Elana's Pantry

New York Times Bestselling author Elana Amsterdam founded Elana’s Pantry, the go-to website for easy, healthy, grain-free, Paleo recipes, in 2006

carrot cake gluten-free recipe

Carrot Cake

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This gluten-free Carrot Cake is a family favorite. It’s a healthy dessert for cookouts, picnics, and graduation parties. Made with almond flour, this cake is high in protein and good fat, so you won’t be left with a high-carb hangover after eating it.

I went on a gluten-free diet in 1998, when I was diagnosed with celiac disease. I went on a grain-free diet in 2001, and haven’t looked back. My digestion really improved when I gave up typical gluten-free flours like rice flour, that are high in carbohydrates. I’m so glad that I made the switch to paleo baking way back when!

If you are on a nut-free diet, try my incredible Nut-Free Carrot Cake.

Print Recipe
Carrot Cake
Serves:
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. In a large bowl, combine almond flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg
  2. In a separate bowl, mix together eggs, agave, and oil
  3. Stir carrots, raisins, and walnuts into wet ingredients
  4. Stir wet ingredients into dry
  5. Transfer batter into 2 well greased 9 inch cake pans
  6. Bake at 325°F for 35 minutes
  7. Cool cake for 3 hours, then remove from pan
  8. Serve

In other news, my spring has been filled with baseball. As I mentioned, I am coaching my son’s little league team and it is quite a hoot. We won again yesterday, though more importantly, the boys are playing as a team and have great spirit. It is somewhat amazing to see how focused 9 year olds can be and how supportive they are of each other. This coaching deal has been a real treat for me.

We like to smother this Carrot Cake with any of the healthy frosting recipes below for an incredible show stopping dessert:

Comments

  1. I LOVE pineapple and coconut in my carrot cake and am not a fan of raisins. If I leave out the raisins and add pineapple and coconut, would I need to make any other adjustments?

    Reply

  2. SIMPLY AMAZING!
    I made this cake for my husband’s birthday with cream cheese frosting and it was SOO good. Moist and the flavour was spot on. I used currants instead of raisins and used 1.5 tsp. of salt. I will definitely be making this again. Thank you for the great recipe!

    Reply

  3. This is currently baking and filling my house with yummy smells. I was going to make a ‘normal’ carrot cake for everyone else and a small grain free dessert for me, but all the reviews about fooling the norms made me just give it a go!
    This seems like a great high protein breakfast waiting to happen… do you think this could handle the pineapple/applesauce combo that goes into morning glory muffins?

    Reply

    • Jen, thanks for your comment! I haven’t tried that so not sure, if you do experiment I hope you’ll let us know how it goes :-)

      Reply

  5. Hi Elana, I was ready to make this for Easter, but then saw that I had no raisins or walnuts… BUT had dates (chopped them) and pecans! So went ahead and made this in a 9×13 with your cream cheese frosting. WOW! It was wonderful. My 15 year old granddaughter said this is the best cake she ever had and could she take some home (yes!)! Thank you for this and for all you do for this community!! Happy Spring!

    Reply

    • Patti, thanks so much for letting me know this was WOW wonderful, and that your granddaughter said it was the best cake she ever had!

      Reply

  6. I thought I saw somewhere that you have a recipe for a low carb carrot cake but I can’t find the recipe.

    Reply

    • i think it’s low carb comparatively speaking to conventional carrot cake but if you are looking for a dessert that is for a low carb diet, then this may not fit due to the raisins and honey. Though I can vouch that it is delicious and for the mindful eater a healthier option. IF you are watching carbs for health reasons, i.e., diabetes, thyroid, then you may need to skip this one. :)

      Reply

      • You can make it without raisins and reduce amount of Honey to reduce carbs….it will still be delicious!

        Reply

  7. Hi Elena,
    The carrot cake recipe in your book says 2 teaspoons sea salt, but the above says 1. Which one do you prefer?
    Thank you,

    Reply

    • Farhaana, I like it with the two teaspoons, but some readers have told me they prefer it with one :-)

      Reply

  9. Hi Elana,

    I love this recipe and have made it so many times! I’m wondering if you’ve ever made a vegan version of it? I want to make it for my friend’s birthday but just realized the egg won’t work for her. If you have a vegan friendly version I’d love to try it.

