Looking for a moist and delicious low carb carrot cake that’s gluten free too? Look no further because this is the best cake recipe for you!
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I’ve had this cake recipe on my mind for a long time. After tasting my low carb zucchini spice muffins, I knew that recipe would make an amazing sugar free carrot cake with a few tweaks. And I was right!
That was 3 years ago and I FINALLY got around to testing out the cake recipe. I’m not really sure why it took me so long, but I think you’re going to love this recipe. I know many on strict keto avoid carrots as they contain more sugar than other vegetables. However, I only used one large organic carrot in the recipe and it was plenty.
Ingredients for the gluten free cake
For this low carb carrot cake recipe, I’ve used a blend of both almond flour and coconut flour. The coconut flour could easily be replaced with almond flour, but it would be a denser cake. To make the cake with only coconut flour, other changes would be needed like more eggs and maybe more liquid. And the amount of total low carb flour used would be about 1/3 or less.
Many low carb cake recipes tend to be dry. That’s why I’ve added zucchini to this recipe. There’s so much moisture in zucchini that it makes this carrot cake moist. And it ensures there’s plenty of liquid for the coconut flour to absorb.
Making the keto carrot cake batter
For the dry ingredients in the cake, I use a blend of almond flour, coconut flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice. The wet ingredients include coconut oil, eggs, vanilla extract, low carb sweetener, zucchini, and carrots.
My preferred sweetener is Lakanto Classic White because it’s made with clean tasting monk fruit. And it tastes so much better than stevia blends!
After combining the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, I fold in nuts to complete the batter. Either walnuts or pecans can be used in the recipe. Hazelnuts are great to use too. I use a nut chopper to evenly chop the nuts. You can certainly leave the nuts out if you don’t like them. I find that toasting them a bit in a dry skillet brings out the oils and enhances the taste.
Baking the sugar free carrot cake
To ensure the cake releases easily from the pan, I always use a parchment paper liner. It’s easy to slide a knife around the sides to release the cake, but it’s impossible to do that with the bottom. You can also use silicone cake pans, but those are needed when the bottom of the pans are lined. I also grease the pan with a thin layer of coconut oil.
I used two 9-inch round cake pans to make a double layer frosted cake. However, you can bake it in a single 9×13-inch pan or divide the cake batter into cupcake molds. The baking time will just need to be adjusted if using a different size baking pan. My batter took about 25-30 minutes to fully cook.
Low Carb Cream Cheese Frosting
My sugar free cream cheese frosting is what takes the low carb carrot cake from good to amazing. To make it, I use two 8 ounce blocks of cream cheese, a stick of butter, a cup of powdered monk fruit sweetener, 2 teaspoons of vanilla, and a couple tablespoons of heavy cream.
The butter and cream cheese are blended together first until the mixture is creamy. Then I blend in the powdered sweetener until smooth. The vanilla extract and heavy cream are added last. The frosting is then whipped with an electric mixer until it’s light and fluffy.
Want more low carb cake recipes?
You’ll find plenty of low carb cake recipes here. The following are some of my favorites.
- Low Carb Chocolate Cake
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake
- Sugar Free Red Velvet Cake
- Gluten Free German Chocolate Cake
I’m also loving the way the German black forest cake over at My PCOS Kitchen!
Tools used to make this carrot cake recipe
Silicone Pans: Low carb gluten free cakes tend to stick to regular metal baking pans. That’s why I like to use non-stick silicone pans to guarantee an easy release every time.
Nut Chopper: A nut chopper chops nuts either fine or coarse. It’s much easier than chopping nuts by hand and there’s no worry about over chopping which can happen with a hand chopper or food processor.
Stand Mixer: For a light and fluffy frosting, it’s best to use a good stand mixer which typically whips at a higher speed than hand mixers.
Parchment Liners: If you prefer to use a metal pan or want to make sure none of the bottom of the cake sticks to the pan, parchment circles should be use. Sure, you can cut regular parchment paper into a circle, but using pre-cut ones saves time and it’s a perfect fit.
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Low Carb Carrot Cake
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Ingredients
CAKE:
- 1 1/2 cups almond flour
- 1/2 cup coconut flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon allspice or ginger
- 1 cup coconut oil I used the liquid kind
- 4 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup low carb sugar substitute more or less (I use 3/4 cup)
- 1 1/2 cups packed grated zucchini about 295 grams (one medium)
- 1 cup loosely packed grated carrots about 70 grams (1 large)
- 1/2 cup walnuts optional
FROSTING:
- 16 ounces cream cheese
- 1/2 cup butter 1 stick
- 1 cup Lakanto powdered monk fruit sweetener or 2 cups regular powdered sweetener
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
Low Carb Sweeteners | Keto Sweetener Conversion Chart
Instructions
CAKE:
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line bottom of two 9-inch cake pans with parchment paper or use silicone pans.
- Stir together the almond flour, coconut flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice (or ginger) in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- In large mixing bow, whisk together coconut oil, eggs, and vanilla extract. Stir in zucchini, carrots, and sweetener. Then add flour mixture and stir until well combined.Stir in walnuts, if using.
- Spread batter evenly between the two cake pans. Smooth tops if necessary.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes until browned on top and cake is firm to the touch.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool on a cooling rack before frosting.
FROSTING:
- Cream together the cream cheese and butter with an electric mixer.
- Add powdered sweetener and beat until smooth.
- Beat in the vanilla extract and heavy whipping cream until light and fluffy.
Notes
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Nutrition
Additional Info
Note on Nutritional Information
Nutritional information for the recipe is provided as a courtesy and is approximate only. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site. Erythritol carbs are not included in carb counts as it has been shown not to impact blood sugar. Net carbs are the total carbs minus fiber.
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Lisa MarcAurele has been creating low carb recipes since 2010. She enjoys experimenting in the kitchen to create low sugar foods that taste like high carb favorites!
