The best ever gluten free carrot cake
When it comes to carrot cake I have a big soft spot. And this gluten free carrot cake is one of the most tastiest I have ever had. It’s arguably even better than a regular version but don’t take my word for it. Just make it yourself!
Gluten free carrot cake
The cake is really super moist and delicious. Even people who had no interest in gluten free baking thought it was super delicious. Even the real carrot cake lovers! The crunchy topping, combined with the coconut icing just makes it so good!
How to make the gluten free carrot cake
Now when it comes to baking gluten-free cakes you have a couple of options in terms of flour. My all time favorite is without a doubt the humble almond flour. It just adds something to the cake and I love the flavor of almonds. If you have a nut allergy you might want to try and make this with chufa flour which I haven’t tried but usually you can replace almond flour with chufa (or tigernut flour) one on one. The flavor is different though so you’ll have to test this yourself.
Table of Contents
For making this gluten free carrot cake you place the almond flour, tapioca flour (you can substitute the tapioca for arrowroot), salt, cinnamon, cardamom and nutmeg together and mix it through in a large mixing bowl. You really don’t need a hand mixer or food processor for making this cake. That is one of the beauties of this. Once the dry ingredients are mixed, you add the wet ingredients together in a separate bowl. Mix it together with a whisk and add to the dry ingredients. Mix the two together.
The last step of the process is to add the grated fresh carrots to the mix and spoon it through. It might feel like a lot of carrots but it’s called a carrot cake for a good reason right. And it will end up still being a totally delicious carrot cake recipe.
Adding the crunchy topping
Now for baking you’ll need round or square cake pans. I do always line the cake pan with parchment paper to make sure it will come out properly once baked. And use parchment paper to be able to lift the cake out of the pan easily too. Add the cake batter to the tin and use a spatula to press it into the cake tin if needed. Due to all the carrots it might be a bit stiffer than your regular cake batter.
I made a crunchy topping using a mix of walnuts and coconut flakes. Just briefly chop the walnuts and mix it with the coconut flakes. Sprinkle over the cake batter and bake in the oven for about 30 minutes or until it’s golden brown and cooked. The baking time might vary depending on which pan you’ve used so make sure to double check if it is cooked. Using a sheet pan will be quicker, using a smaller pan will be slower.
Coconut icing
Let the cake cool completely on a wire rack while you move on to the frosting recipe. For this you need soaked cashew nuts. I have to confess that I always forget to soak the cashew nuts but good news you can recreate the process by soaking the cashew nuts for at least half an hour in boiling hot water. Soaking them over night is better but it’s a reasonable alternative.
Place the soaked cashew nuts (without the water) in a food processor or high speed blender and add the maple syrup, coconut milk, vanilla extract and the juice of half an orange. Mix it until it is a smooth mixture. It will stay runnier than a normal kind of icing and if you don’t care about the sugar you can easily make a regular icing for this as well.
Or use a tangy cream cheese frosting if you want.
Additions and variations
Now there are several things you could add to this delicious gluten-free carrot cake and one of my favorites is to add some golden raisins. As for the sugar in this recipe; I used coconut sugar which gives it a bit of caramelized taste but you can definitely use brown sugar instead. You might be confused to think this is a healthy carrot cake but truthfully it’s still a lot of sugar so I wouldn’t call it healthy. Just call it delicious. Because that is what it sure is! For me this has the perfect amount of sweetness but that’s personal.
I also like to add some orange zest into the batter as that enhances the orange flavor. Or add additional lemon zest. That’s also a great addition to the recipe.
It’s a pretty easy recipe and perfect for any special occasions or just because you want to spoil yourself or enjoy a slice of this moist gluten-free carrot cake with a cup of coffee. It is without a doubt one of my favorite gluten-free cake recipes and I haven’t even shared all of them yet. So stay tuned for more soon!
Also check out these gluten free carrot cake muffins!
Gluten free carrot cake
Ingredients
Voor de cake
- 200 g almond flour
- 25 g tapioca flour
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp cardamom
- ¼ tsp nutmeg
- 3 large eggs at room temperature
- 250 ml coconut milk
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 95 ml coconut oil melted and cooled to room temperature
- 140 g coconut blossom sugar or regular sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 170 g carrot grated
Topping
- 50 g walnuts chopped
- 50 g coconut flakes
Icing
- 75 g cashew nuts soaked
- 3 tbsp coconut milk
- 3 tbsp maple syrup
- juice of half an orange
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
How to make this gluten free carrot cake
- Preheat the oven to 180˚C. (375 F)
- Place almond flour, tapioca, baking soda, spices and salt in a large bowl and mix it well. Set aside.
- In another bowl mix the eggs, coconut milk, lemon juice, sugar, coconut oil and vanilla
- Stir the dry ingredients through the wet ingredients and mix it together well. Add the grated carrot as the last step and stir through.
- Take a square or round baking tin and line with baking paper. Put the dough inside and press it firmly into it, if needed.
- Sprinkle with the topping and place in the oven for 30 minutes or until cooked and golden brown. It doesn't get very high but that's ok.
- Make the icing by draining the cashews and mix it in a blender with the other ingredients until you have a smooth sauce.
- Leave to cool the carrot cake completely before you add the icing.
Nutrition Information per portion
Disclaimer
The nutritional values above are calculated per portion. The details are based on standard nutritional tables and do not constitute a professional nutritional advice.
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Super recipe. We eat gluten, but have friends who don’t. So it’s nice to have a lovely recipe like this that we can make for them. Thanks!