This rich carob cake is the decadent dessert of your dreams! If you need a one-bowl cake recipe this is just what you want! This is the perfect chocolate alternative for anyone needing a chocolate-free treat! Everyone I served this cake to LOVED it!!
Carob Powder vs Cocoa Powder
Carob powder is naturally sweet. Not crazy sweet but I'll add it to my daily smoothie bowls and don't need additional sweeteners.
Cocoa powder is not sweet. Every time we eat chocolate, whether it's cake or a smoothie bowl, the cocoa powder is accompanied by a sweetener. Carob powder doesn't need a sweetener to be yummy, though additional sugar always makes everything better 😉
If you licked a spoon of cocoa powder you would notice the bitterness first. That is not the case with carob. Plus carob has notes of nutty toasted caramel and molasses. Cocoa has a bitter coffee quality.
How Does Carob Cake Taste?
I would describe the taste of carob as a toasted caramel flavor with nutty notes of molasses and a sweet cocoa flavor.
I've been eating it for over a decade and within the last few years, I've been buying several pounds at a time every few months. I absolutely love carob powder! My go-to carob powder is the Terrasoul brand (not sponsored) on Amazon. It's so flavorful and reasonably priced. That's the brand I used here!
Carob cake is so dreamy!
I told my husband 10 times, "This is carob cake." Yet when he ate it and said "This is soooo good! Is there any chocolate in it?" NOOOOO, IT IS CAROB. HA!
I love chocolate but there's something about carob that I crave daily. I've truly eaten carob every day for years.
Easy Cake Recipe
Whole Foods recipe for Carob Cake was the base layer for this cake. This is one of the best cakes I've ever had.
This cake recipe is quick to come together. Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl (sugar, flour, carob powder, baking soda & powder, salt) then throw in your wet ingredients (eggs, milk, water, oil, vanilla extract) on top and mix away! Just one bowl.
Carob Cake Frosting Options
You're welcome to make a simple carob buttercream frosting by mixing 1.5 cups of softened butter with 1 cup carob powder, 5 cups powdered sugar, ½ cup milk and 2 ts vanilla extract.
But store-bought icings come in so many flavors that you could easily pair your carob cake with a cream cheese frosting or a simple vanilla frosting. Salted caramel or coconut pecan frosting would knock this cake out of the park! You've got endless options here.
You can even mix carob powder with store-bought frosting. That's what you see pictured here.
Need More Recipes
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- 2 Ingredient PB Fudge (with Frosting)
- 2 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies
- Cream Cheese Coffee Foam
Carob Cake
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- ¾ cup sugar 172 grams
- ½ cup + 6 TB flour 128 grams
- 3 TB carob powder 24 gram
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
Wet Ingredients
- 1 egg
- ½ cup milk
- ¼ cup oil
- ½ cup HOT water
- 1 teaspoons vanilla extract
Carob Frosting (light tasting)
- 1 jar store bought frosting vanilla or cream cheese
- 2 teaspoons carob powder
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix all dry ingredients together.
- Add wet ingredients EXCEPT FOR HOT WATER to the same bowl as the dry ingredients. Mix well.
- Then add HOT WATER to the mixing bowl. Mix batter for about 2 minutes.
- Pour cake batter into a greased and lined baking pan. Bake until toothpick comes out clean. Approximate times:30-35 minutes for when using 1- 9" round pans
- Let cool completely before frosting 🙂
Heather Hollister says
Mine didn’t look as pretty as yours, but the taste was amazing. I made a cream cheese frosting and just cooked it in a glass 9x12 pan. Definitely will be baking this again!
Melanie says
I love the feedback!!
Julia says
I made this cake for my son's birthday. The cake texture is remarkable. It is dense, at the same time porous and cuts beautifully. Really good recipe. I used mascarpone with a dash of honey instead of icing. Will definetly do it again. Easy to make but takes time, if like me, you only have a small oven and bake each layer separately, plus waiting for it to cool down, plus decorating. It took me about 2.5 hours in total. But we'll worth it.
Melanie says
Your frosting sounds divine! Thanks for the good words 🙂
Ann Disalvo says
The recipe tastes good. However, standard cake recipes are for two 9-in layers. This recipe also has a photo of a two-layer cake. I made this recipe, and split it in two pans, intending to make two smaller cakes for two different people's birthdays the next day. We could not figure out why each one was only about a half inch high. (Baking powder and baking soda should be good.) Then. I noticed the recipe says it makes only one layer cake and to double this recipe for two layers. That is not standard and was misleading. As a result, one person won't get a birthday cake today. You really should print it as if someone is making two layers.
Melanie says
That's helpful feedback! I'll have to make a larger note of that in the blog post. Sorry for mixed messages <3
Richard says
What is the dark syrup dripped across the sides of the cake? What are its ingredients? How did you make it?
Melanie says
The craft store (michaels, hobby lobby) sell cake drip in a bottle. You microwave the bottle and as it's applied to cold frosting it firms up and looks pretty. Check out the baking aisle.
Marsina says
Good Oviedo loved the Car on Cake video
Tiffany says
If I double the recipe, do you think that would fill a 9in x 14in rectangle pan? I can't wait to make this! I have recently added carob into my diet and I love it, more than chocolate! Chocolate breaks me out, in any shape or form.
Thanks for your help.
Beth says
Incredibly easy to makeband turned out perfectly! Made 2x cakes using roasted carob which I sifted in, and iced with a double batch of carob cream from another recipe. Lovely spongy moist cake. Took 27 mins in my fan forced oven. Big hit with the bday boy who can't have cocoa. Thanks for a wonderful recipe!
Melanie says
I love hearing this! Thank you!!