    Reply

  10. This recipe is delicious, thanks for sharing. I just made a simple glaze for the top and it was so good!

    Reply

  11. My 17 year old son and I made this for my birthday this weekend. This is the first birthday cake I’ve had in three years. It was amazing. I have hidden the last bit of it from the rest of my family :). They love it. I subbed the agave for honey (because I’m SCD), and I swapped the grapeseed oil for coconut oil (because that was all I had). It turned out beautifully. I iced my cake with a combination of coconut cream/butter/honey/vanilla. I will make this again soon! Thank you again, Elana, for another amazing recipe. I have not made ONE thing from your cookbooks or website that I didn’t like. You rock! Sending you well wishes…Lisa Baker

    Reply

    • I live outside the US and can’t get grapeseed oil so I am please to see that I can use coconut oil. I was thinking of using safflower oil but I do have coconut oil here. Thanks!

      Reply

  12. I made this cake over the weekend …and, oh, my gosh!! It is amazing!! Nobody could tell it was a gluten/healthier version …just delicious :-) Thank you for the awesome recipes you continually post!!

    Reply

  13. I want to thank you for this recipe. I had a friend make it for me for my birthday cake this year, as our prayer group celebrates birthdays, and she knows I do no grain, and is willing to make it for me special. Since I turned 70 this year, I felt it was a lovely choice for my cake, as I love carrot cake so much that I had it for my wedding cake 40 years ago. We did the sub of pineapple and coconut for one cup of the carrots that another comment mentioned. We also used pumpkin pie spice, ! TBSP, in place of the spices listed, as I am not fond enough of cinnamon for the amount given. It turned out absolutely fabulous. Best carrot cake ever!!!! We used honey, and a sugar free cream cheese icing, using goat butter and goat cheese (chevre soft cheese) and Swerve sweetener. Amazing stuff. And it was beautiful besides, as she decorated it with pansies on a lavendar icing. This is the first of your recipes that we have actually tried, although I love to read your blog and the recipes all sound good. This recipe is definitely a keeper.

    Reply

    • Laura, Happy Birthday! I’m so glad that I was party of your celebration via this recipe and that this cake turned out absolutely fabulous :-)

      Reply

  14. The recipe came out moist and smelled wonderful however mine was quite salty. I could not find Celtic Sea Salt so I used fine ground Mediterranean Sea Salt. Does the Celtic Salt have less salty taste?
    On a more positive note, I made the cream cheese frosting and that was a hit.

    Reply

  15. My husband who’s not gluten free loves this cake! I am making this cake for a friend’s daughter’s bridal shower this Sunday. Her daughters are gluten and dairy free and my friend was besides herself as to what to make. So I offered to make this cake and your Lemon Basil Cookies as well! Thank you Elana for your wonderful and simple recipes!

    Reply

    • Karen, you’re very welcome! I hope you have a fantastic time at the bridal shower and I think this cake will be perfect for it! I’m so happy that you are finding my recipes to be wonderful and simple :-)

      Reply

  16. I LOVE this recipe! Every time I make it people rave about it and these are people without gluten restrictions. The density of the cake and the almond flour just pairs really well with the carrots, walnuts, etc. The last time I made it was for our company holiday party, I paired it with your recipe for the coconut cream frosting. The entire cake disappeared! Tomorrow is supposedly national carrot cake day… I’m gathering ingredients! Thank you so much for your recipes Elana. I refer to your website often, especially for treats and they are just the best!

    Reply

    • Judy, I’m so thrilled to hear that you LOVE this recipe and that it gets rave reviews from people without gluten restrictions!

      Reply

  17. Made this for New Year’s Dinner! Loved it. I used 6 eggs the batter seemed a little dry. Turned out relish.Also used dates and tart cherries instead of raisins! Thanks so much!!

    Reply

  18. I have been craving carrot cake. We can’t eat almond flour, so how much coconut flour would you use in its place?

    Reply

  19. I made this with your cream cheese frosting and it was heavenly! thank you. I added Xantham Gum as the lady at the health shop told me it helps flour free cakes. Turned out very well although i think i undercooked it as i didnt split the pans so i should have baked it a little longer, still yummy.

    Reply

    • Karin, thanks for your comment and it’s good to hear about your experiment with the ingredients, although there is no need to add any gums to my recipes :-)

      Reply

  20. I made this last night and baked it as a bunt cake and it came out delicious. I baked it for 35 minutes because of it being a little thicker baked in a bunt pan. Does anyone know the nutritional facts for a slice of this?

