Sugar and Gluten Free Carrot Cake

A scrumptious sugar-free and gluten-free carrot cake full of flavor and never dry. Topped with a silky cream cheese frosting that is to die for! It is made with almond flour and coconut flour and absolutely zero sugar.

If I were to pick one flavor of cake as my favorite, carrot cake would be it! I love a good cake recipe, so my Mexican Chocolate Sheet Cake or Lemon Blueberry Keto Cake would be solid runners-up!

The combo of all the fall spices and the creamy cream cheese frosting that a good carrot cake is known for – a combination as good as peanut butter and jelly or grilled cheese and ketchup!

My kids weren’t a fan when they were little, but they have come to see the light as adults and how this cake tastes, anything carrots. The carrots disappear into this soft cake that is full of fall spices that go amazingly well with a hot cup of tea or coffee.

What makes this Recipe Great

• Delicious flavor – The cake has lots of spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger, giving it a wonderful fall flavor. The cream cheese frosting is silky and flavorful. I could eat the icing by the spoonful!
• Moist texture – The cake uses oil and eggs as binders so it stays moist and never dries out.
• A Variety of Possible Variations – Add in raisins, currants and nuts as you wish to make this recipe all your own. I prefer pecans because they are a little sweeter but walnuts work fine too.
• Easy to make – Even for beginners!

Star Ingredients

• Unsweetened coconut milk – but you can also substitute with almond milk or dairy as you wish. I use the kind that comes in a carton like almond milk. Not the canned coconut milk that is thicker.
• Oil – I use canola or safflower oil, but even olive oil will work. Try and stick to mild-tasting versions so that the flavor is not noticeable.
• Powdered stevia blend – President’s Choice is a Canadian brand that I use, but there are many on the market. Swerve is found almost everywhere and is the next best thing.
• Carrots – shredded finely. You can also use matchstick carrots if you don’t mind larger pieces in your carrot cake, but I find that they add a little too much texture for my liking. I like carrot cake, but without feeling like I am eating carrots.

Step-by-Step Made Simple

1. In a large bowl, add the eggs, milk, oil, orange zest and vanilla and whisk until combined.
2. Place a large fine-mesh sieve over the top of the bowl and then add the dry ingredients, which are everything listed above but the carrots. Use a spoon to coax the dry ingredients through the sieve into the egg mixture. This helps to break up any larger lumps and to evenly distribute the ingredients into the liquid. My grandma taught me this trick! I use this method for my Grandma’s gingersnaps and shortbread cookies as well. Mix until just combined.

3. In a small pan add the chopped pecans over medium heat and toast till they are slightly browned or roasted. Toss them around a few times to make sure they are toasted evenly. Do not overdo it.
4. Fold in the nuts and carrots. Don’t overmix or the cake may become heavier once baked.

5. Lightly grease two cake pans and flour with gluten-free flour or rice flour if you have some or line the pans with parchment paper instead to avoid sticking. Pour the batter evenly into both cake pans and use a spatula to level the top of the batter out flat.
6. Bake at 350ºF for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

7. Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then carefully turn the cake pans over to release the cakes onto a cooling rack. I find if you flip them over right away, they tear, so trust me and let them cook for a bit first. Let the cakes cool completely before frosting.

If you would prefer to make a sheet cake version instead of a stacked cake, just pour the batter into a 9″ X 11″ sheet pan and bake for 20-25 minutes or again until a toothpick comes out clean. Wait until it has cooled completely and then frost and decorate as you like.

Making The Frosting

1. Add the cream cheese, butter and vanilla to a large bowl and whip on high with a hand mixer until it becomes smooth and creamy.
2. Gradually add in the powdered stevia, continuing to mix until well combined and smooth.

Assembly

Once the cakes are completely cool, it is time to assemble this soon-to-be-devoured sugar-free, gluten-free carrot cake!

1. First, place one of the cakes, top side down, on a cake pedestal or flat plate.
2. Spread about a 1/2″ layer of the carrot cake frosting over the top of this bottom layer.
3. Add the second cake, top side down, on top of the frosting.
4. Last, frost the top and sides of the cake with the remaining frosting

Tips

• Levelling the flour – Be careful to measure the coconut flour accurately by levelling off the measuring cup. This flour is quite dense, so also be sure to spoon the coconut flour into the measuring cup versus scooping it out from the bag. Scooping will cause the flour to become more packed than spooning into the cup and will result in a larger measurement than required.
• Full-fat cream cheese – Be sure to use full-fat cream cheese. Lower-fat types contain a higher water content and do not work as well. I find that the frosting just seems to never set and is too thin.
• Unsalted butter – Unsalted butter is always used in baking because baking recipes are much more delicate, and unsalted butter allows bakers to control the salt by adding it only as necessary.

Carrot cake decorating ideas

There are lots of ideas for how to decorate a carrot cake. Here are some of my favorites.

• Pecans or walnuts – Add chopped pecans or walnuts to the top, either in the center of the cake or in a small mound like I show in this recipe. Or along the edge of the top and/or bottom of the cake.
• Coconut – Add shredded coconut in the same fashion described for the nut above or you could also add shredded coconut all over the cake to be part of the icing itself. Just evenly sprinkle over the top. And for the sides, add a small amount to the palm of your hand and gently press along the side of the cake evenly into the frosting.
• Fall leaves – I used some fall leaves from the trees in the backyard to decorate this cake but gave them a quick rinse first and then made sure they were well-dried. by leaving them out overnight before using them.
• Colored frosting – If you are feeling very artistic, you may even want to make some additional cream cheese frosting and color some green and some orange. Then use a piping bag to pipe baby carrots along the edge or a few in the center of the cake to look decorative.

Storage and Freezing

Should carrot cake be refrigerated? Well, because this cake is covered in cream cheese frosting, it can’t really sit out on the counter like other cakes. It will be ok on the counter for about 2 hours but after that, you will need to put it back in the fridge.

There are two things I like to do when I store my cakes in the fridge.

1. You can cover the cake with aluminum foil. But first, I recommend inserting a few toothpicks in the top of the cake and possibly the sides if needed. This keeps the foil from resting on the frosting.
2. If you have a slice taken from the cake, I like to keep the exposed cake from drying out with bread. Attach two slices of bread to the exposed cake inside with toothpicks. The bread will dry out before the cake will. You can use this trick with other cakes you leave on the counter, too.