Healthy Cake Recipes

Healthy cake recipes feature unusual ingredient combinations like mashed potato, spelt flour, polenta and sweet potatoes which make these delicious recipes healthier than your usual choices

Healthy cake recipes are made up of wonderful alternatives you may never have thought to try before. Mashed potato, spelt flour, yoghurt, buttermilk, vegetables and plenty more are used as substitutes or additions to your cakes put a really interesting twist on classic recipes. This way you save on calories and up the nutritional content of your cakes, tarts and desserts just by swapping naughty ingredients (white flour, butter) for something a little healthier and allergy-friendly too.

This gluten free and sugar free carrot and coconut cake from Eric Lanlard uses stevia, instead of sugar and rice flour, instead or regular wheat flour. This is a healthy cake packed full of healthy nuts with various vitamins and healthy oils and grated carrot for added nutrients. Make a low-fat, low-calorie version of the classic carrot cake – plus it’s ideal for anyone who is coeliac too.

Many healthy cakes use alternatives to regular flour, and some of our recipes feature vegetables like sweet potatoes, parsnips and courgettes, which you may never have used in your baking before. These ingredients either add density to your baking so they replace flour, or at least minimise it, or they add moisture. Courgettes in particular contain a lot of water so the results are a really moist cake.
Replacing regular flour with spelt flour, chestnut flour, buckwheat flour, wholegrain spelt flour and brown rice flour are all great ways for making your cake healthier too. Different flours have different health benefits, but they’re also great alternatives, especially if you suffer from coeliac disease. Healthy cakes are just as easy to make as a regular cake and they can be enjoyed by everyone.
Healthy cakes that are made with yogurt, buttermilk and cottage cheese are great alternatives to butter as they contain natural fats so you can use less added fat. This will certainly make your cake healthier with less calories. 
Click through for more healthy cake recipes that’ll surprise you how easy they are…

Apester Lazyload

Nutty Orange and Parsnip Cake Click or tap to zoom into this image
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Nutty Orange and Parsnip Cake

Secret ingredients: parsnips and olive oil

Okay, so a slice of this cake might not work as one of your five a day, but when combined with the olive oil, the sweet parsnips keep the cake moist so there's no need to add any butter. The cream cheese topping might cancel out any saved calories or fat content though!

Bake our nutty orange and parsnip cake

Almond, Polenta and Honey Cake Click or tap to zoom into this image
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Almond, Polenta and Honey Cake

Secret ingredient: polenta

Polenta is a really great way to add texture, bulk and depth to flour-free bakes. It's low GI so provides slow-release energy without the white carb crash, and also boasts more protein than a large egg! No wonder the Italians can't get enough of it!

Jude Blereau's Raspberry and White Chocolate Buttermilk Cake Click or tap to zoom into this image
Image credit: Wholefood Baking
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Jude Blereau’s Raspberry and White Chocolate Buttermilk Cake

Secret ingredient: buttermilk

Buttermilk is low in fat so it's a great alternative to whole milk. This cake is wheat-free too.

Bake Jude Blereau's raspberry buttermilk cake

Taken from Wholefood Baking (Murdoch Books; £17.99)

Jude Blereau's Strawberry Mousse Tart Click or tap to zoom into this image
Image credit: Wholefood Baking
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Jude Blereau’s Strawberry Mousse Tart

Secret ingredient: brown rice flourNot all gluten-free ingredients are healthy or affordable, but brown rice flour is both. Plus it keeps blood sugar levels steady for energy. This wheat-free cake recipe is a great way to give it a go.

Bake Jude Blereau's strawberry mousse tart 

Taken from Wholefood Baking (Murdoch Books; £17.99)
Sticky Lemon Cake Click or tap to zoom into this image
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Sticky Lemon Cake

Secret ingredient: mashed potato

You might not have considered using potatoes in a cake before but this recipe really works! Brimming with vitamin C, potassium and fibre, the result is a moist and citrusy bake that's not too calorific.

Bake our sticky lemon cake

Lily Vanilli's Quince Tart Click or tap to zoom into this image
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Lily Vanilli’s Quince Tart

Secret ingredient: wholegrain spelt flour

Another spelt flour recipe. The quince in this recipe also packs a nutritional punch, boosting heart health and fighting inflammation. It's just as tasty as a gooey chocolate cake too!

Bake Lily Vanilli's quince tart

Taken from Sweet Tooth (£20, Canongate)

Chrissy Freer's Chia, Date and Walnut Slice Click or tap to zoom into this image
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Chrissy Freer’s Chia, Date and Walnut Slice

Secret ingredient: chia

You might not have heard of this ancient edible seed, but it's brilliant for baking as it adds crunch. Chia carries a wealth of health benefits - it's high in memory-boosting Omega fats, protein and soluble fibre. One slice of this cake will really satisfy sweet cravings.