    Reply

  21. Just made these as muffins (15 of them) baked for 27 mins. I used 2 full cups finely shredded carrots, ½ cup golden raisins and ½ cup diced dry pineapple. The recipe in your cookbook called for 2t sea salt ( which I thought was a lot) but here it was 1t ( which I did). When there is a discrepancy which resource trumps the other? Was out of walnuts so omitted. They are delicious! Debating on making a frosting or not.

    Reply

  22. …hello

    can I use coconut flour in place of almond flour, and if so, how much coconut flour?

    thank you

    Reply

  23. This was so delicious! Always looking for more recipes almond flour so I can use my huge bag of honeyville almond flour. Thank you! Also LOVE your chocolate chip cookie recipe that’s on the back of the honeyville almond flour bag. I made this carrot cake as more of a breakfast cake/bread (no icing). I like it because it’s not too sweet and you can really taste the nutmeg and cinnamon. Next time I’ll try it as muffins! I shredded the carrots using my food processor with the shredding attachment.

    Reply

    • Made this recipe as muffins and they turned out great! I used an ice cream scooper to scoop the batter for each muffin and the above recipe made 19 muffins. Baked them at 325 for 25 minutes and they came out perfectly.

      Also trader Joe’s sells organic raisins that work well.

      Reply

  26. Wonderful! I made using half the raisins and added half cup shredded Coconut. .then sprinkled coconut on top of frosting. Sharon…don’t double for 9×13. Just bake less time

    Reply

  27. Can you add in pineapple for flavor? Also can you sub maple syrup for the honey?

    Thank you!! I want to make this for myself for my 30th bday!

    Reply

  28. We LOVE your carrot cake recipe!! My husband prefers it over the gluten kind. I am making it for the Fourth of July party…can this recipe be doubled and put in a 9×13??

    Reply

  29. Can’t wait to try this! I want to try coconut oil instead since I don’t really use palm or grapeseed oil. Has anyone tried this? Wondering if it will work???

    Reply

    • I would also like to know if coconut oil could be used instead of palm oil or grape seed oil in the carrot cake recipe..

      Reply

  30. Do I have to use 2-9 inch pans for your carrot cake? My husband is not a frosting person what do you think about using a spring form pan or square pan for this recipe? Want to make this for passover.

    Reply

  31. Hello, I made this carrot cake, and the carrots came out very crunchy. The cake part was perfect and I plan to make it again. The carrots were really fresh, so maybe this is why? Any suggestions are appreciated!

    Reply

  32. This recipe is absolutely delicious, I made it as it and honestly would have never known it was grain free. It was so moist, with just the right combination of spices.

    Thank you for your recipes, I’ve made a number of them and have not been disappointed yet!

    Reply

  33. Hello, I just made this carrot cake and it was a disaster! The cake batter before putting in pans was dry and crumbling and it was the same after baking. It crumbled and fell apart in my hands!!! What went wrong? I am so frustrated.

    Reply

    • I tried several of these recipes before I FINALLY realized that you absolutely MUST use the Honeyville almond flour – HUGE difference!!! And, I think, for the lady whose carrots came out still crunchy, the carrots have to be fairly finely grated.

      Reply

  35. Made this for my 4th grade students as a special treat at the end of our study of fractions (we cut it up into 30 slices – small, I know). Some of my kids must stay away from gluten but luckily none are allergic to nuts. I added a tsp of baking powder to make it a little lighter and used organic brown sugar instead of agave. I also added a 1/4 cup of unsweetened almond milk to make up for the liquid that the agave would have provided. I did not try the frosting, though that sounds amazing.
    It turned out fantastic – and the kids, even the ones who usually turned up their noses at “carrots”, absolutely loved it. They all wanted to pick at the crumbs that were left. Thank you!

    Reply

  36. Definitely the holidays. Reminds me of my grandmother and the way she would let me help her in the kitchen. She’d always give me the carrots to put through her LA Machine food processor. :)

    Reply

  37. I need to leave out the eggs for one in my crowd who can’t eat them. I usually use “flax eggs” for that, anybody thinks this will work? I’ll post a reply after I’ve tried it. I’m open to other suggestions too. I’m looking forward to trying this.

    Reply

  38. I experimented with this cake tonight as I was looking for a healthy “smash cake” for my little organic grandson’s first birthday. I cut the recipe in half, baked the layers in large ramekins, and the only changes I made were using avocado oil and replacing the agave with maple syrup. It turned out fantastic! Thank you for such a great alternative to traditional cakes. I’ve never made a recipe of yours that didn’t turn out perfect!

