HEALTHY CARROT CAKE (GF, DF, REFINED SUGAR-FREE)

Healthy Carrot Cake Bars - Olivia Adriance

5 from 2 votes

HEALTHY CARROT CAKE (GF, DF, REFINED SUGAR-FREE)

Soft, moist, and tender, this is everything that you’d want in a carrot cake. And just be sure to not lick the entire bowl of frosting clean before decorating the cake!

Prep Time20

Cook Time35

Total Time55

Course: Desserts

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Cake, Cake recipes, Cakes, Carrot cake, Gluten-free desserts

Servings:

Author: Olivia Adriance

Ingredients

Cake:

1 ¼ cups gluten-free flour blend (I used Bob's Red Mill Paleo Flour)
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
2 large eggs, at room temperature
½ cup nut milk
¼ cup avocado oil
½ cup coconut sugar
½ cup maple syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla

Mix-Ins

1 cup shredded carrot, loosely packed
¼ cup raisins (optional)
¼ cup chopped pecans (optional)

Cream Cheese Frosting:

8 ounces dairy-free cream cheese (I used Miyokos)
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Grease an 8-inch cake pan. I also lined mine with parchment paper for easy removal.
Add the gluten-free flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices to a small mixing bowl and gently stir to combine.
Add the wet ingredients (eggs, nut milk, avocado oil, maple syrup, and vanilla) plus the coconut sugar to a large mixing bowl and mix until smooth.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and mix with a hand mixer until no lumps remain.
Stir in the mix-ins (shredded carrots, raisins, and pecans, if using).
Pour the carrot cake batter into your prepared cake pan.
Bake for 35 to 37 minutes until the center of the cake is springy to the touch or a toothpick comes out clean.
Place the cake on a cooling rack and allow to cool completely before frosting.
To make the frosting, add the cream cheese, maple syrup, and vanilla to a bowl and stir until smooth with a spatula.
Once your cake has cooled, frost, slice, and enjoy!

Notes

As tempting as it may be, make sure the cake is completely cooled before frosting it. Otherwise, you’ll be left with a runnier, more liquidy frosting.

Also, if the dairy-free cream cheese is quite hard then you may need to take it out of the fridge beforehand. That will make it easier to whip up into the light, fluffy frosting that you desire

Nutrition