I substituted - ~ 1 ripe banana [mashed using a fork] in place of the carrot ~ Chocolate
chips in place of Walnuts The rest of the ingredients was followed according to the above recipe and BOOM - Worlds Best Banana - Chocolate chip cake!!
You can really play around with different additives such as toasted almonds or
hazelnuts in place of the walnuts, or using dried cranberries, apricots, or dates in place of the figs.
To make this a «Blue Ribbon Carrot Cake», add a large can of well drained crushed pineapple to the cake, use
pecans in place of walnuts, and pour a hot caramel glaze over the cake when it comes out of the oven.
These are also the kind of recipe that seems infinitely adaptable... use some pecans
in place of the walnut, roll the balls in shredded coconut, change up the spices, etc., etc..
I made a lot of replacements with things I already had in my apartment - Pecans
in place of walnuts, oregano in place of fresh thyme, and honey in place of syrup - was still delicious!
Had to make a few changes because I didn't have all the ingredients, like Walden Farms Carb Free Calorie Free Maple Walnut Syrup instead of the Sukrin Gold, LC inulin / monk fruit brown sugar substitute instead of the Swerve, Trader Joe's dried blueberries instead of the cranberries, pecans
in place of the walnuts (I don't like walnuts), and I added about 3/4 cup unsweetened flaked coconut and the cinnamon, and it turned out amazing!