I also have an excellent vegan carrot cake recipe that you may want to check out! And if you’re baking for Easter, this Chocolate Easter cake is to die for! It’s not gluten-free, but it’s amazing! And for something fun, try my cute Easter Peep Cake.
Gluten-Free Carrot Cake Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make this carrot cake:
Carrot: The star ingredient of this cake! Use shredded fresh carrot, you will need 2 or 3 carrots. Almond flour: Go for blanched almond flour, preferably super fine. Eggs: You will need 5 fresh large eggs. Brown sugar: You can use light or dark brown sugar, or coconut sugar. Oil: Any vegetable oil works, canola, corn, or sunflower. Spices: A combination of ground cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. Basically, the carrot cake spice mix! Leaveners: Baking powder and baking soda to give this cake a nice lift and fluffy crumb. Vanilla: Always buy the best vanilla extract that you can afford! I love using vanilla bean paste. Optional add-ins: Feel free to add chopped walnuts, shredded coconut, or pineapple if you like.
Another amazing dessert that you can make with carrots is my old-fashioned Carrot Pie! Complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
How to Grease Cake Pans The Right Way
I learned how to properly grease my cake pans the hard way! After many cakes got stuck, fell apart, and my cakes were ruined. I started greasing my cake pans with butter, and use parchment paper as well! Take a piece of softened butter, and generously grease your cake pans. Then I buy 8-inch parchment paper circles and use those, but then I’m left with the edges so I just get parchment paper and cut these strips out to line the walls. And that’s it, the cake pans are ready to be used and perfect for stress-free baking!
How to Make The Best Gluten-Free Carrot Cake
Preheat the oven to 360°F/180°C/160° Fan oven. In a bowl, combine the dry ingredients: almond flour with the spices, and leaveners. In a separate bowl, beat eggs with brown sugar for 4-5 minutes. This is very important that you keep beating until the mixture becomes light in color. Do not use a food processor for this. Add the almond flour mixture to the egg mixture, and mix with a spatula until combined. Then fold in the shredded carrots and nuts. Divide the batter between 2 or 3 cake pans, and bake for 25-30 minutes if using 2 pans, or 20-22 minutes if using 3 cake pans. The cake is done when a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. After you bake the cake and remove it from the oven, let the cake cool for 10 minutes in the cake pans. Then remove carefully and invert (upside down as shown in the image above) on a cooling wire rack (handle with care as the cake is subtle and might break), remove the parchment and let the cakes cool down completely before frosting.
Cream Cheese Frosting for Carrot Cake
Creamy cream cheese frosting is of course THE BEST frosting for carrot cake! It’s so simple to make, and you only need 5 simple ingredients:
Cream cheese: I recommend using Philadelphia cream cheese, other store brands are just not the same. Butter: Normally you need a stick of butter, but I like my frosting a bit healthier (which makes it softer and harder to work with, but it’s worth it for me) so I only use 1-2 tablespoons of softened butter. You can use more for the frosting to set well. Powdered sugar or icing sugar: When I was out of powdered sugar, I tried grinding my own using a blender but honestly, it’s never the same. So buy powdered sugar for a smooth frosting, otherwise, you will feel the sugar crunch. Vanilla: As I mentioned above, I always buy the best vanilla extract that I can afford as it makes all the difference!
How to Frost Carrot Cake
It is useful to have a cake turntable and I love using it SO MUCH! But it’s not necessary, I mean, you can totally frost a cake without it. I just love it! To get a neat looking cake, add a tiny bit of frosting to your cake stand or cake turntable, to stop the cake from moving as you frost. Then place the first layer of cake upside down (this way, you won’t get a dome, but also this recipe produces flat cakes so it’s unlikely yours will be domed). Frost the first layer with a generous amount of frosting (about a third of the frosting), then place the second layer (again, upside down). Frost the whole cake with a thin layer of frosting, then place in the fridge for 15-30 minutes. This is called a crumb coat and will lock in all of the little crumbs and give the cake and frosting a neat structure. Remove the cake from the fridge, and frost with the remaining frosting in an even layer. Decorate the top with crushed walnuts or pecans if desired.
Success Tips
Grating carrots is easy, just use a standard box grater then measure in cups packed firmly. Or use an electric scales if that’s easier. Feel free to add fourth a cup of desiccated coconut to the batter. The walnuts or pecans can be omitted, but they add a great crunch and flavor to the cake. Make sure that the cream cheese that you’re using is softened to room temperature, I just take mine out of the fridge 30 minutes prior to baking. To make this cake dairy-free, use dairy-free cream cheese for the frosting. Slice the cake into 12 pieces, and serve at room temperature for the best result.
Making Ahead and Storing Tips
Make ahead: You can bake the cake layers 1-2 days in advance, and store them at room temperature wrapped in parchment paper then in plastic wrap. The cream cheese frosting can also be made 1-2 days in advance and stored in the fridge. If making a frosted cake ahead, it can be made up to 2-3 days in advance and stored in the fridge. Fridge: Store the leftover cake covered in plastic wrap in the fridge for up to 7 days. Freezer: Freeze individual slices in airtight containers in the freezer for up to 3 months, thaw in the fridge overnight before serving.
Your family is going to be so impressed with this delicious cake that you make for them! Be sure to Pin this recipe to save it for later. © Little Sunny Kitchen
