried this cake yesterday but did a little bit of variation, used self raising flour instead of just all purpose flour. I added in about a tbsp of yoghurt to it. Also used butter instead of oil. It turned out fluffy and did rise very well too.
Good to know that you had success with this recipe. Thanks for taking time to let me know.
-Indira
Comment by Mala — April 19, 2008 @ 4:55 pm
Hi,
Your recipe website is really good
I have been trying some of ur recipes these days, thanks for the nice recipes 
They are really explained well 
Have a question - is there any reason you use baking soda for carrot cake instead of baking powder? Am new to baking (and cooking;-)) so please excuse me if this is a very basic question! Thanks!
Comment by kala — July 2, 2008 @ 6:31 am