The other day, my mother-in-law made a gluten-free carrot cake that was apparently delicious. My boys and I are still doing my 61-Day No Junk Challenge, so we couldn’t have any since it had sugar in it, but my girls and Superman were able to try it. I could tell my oldest was drooling over the cake while his sisters and dad ate it, so I told him I would come up with a grain-free version the next day.
I got straight to work and did some experimenting, and ended up with this delicious grain free carrot cake! It has no white sugar, either!
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| Prep Time | 10 minutes |
| Cook Time | 30 minutes |
| Servings |
-10 slices
|
Ingredients
- 4 eggs
- 1 1/3 cups coconut sugar
- 3/4 cup coconut oil melted
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2.5 cups blanched almond flour
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp gluten-free baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 3 cups grated carrots
- chopped nuts optional
- For the cream cheese frosting:
- 24 oz cream cheese
- 1 cup pure maple syrup
- 1 TBSP pure vanilla extract
Ingredients
|
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and cut out a circular piece of parchment paper to put on the bottom of two 8-inch round cake pans.
- In a large bowl or stand mixer, beat together the eggs, coconut oil, coconut sugar, syrup and vanilla.
- Mix in the almond flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.
- Stir in carrots and, if desired, chopped nuts.
- Spread evenly into two pans.
- Bake in oven for about 30 minutes, until toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Let cool in pan for about 20 minutes before gently running a spatula along the side and turning over upside-down onto wire rack to cool completely.
- Make frosting:
- Beat together the cream cheese, syrup and vanilla until smooth.
- Once cakes are cooled, place one cake on serving platter, then frost.
- Place the second cake on top and frost the remaining cake.
- Sprinkle with more nuts, if desired.
- Cake tastes great at room temperature, but tastes even better chilled!
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Sarah says
Hi, you state in your recipe that coconut oil is to be mixed in with the other wet ingredients, but I don’t see where the recipe calls for it (or how much to use). Thanks!
Life Made Full says
Hi, Sarah! I’m so sorry! Thank you for catching that–don’t know how that got left out! It’s fixed now. =)
Beau says
And no raisins! I can make this for my wife; she abhors raisins.
Life Made Full says
Yes, raisins don’t belong in carrot cake. Or any other baked goods, for that matter. =)
Debbie says
Don’t tell my hubby that raisins don’t belong in baked goods! He loves them – only in baked goods! 🙂
Jenna says
Pinned and printed – I can’t wait to make this – it looks amazing. I might make it into cupcakes, they are easier for me to make and serve the kiddos. THANKS for the fabulous recipe and I agree NO raisins in baked goods.
Stephanie says
Do you think these would work as cupcakes? Thanks and I love everything about your website 🙂
Life Made Full says
I would think so! I’d like to try that myself!
Stephanie says
Well I made cupcakes and they taste amazing but rose up and ran out. I may have over-filled the cups. But all is good, I just tore the edges away and after they are frosted they will be fine. And those edges, they were perfect for snacking on 🙂 I’ll definitely be making this cake again!
Cat says
I made a GF carrot cake recently but I must say yours looks miles better! I’m getting my hands on some coconut sugar today, so looking forward to baking recipes like these with it!
Chelsea F says
This looks awesome! Thank you for sharing the recipe!
Lisa says
This cake looks delicious. I am going to make it soon and add some drained pineapple to the cake. Stay tuned for how my family enjoys the finished product.
Nancy says
Allergic to eggs – would this work with a substitute?
Life Made Full says
I haven’t tried it with a sub–but if you normally bake with a substitute, it may be ok! Sorry I’m not more help! =(
Carolyn says
This is a big beautiful cake. I think I will have to cut the recipe in half. Thanks.
Lori A. says
YUM!! My son and I made this for my husband’s birthday and it was delicious!
Shanti Landon says
So glad you liked it, Lori!
Nicole says
Thank you!! A new family favorite!! We’ve made it three times in the past month!?!? Last month my 10-year-old had his Cub Scout cake bake… dad was out of town and he didn’t want to participate alone… Of course less than two hours before the meeting he said he wanted to do a scratch cake! 😉 I did a quick search for “paleo cake easy” and this came up. We hardly ever bake so this was the first time he has ever baked anything… and he did every single step on his own and it turned out fantastic! Talk about fail-safe!! He offered to make another one a couple weeks later for his little brother’s birthday… and grandpa was visiting for Thanksgiving and carrot cake is his favorite so my son wanted to bake this cake yet again! Love it! Thanks so much!
Shanti Landon says
Awesome! Thank you for letting me know!! So glad you liked it. =)
Janet Smith says
Do you know if this can be made with a rice flour blend? I can not use Almond Flour…Allergic to Almonds.. Might just have to try it
Thanks… Jan
Shanti Landon says
I would think if you have a great GF flour blend, you could swap out the flours! I haven’t personally tried it, though. Please let me know if you do and how it turns out!
Linda says
Thanks so much for this recipe. I’m currently on day 18 of a 30 day juicing diet and am wondering what yummy, yet healthy recipes lay in my future as I really want to stay away from junk, but love the sweets. Thanks so much. I have pinned it to try it after my cleanse.
Avi says
I wanna make this for Monday’s lunch, do you think I can make it tomorrow evening and let it stay in the fridge overnight?
Also, I don’t have two same sized pans, can I do one and then do the other half an hour later? What is the size of the pan you used?
Sorry for so many questions.
Shanti Landon says
Yes! It will taste even better cold! You can cook in two batches if needed. I think mine were 9-inch round pans, but I’ve also used a 9×13 pan too!
Avi says
My sisters and I loved this cake so much, best carrot cake ever!
One of them just asked me if I can make it again, and the answer was: HECK YES!!!
Krisha says
Was it supposed to fall in the oven? The cakes were rising and then they collapsed while baking. Then, they completely fell apart when I attempted to remove them from pan. I’m not sure what went wrong. I followed your exact recipe, no substitutions. 1 cup of coconut oil seemed like a lot and the cake appeared very oily when done. Is that a typo perhaps?
Shanti Landon says
Hi, Krisha! I’m sorry to hear that you had a few issues with your cake. The ingredients are correct, although sometimes different types of almond flour can be more moist, making the cake more “oily” in the end. You can reduce the oil to 3/4 cup and that should help. As for sinking in the middle, it could be a few things: old baking powder, over-beating, or an oven temp that’s not consistent. Also, if the batter has been sitting out too long before cooking, that could affect the end result. I hope some of that helps!
Victoria says
Can you recommend a replacement for the coconut as I am allergic to it?
Shanti Landon says
Hi, Victoria! You can use avocado oil in its place!
Karen says
Can I use soft goat cheese instead of cream cheese? I am dairy intolerant. Also, ideas to reduce the amount of maple syrup in the icing. Thanks
Shanti Landon says
Hmm. I would think you could try that! You could definitely reduce the amount of syrup in the icing, and just taste it to see how it is as you slowly add it in!
Amahria says
Looks great but for candida how much stevia or xlitol to substitute for the maple syrup? Also I will add crushed or chunks of pineapples to mine.
Shanti Landon says
I’m not sure, sorry!
Rose Fredricks says
This is a family favorite! No one can believe it’s not full of white flour or white sugar. Love this HEALTH Y treat- it’s so fresh and tasty!