    Reply

  39. Dear Elana,

    Thanks so much for this carrot cake recipe! Not only was it super-easy to make, but it was simply the best carrot cake ever. I couldn’t even tell that it was made with almond flour! Thanks again – it made a lovely birthday cake!!

    Diana

    Reply

  40. Hi Elana,
    Oh my gosh this cake is fantastic! I have tried several recipes for grain free carrot cake and every one of them turned out awful, EXcEPT this one. Elana, all of your recipes are wonderful. Made this for my husband’s birthday. And HE Loved it!! Couple subs I did: Almond flour- I had blanched almonds that I ground and ended up more like meal, Agave- I used coconut syrup, Grapeseed oil- I used coconut oil, Raisins- only half cup. Had to bake for 45 min. The frosting- I made a coconut milk whipped cream and added whipped organic cream cheese, coconut sugar, and vanilla. Soooo good! Just wish there was some nutritional data for it. :)

    Reply

  41. Hi Elana,
    This recipe looks amazing I can’t wait to try it! Just wondering if it is possible to replace the almound flour with almond meal instead?
    Many thanks!
    Nana

    Reply

  42. My son wanted a carrot cake for his birthday; said his friends told him it couldn’t be done without a lot of oil. So I looked at your site, of course, because you have the best of things :-)
    I used coconut oil, half coconut sugar half honey, and omitted the nuts and raisins and it turned out fantastic! Used your recipe for honey cream cheese frosting; doubled it in fact.
    I took a picture of it so I could show you, but can’t figure out how to attach it here.
    Thank you, Elena, for all your hard work!!

    Reply

  43. I loved the carrot cake and so did all my friends. However, when I made the coconut frosting I couldn’t get it to fluff up. It was so soupy, can you tell me what I might have done wrong. I followed the recipe, and even made it twice as the first time I used the wrong agave nectar and it turned brown. Thank you,
    Sandy

    Reply

  44. This looks perfect for me! I’ve been searching for this! Just two questions. I cannot have nuts. So you think I could sub flax meal or another flour for the almond flour? And maybe use dates for the walnuts? Thanks!

    Reply

  45. I made this for a pot luck, cooked (1) in a smaller, 6″ x 3.75″ x 2.75″ loaf pan, and instead of using dairy I used 2 refrigerated cans of coconut cream, vanilla extract, zest of 2 lemons and lemon juice. It was off the charts!

    I soaked it in the “frosting’ (more the consistency of icing) and chilled it overnight, pouring the majority of the icing on the cake right before serving. I also substituted 1/2 honey for agave as my preference leans honey. Love your recipes!

    Reply

  46. Me and my mother made this today. The batter turned out very crumbly and more like a cookie dough batter. Was this supposed to happen??? We checked the ingredients a gazillion times and we aren’t sure if we did something incorrect. We even added a bit of almond milk to make it a bit more liquidy but it was still like cookie dough.

    Reply

  47. I don’t know, but has anybody really tried baking any of these recipes? They never turn out or even taste good… I follow each step and amounts posted… :-( This cake that I baked by the recipe doesn’t even look like anything on the pic… Too bad :-(

    Reply

  48. Is there a way to use apple sauce to sweeten any of these recipes? I’m hesitant to use agave or honey to sweeten, as I am trying to cut out sugars. This looks so good!

    Reply

  51. I just wanted to let you know that I used your gluten free carrot cake recipe to make an extremely low carb carrot cake that is healthier for diabetics. The resulting cake only contains less than 10 carbs per slice from a one layer slice of cake and cutting 6 slices.

    This is how: The nutritional analysis yields total of about 30 grams carbs in the 3 cups almond flour, and about 33 carbs in the 3 cups of grated carrots. I had to eliminate the raisins as being too sweet for my goal of an extremely low carb content.
    I subbed ? cup Splenda and ¼ cup Golden Syrup [a British cane syrup] for the Agave syrup. While the Agave syrup has anywhere from 15 – 17 grams of carbs per tablespoon, the cane syrup only contains 12 grams per tablespoon.
    I added 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract. All your ingredients otherwise contain no or negligible carbs! I used chopped pecans instead of walnuts since I prefer their flavor.

    The total carbs in the entire recipe is about 113 grams! Divide that in half for the 2 cake layers and there are only 56.5 grams carbs per cake layer! I estimate 6 slices per single layer of cake. This is an almost miraculous <10 grams carbs per serving for people who must watch their carb intake!

    Reply

    • In case someone wants to use weight measurements for the almond flour, mine weighed 100 grams per cup or a total of 300 grams.
      I added a bit more sweetener b/c I haven’t yet developed an extremely low carb frosting that will complement the cake & taste good enough.

