Gluten-Free Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
All of the fantastic flavors and texture of classic carrot cake that just happens to be gluten-free! And you won't be able to tell the difference.
Servings: 8
Calories: 394kcal
Equipment
- Sifter optional, or use a fine sieve
- Food Processor optional, or use a box grater
Ingredients
Dry ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups gluten-free flour blend tested with King Arthur MM and Better Batter
- 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon preferably Vietnamese or Saigon
- 1 ¼ teaspoons baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
Wet ingredients and mix-in's
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup light brown sugar packed
- ½ cup granulated sugar or natural sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup neutral oil I use Zero Acre Farms
- 1 ¼ cups finely grated carrots about 4 medium carrots
- ½ cup crushed canned pineapple 8 ounce can, drained well
- 5 tablespoons finely chopped pecans or walnuts
- 5 tablespoons unsweetened shredded coconut optional
Cream cheese frosting
- 5 ounces full fat cream cheese block style not tub, room temperature
- 2 ½ tablespoons unsalted butter soft, room temperature
- 1 ½-2 cups powdered sugar or monk fruit/allulose blend sifted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 pinch fine sea salt
Instructions
Prepare the baking pan
- Grease a 8 ½-inch square light metal pan with soft butter or neutral spray (avocado oil spray is fine). Pre-heat the oven to 350°F.
Drain pineapple, grate carrots
- Add the pineapple to a fine small sieve over a bowl, press out all of the juices to drain. You want it fairly dry. Discard juice or save for another use. Peel carrots then finely grate in a food processor with the fine grating disk or by hand on the small side of a box grater.
Mix dry ingredients
- Stir flour well to aerate (I use a whisk), then scoop and level off the top. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices .
Mix wet ingredients
- Whisk eggs, both sugars, oil, and vanilla until well blended. Fold in the pineapple, carrots, coconut, and nuts.
Fold in dry
- Add dry ingredients to the wet and fold just until no flour streaks remain. Pour into the prepared cake pan.
Bake
- Bake at 350°F for 35-40 minutes, or until the center is set and a toothpick or cake tester inserted in the middle comes out mostly clean with a few moist crumbs (not wet batter). The top should spring back lightly when pressed. The cake will be a golden brown, when done right around 205°F. Cool in the pan on a rack for 15 minutes before slicing or 1-2 hours if frosting in the pan.
Make frosting
- With a hand mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter until smooth and fluffy. Add sifted powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt. Start low and increase speed slowly. Beat until creamy.
Frost the cake
- Let the cake cool completely before frosting. You can frost the cake in the pan or out of the pan.Frosting is easiest to spread when it’s soft, but for neater slices, refrigerate the frosted cake for about 30 minutes to help the frosting set. When slicing, wipe the knife between cuts. For the best flavor and texture, let chilled cake sit at room temperature briefly before serving.
Notes
- Dairy-free option: See Substitutions & Variations in the post for Vegan cream cheese and stick-style vegan butter.
- Storage: Unfrosted cake keeps at room temp 1 day; refrigerate longer. Frosted cake should be refrigerated.
- Nutrition: Calculated for cake without frosting. Frosting options vary, so calculate separately depending on what you use.
Nutrition
Calories: 394kcal | Carbohydrates: 46g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 13g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 47mg | Sodium: 425mg | Potassium: 175mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 30g | Vitamin A: 3419IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 88mg | Iron: 2mg