Bake Chrissy Freer's chia, date and walnut slice

Taken from Supergrains: Eat Your Way To Great Health (£14.99, Murdoch)

Lemon, Almond and Yogurt Cake Click or tap to zoom into this image
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Lemon, Almond and Yogurt Cake

Secret ingredient: yogurt

Butter can really push up the fat content of cake. This clever recipe uses Greek yogurt and almonds instead so you still get the creamy flavour and crumbly texture.

Bake our lemon, almond and yogurt cake

Amber Rose's Caramelised Pear and Buckwheat Pudding Cake Click or tap to zoom into this image
Image credit: Love, Bake, Nourish
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Amber Rose’s Caramelised Pear and Buckwheat Pudding Cake

Secret ingredient: buckwheat flour

If you're trying to snack less, look for ingredients that balance your blood sugar for steady release energy so you stay fuller for longer. Buckwheat is great for this. Use dark-coloured buckwheat flour as it contains the protein-heavy husk.

Bake Amber Rose's caramelised pear and buckwheat pudding cake

Taken from Love, Bake, Nourish (Kyle Books, £18.99)

Amber Rose's Chestnut Cake with Purple Berries Click or tap to zoom into this image
Image credit: Love, Bake, Nourish
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Amber Rose’s Chestnut Cake with Purple Berries

Secret ingredient: chestnut flour

Most nuts are high in good fats, but chestnuts contain far less calories. They're also high in fibre and vitamin C so chestnut flour makes a great gluten-free alternative to wheat.

Bake Amber Rose's chestnut cake with purple berries

Taken from Love, Bake, Nourish (Kyle Books, £18.99)

Jude Blereau's Vanilla Almond Cake Click or tap to zoom into this image
Image credit: Wholefood Baking
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Jude Blereau’s Vanilla Almond Cake

Secret ingredient: spelt flour

Unlike plain white flour which loses its nutritional value during the milling process, spelt flour is packed with soluble fibre, niacin (the essential B vitamin for steady energy release) and even iron. Wheat, dairy and egg-free, this is a great cake for allergy-sufferers.

Bake Jude Blereau's vanilla almond cake

Taken from Wholefood Baking (Murdoch Books; £17.99)

Rosewater and Pistachio Pavlova Click or tap to zoom into this image
Image credit: Love, Bake, Nourish
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Rosewater and Pistachio Pavlova

Secret ingredient: cornflour

This rosewater and pistachio pavlova makes it so easy to add a nutritional boost to your baking. With a secret ingredient of cornflour, this is really good for the digestive system because it contains high levels of fibre. Your skin will feel the benefit too thanks to the vitamin A. Pistachio nuts are also also brimming with minerals such as potassium, iron and zinc.

Make Amber Rose's rosewater and pistachio pavlova.

Sweet Potato Brownies Click or tap to zoom into this image
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Sweet Potato Brownies

Secret ingredients: buckwheat flour and sweet potatoes
These brownies are both gluten and dairy free and contain no processed sugar. The sweet potatoes mixed with the brown rice flour are what give the brownies the classic soft brownie consistency, and all the while you'll be enjoying a treat that's actually quite good for you. 

Bake Deliciously Ella's sweet potato brownies

Taken from Deliciously Ella
Lime Courgette Loaf Cake Click or tap to zoom into this image
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Lime and Courgette Loaf Cake

Secret ingredient: courgette
The health benefits of courgettes are numerous; they contain no saturated fats or cholesterol and are a really good source of fibre, so to have this great veg feature in your baking you know you'll be doing something right. 

Bake our lime and courgette loaf cake

Courgette Lime Cake Click or tap to zoom into this image
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Courgette Lime Cake

Secret ingredient: courgette

With 335g of courgettes in this recipe, although technically you're not substituting anything, you're adding volume and moisture to your cake and avoiding using too much flour or butter. Let's not forget that courgettes have numerous health benefits too! This cake is super moist and a really delightful treat. 
Taken from Three Sisters Bake
Good-For-You Lemon Cheesecake Click or tap to zoom into this image
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Good-For-You Lemon Cheesecake

Secret ingredient: ricotta cheese
Ricotta cheese is a great alternative to cream cheese which is what you'd normally use in a cheesecake. With up to half the calories of cream cheese, ricotta is a great choice for this good-for- you lemon cheesecake. 

Make this good-for-you lemon cheesecake

Looking for more healthy recipes? We've got plenty in our collection!