      Reply

  52. Hi Elana,
    I made this cake yesterday for my son’s birthday and it was a hit. Scrumptious and so moist. My only change was because I didn’t have enough carrots for three cups I subbed grated zucchini and shredded coconut, half cup each for the third cup. Your recipes are so welcome to this household with multiple food allergies or intolerances. I had about given up on gluten free baking because of dry or crumbly, grainy results that were so disappointing when I found your website, and saw all the glowing comments. I agree, your website is the place to go for simple nutritious and delicious recipes. Thank you for your hard work from all of us
    Ann

    Reply

  53. I almost never drop remarks, however i did a few searchig
    andd wound up here Carrot Cake | Gluten Free Carrot Cake Recipee – Elana’s Pantry.
    And I do have some questions for you if it’s allright.
    Is it only me or does it look like some
    of the comments come across like they are lleft by brain deaad individuals?
    :-P And, if you are writing on additional onlije sites, I would like to follow anything new you have
    to post. Could you list of the complete urls of
    your communal siotes like your linkedin profile,
    Faccebook page or twitter feed?

    Reply

  55. I just baked this … and it’s now my most favorite cake. I double the recipe and used a small portion of other flours (that I’m trying to use up). Thank you so much for your site.

    Reply

  57. When the weather gets cooler, I want to do knitting or crocheting…and I want carrot cake! Like all your devotees, when I saw you have a carrot cake recipe, I knew my Fall would be complete!
    Thank you for your excellence! You improve the life of all your fans!!

    Cynthia

    Reply

  58. Both of my boys always want carrot cakes for their birthdays (which are two weeks apart in September), and I always use a different recipe each time (at 21 and 23, that’s a lot of years of carrot cake recipes), and this is by far the best carrot cake I have ever made. I’m writing down the recipe, because I know I’ll never find it again. This is so simple. I used almond meal too, and it was great.

    Reply

  60. Could I use stevia baking mix instead of agave? If so, what’s the equivocal amount?

    I absolutely LOVE agave nectar however, The 100 diet does not include it. Could you also tell me how many sugar calories are there in agave?

    Reply

  61. Hi! This looks delicious! I plan on making it for a party we are having for a friend in a few weeks…it’s his favorite! I wanted to make it into cupcakes ahead if time, then thaw and ice them the night before the party. Have you ever frozen this recipe before? If so, did you have good results? Thanks! :)

    Reply

  62. The occasion that calls for a great carrot cake is our middle daughter’s birthday! She loves carrot cake and will definitely let you know if it is good or not! I try to bake one every year but haven’t been able to for quite a few years. Now that I have this recipe maybe we can eat cake again. Thanks Elana!

    Reply

  63. I made this cake for a birthday party last weekend. One of the cakes stuck coming out of the cake pan and the other one did not. Maybe I didn’t grease that one pan enough. I did end up getting it out with only a repairable tare. Next time I will line with parchment paper just to be safe. Everyone at the party was raving about the cake. The coconut frosting was very interesting. It had a very clean feel to it. I overheard one of the pickiest eaters at the party telling someone “Sarah only uses the best ingredients”. It was quite the compliment. :-)

    Reply

  64. I made this carrot cake recipe yesterday for Easter. WOW! is it ever delicious! I did not make, but will next time, the coconut icing. I used cream cheese icing out of the can. What I was wanting to know is what the calorie content, fat, carbohydrate, etc???

    Reply

  65. We made this today and it is delicious. However, we used a silicon pan (which usually isn’t greased) but the cake came out a little stuck. Now we know to go ahead and grease the pan anyway. Still, very tasty.

    Reply

  66. HI, Elana- I’m fairly new to the gluten free world and happening upon your wonderful website has been such a blessing. I have a few gluten free friends and I work for a lady that is gluten free and I have been sharing your recipes with everyone. They are all thrilled! We are planning to try many of your recipes in the days ahead and I can’t wait. Paleo bread is soooo delish! I love it toasted with natural peanut butter – Yum-O. Carrot cake is my weekend endeavor (:
    A huge thanks for upscale recipes for those of us trying to eat less wheat and for those bound to a gluten free diet. You are making this gluten free journey a whole lot more fun.

    Reply

  67. OMG…I just pulled this cake out of the oven and it smells so good!!! Elana, thank you so much for your website, it’s helped me and my family find some yummy treats to enjoy while still staying gf. I can’t wait to make the frosting with my daughter and taste this amazing smelling cake!

