Gluten Free Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
An easy homemade light and fluffy gluten free carrot cake recipe topped with cream cheese frosting. Dairy-free option.
Equipment
- Mixing bowls
- Whisk
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups gluten free flour blend * see note
- 1 ½ cups shredded carrot
- 1 teaspoon baking powder aluminum free
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 ¼ cup sugar
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup almond flour * see note
- 3 eggs large
- 6 ounces coconut oil melted or another light oil
- 6 ounces almond milk * see note
- ⅓ cup raisins
- ⅓ cup walnuts chopped
Frosting:
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- ¼ cup unsweetened shredded coconut optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350º F. Spray the cake pans with coconut oil to prevent sticking.
- Washed and peel the carrots. Use a grater to grate the carrots into fine shreds.
- Add all dry ingredients to a large bowl and whisk to blend.
- Add wet ingredients and shredded carrots to a medium bowl and mix well. Add raisins and nuts, mix.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix. Don't overmix the batter.
- Important: Don't overmix the cake batter. If you want your carrot cake to be fluffy, you need to mix the ingredients until they are just barely mixed. Overmixing destroys the air bubbles you get when you mix the ingredients together. This is why I do NOT recommend using a standing mixer to make the cake batter.
- Bake at 350º F for 30-40 minutes. The baking time will depend on what type of cake pan you use.
- When the cake layers are finished. Let them cool on a cooling rack. To test for doneness, insert a toothpick into the center of the donut. If the toothpick comes out clean, it is done baking. If you see batter or crumbs, the donuts need to bake longer.
- Add the powdered sugar, cream cheese, and milk if needed for thinning to the bowl of a standing mixer. You can also use an electric hand mixer. If you have one, use the whisk attachment. If not the paddle attachment is okay to use as well. Start the mixer on low speed and slowly increase the speed. If you start with too high of a speed, powdered sugar will fly everywhere! Whip the frosting ingredients until they are creamy.
- When the cake is cooled. Add a layer to a plate and add a little frosting on top of that layer. Top with the next layer and repeat until you get to the last layer. Add frosting to the top and then sprinkle with unsweetened coconut. (Feel free to frost the sides if you would like!)
Notes
- I have tested this recipe with King Arthur Measure for Measure GF and Authentic Foods Multi Blend. That doesn't mean others will not work, I just have not tested other flours.
- If your gluten free flour blend doesn’t contain Xanthan Gum or Guar Gum, please add 1 teaspoon.
- To make this recipe dairy-free, you only have to make substitutions for the frosting since the cake itself is already dairy-free. For the butter, use vegan butter and use dairy-free cream cheese for the frosting, or make a vegan buttercream.
- I highly suggest using almond flour and not almond meal. Almond meal is more coarse and will make your cake grainy.
- I used almond milk, but other milk types should be okay.
- To make this recipe nut-free, omit the almond flour and substitute an additional 1/3 cup gluten free flour blend.
- To test for doneness, insert a toothpick into the center of the donut. If the toothpick comes out clean, it is done baking. If you see batter or crumbs, the donuts need to bake longer.
- This cake will keep up to 4 days in an air-tight container, or up to 4 months in the freezer.
SPECIAL NOTE
Please know that every gluten free flour blend has a different starch to grain ratio. If you use a blend I didn't test, you may need to adjust your moisture levels in your baked goods.
Nutrition
Serving: 1gCalories: 614kcalCarbohydrates: 77gProtein: 7gFat: 34gSaturated Fat: 21gCholesterol: 74mgSodium: 300mgPotassium: 228mgFiber: 4gSugar: 57gVitamin A: 3583IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 109mgIron: 2mg
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Nutrition Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the actual nutritional information with the products and brands you are using with your preferred nutritional calculator.