    Reply

  68. Oh Wow!

    Thank you so much for your wonderful recipes – I made the carrot cake for my husband’s birthday and the whole family wolfed it down! Both my husband and I agree this is one of the best tasting cakes we have EVER had – moist, light yet with great deepth of flavour. We can now all enjoy the same treat which is lovely.

    Reply

  70. I have loved this recipe from the first, although i use Xylitol instead of agave syrup. Used it often as a cake and have recently adapted it to savoury muffins and now bread! Thank you for your inspirational and brilliant recipes, they always work so well.

    Reply

    • Hi Lynette, How much Xylitol did you use for the agave syrup? And, did you add any more liquid ingredients? Thanks

      Reply

  71. I made your almond meal carrot cake with your coconut cream frosting and everyone loved it!! Several friends asked for the recipe, so I am emailing the links to them. Thanks so much, as I was urged to have a cake, but I eat GF and was at loss as to what to do until I found your recipe.

    Reply

  72. Hello Alana,

    I have your cookbook and the carrot cake was one of the first desserts I made from it. It was yummy- moist, delicious and the perfect sweetness… however it was very salty. I wondered when I was making it whether the 2 tsp of salt might have been a misprint but went ahead and made it that way. After we tasted it, I checked the recipe on your website and it states the same. Is this what you intended? Was it meant to be 1/2 tsp perhaps?? Please advise.

    Thanks!

    Reply

  73. I love carrot cake and what a joy to find a easy and yummy recipie that does not need every jar of ingredient my pantry can hold. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU

    Reply

  74. Carrot cake was one of my mother’s favorites. So I decided for Thanksgiving today I am making this for my Mama! well and me, haha. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

    Reply

    • This cake turned out so good. I put it in a bundt pan for about 45-50 minutes and used the cream cheese frosting recipe. I absolutely love it!

      Reply

  75. I am allergic to carrots and walnuts, and have never liked raisins. I made this recipe with zucchini, pecans and cranberries. I also added some Chinese Five Spice, a touch of molasses, and doubled the cinnamon. It is an amazing tasting cake!

    Reply

  76. Hi. Love these recipes! Tried the fig/rosemary crackers but substituded dried cherries…awesome! We make the banana bread all the time to, we put in dates and coconut oil instead of honey/veggie oil.
    Quick question for anyone who might know…can you substitute coconut oil for grapeseed oil in the recipes and is there any pro/con to doing so?
    Thanks!

    Reply

  77. I tried this recipe and it was delicious! My guests said it was the best cake they even had! I frosted it with whipped coconot milk. It was a bit crumbly and didn’t hold together very well but it was all covered up my the frosting so no one noticed! I could have been me being too generous with the carrots!

    Reply

  78. I see that many people are making this for birthdays. I thought I was the only one :) I’ve requested carrot cake for my birthday since I was a little girl, but haven’t had the pleasure of eating it since I went gluten free 2 years ago. I can’t wait to try this recipe. Thanks, Elana.

    Reply

  79. Can I sub coconut flour for almond flour? Nut allergy in our house and I notice many baked goods call for almond flour

    Reply

  80. Thanks so much for sharing this delicious recipe! I made this for my birthday party and it was a huge hit. I have also been enjoying your Nutty Bread, and so have the people I share it with!

    Reply

  82. This looks delicious. I can’t wait to try it tomorrow. Instead of using agave or sugar in my foods, I use powdered honey. Same measurements as sugar. Not as sweet, but healthier. And my daughter doesn’t crave sweets the way her friends seem to. Sadly, my daughter has celiac and her body doesn’t digest refined sugars. I’ll let you know how it turns out..

    Reply

  83. Want to make this cake but the family is on a chocolate chip cookie kick so maybe next time… I baked for my mom until she passed away now i

    found I’m ciliac along with my daughter. Wish I knew a about this site when mom was around…thanks I’m digging the goodies!

    Reply

  84. Dear Elana,
    I know you can’t answer questions but how many calories is this??

    Please Reply,
    SU

    Reply

  86. Awesome cake! Moist and sweet! Not sure why I had a tough time getting it out of the cake pan. But it taste wondeful. Thanks for the recipe.

    Reply

  87. Made this today for Easter and it was delicious! I used maple syrup instead of agave, coconut oil instead of grape seed oil, pecans instead of walnuts, some drained crushed pineapple instead of raisins and I added a bit of vanilla extract. Oh, plus I only have regular sea salt so I reduced it to 1 t since some people said it was too salty. I used a whipped cream cheese frosting that was lightly sweetened. Thanks for the great recipe; I can’t wait to buy your cookbooks!

    Reply

  89. I just made this carrot cake and it’s super delicious. It’s very soft and moist. I used cane sugar instead of agave and used a little bit more than 1/2 cup. Also instead of a typical frosting I made coconut milk cream. Thanks for this wonderful recipe!

    Reply

  90. Hi Elana

    Cake Mix in a box was the only way I had ever made a cake until yesterday. I’m not sure I knew there was another way. But with my recent commitment to go gluten-free, I knew that box mix would no longer fly.

    So upon the ocassion of my birthday, I made this wonderful delicious amazing cake. Everyone at my party loved it, from the paleos to the little kids and teenagers.

    Thank you thank you!!

    Reply

  91. This is the absolute BEST carrot cake I have ever eaten, created or wished for. Woman, I simply do not know how you do it. The quality and performance of each your recipes always far exceeds my expectations. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate the success I get in each one. I realize you had to spend many hours making the details work and I am so SOOO grateful. This gluten free stuff was so intimidating to me when I began. But following your tips and techniques have made me a better baker than I ever could have been with that evil wheat. (ha ha). Grape seed oil…I SO LOVE LOVE IT! Thank you for introducing me to it! I did not have the ingredients for the icing, I used cream cheese and coconut palm crystals with a smidgen of vanilla-it made a great alternative to powdered sugar. As for the cake, I cut the recipe in half, used three whole eggs, and 1/4 cup of honey in place of your chosen agave. The cake was truly a moist delectable gourmet boutique masterpiece. I gave hubby the last generous slice…knowing he would say…here honey, take some of this I can’t eat it all…well, he never did. I salivated in disbelief watching the last of the yummy cake disappear. Thanks once again, Elana. You and your pantry ROCK MY GF WORLD!

    Reply

  93. i am so excited to have found a carrot cake recipe on your blog! everything i’ve made from here has been so good! my husband and i had carrot cake as our wedding cake and now that we are paleo eaters it will be nice to still enjoy this favorite in our home, thanks to you!

    Reply

  94. You inspired me to make a very delicious carrot cake. I used about 2/3 of the raisins and nuts and 2/3 of almond flour with 1/3 of a gluten free whole flour mix I made, with a few shakes of coconut sugar mixed in with the agave and my family is enjoying this cake immensely.

    As for the icing, I will venture making the coconut creme one next time, but for old times sake, I used gluten free icing sugar, creme cheese, organic butter, a little lemon juice and lemon rind.

    Baked it yesterday afternoon and I’m not sure it will see tomorrow.

    I have enjoyed flirting with your recipes as they are so simple and delicious. Thank you!

    Reply

  95. Hi, I would really suggest to just add a note in your recipe to new readers that Celtic Sea Salt is not like regular salt and not to swap them out with equal amounts. I made this with regular sea salt and it turned out tragically inedible (tragic for me because I am low-income and this very expensive cake went in the garbage). Even 1.5 tsp of regular salt rendered it so salty that’s all you could taste.

    Reply

  96. I would like to make this for my kids for their school lunches, but because of nut allergies, what else could I substitute almond flour?

    Reply

  97. Just enjoyed a slice of your carrot cake! Instead of the luscious cream cheese frosting, we topped it with fresh whipped cream. OMG, I can’t tell you how much I am enjoying trying your almond flour recipes! As a diabetic, it’s been awful, trying to keep my glucose levels down, but when baking with sugar and flour, it’s impossible…until I discovered YOU AND YOUR RECIPES. Because of you, I’ve been really learning all about the gluten free and Paleo way to cook. I’m not gluten intolerant, but when almond flour doesn’t spike my blood glucose like wheat flour does, I’m so ready to throw out the flour. I substituted the agave nectar with Splenda and added an 8 oz. can crushed pineapple, slightly drained. WOW, you couldn’t tell it was Splenda! I mean no disrespect to your recipes, but they have enabled me to slightly tweak them to be diabetic friendly. Just want you to know how your website has changed my life, in the kitchen! My husband also thanks you, because I am baking again!

    Reply

  98. I made the Carrot Cake last night for my husband’s birthday. It was a HIT! I am on a detox Candida diet and cannot have ANY SWEETENERS, except for Stevia. I modified this recipe slightly in order to remove the Agave Nectar.

    No agave nectar, use 1/2 cup coconut oil instead of the grapeseed oil, and a little milk/cream to make up for the moisture loss. I used currants instead of raisins (easier to pick out). I used slightly more of the spices to make it a savor dish rather than a sweet.

    I used Elana’s Cream Cheese frosting recipe without the agave nectar and added a bit of vanilla!

    Everyone loved it! even the kids. AND even those who eat lots of sugar!

    Thanks Elana for another Terrific recipe.

    Reply

  100. Thank You Elana for giving back my joy in the Kitchen!!!! I grew up loving to bake. I gradually stopped baking & eating baked goodies due to feeling rotten afterwards. The last 2 years, I have transitioned my kitchen to stainless steel baking pans ( no nonstick), no chemicals, unprocessed all natural ingredients, no sugar, lots of superfoods, smoothies & vacuum packing and now have my health back at age 52. You are the icing on the cake so to speak. I have all the stuff and now you have opened a new door for me and my family to be able to make awesome baked goods. Your chocolate chip cookies are delicious & my mom who is a toll house Chocolate chip cookieaholic – loves them. It was my fiance’s birthday yesterday and he wanted carrot cake with coconut & pineapple added. I found your recipe in your cook book- Squeezed out the juice of ½ cup of pineapple, substituted ¾ Cup Coconut Flakes for ½ Cup of Almond Flour. Cooked 20 minutes longer and WOW!!!…. It was wonderful last night and even better today. Made a whip cream sauce with homemade Brandy Vanilla…..Ooooh la la…. Thank You with all of my being – I am having such fun in the kitchen again creating guilt free desserts knowing it is all good for us……

    Reply

  101. Wondering if anyone has substituted butter (or even coconut oil?) for the grapeseed oil? I have everything else ready to go, but no grapeseed oil in my pantry.

    Also, I think I’m going to try to sneak a bit of shredded, unsweetened coconut into the cake. I LOVE coconut.

    Reply

    • So, I just took this out of my oven. I took a bite (nobody will be able to tell once it’s frosted and sliced), and it’s great. Here are the substitutions I made:
      3/4 teaspoon salt (since I used salted butter – that’s all I had)
      1/3 cup honey (I didn’t have agave)
      5 Tbsp salted Kerrygold butter (I didn’t have grapeseed oil)
      1/4 cup shredded, unsweetened coconut (because I love coconut)

      If I used unsalted butter, I’d use the amount of salt in the original recipe.

      I also have a batch of Elana’s Cream Cheese Frosting in my fridge, just waiting to top the cake. I can’t wait to eat this – I’m plotting ways to hide this from my husband and son!

      Reply

      • Funny, I was just getting on to comment that I had tried the recipe last night and didn’t have enough carrots so added shredded coconut. It turned out great! Chewier, I’m sure, but like you I adore coconut. I also made a couple of other substitutions (I decided to start baking at 10pm, and carrot cake is a long-pined-after treat, so I made due with what I had on hand!): I used dried cranberries instead of raisins, and hazelnut flour instead of almond. Yes, Bob’s Redmill–however the hazelnut does seem to be lighter and “fluffier” than the grainy almond meal…probably not ideal, but still turned out scrumptious. I can’t wait to try the recipe as written!

        Reply

  103. Hi. I just wanted to post. We use to make this recipe with un-blanched almond flour, because it was 1/3 of the price, and we were using bulk amounts (25lb boxes). But finally the company got in blanched almond flour, so we bought a box and I tell you it was worth the extra!! This cake came out so moist and delicious! I love carrot cake, it’s always something I love eating, but we don’t make cakes often because well that’s allot of dessert sitting around tempting me…and the kids. We love all your recipes, and so looking forward to trying out more with the blanched almond flour. Thank you!

    Reply

  105. I made this cake today and it is the best carrot cake I have ever eaten! Probably because it is an awesome recipe, but I also love coconut. I did make my own almond flour because I didn’t have enough of my Honeyville farms almond flour left in the bag. It is possible to make the same quality almond flour if you have a good coffee grinder that is only used for the almonds. I also baked mine in a 13″ x 9″ pan because I don’t have cake pans. Elana, your book/website has been so helpful to me and my family. I have 2 young children with Autism and family with Diabetes. Your making it possible for me to make my family healthy with awesome tasting food.
    Thank you!!!!

    Reply

  106. I was recently “shown” your website. You have answered my 14 year olds prayers. A little over 2 years ago he was diagnosed with EE and he lost all gluten, corn, barley, and oats among other things from his diet. We have been searching for a safe carrot cake since his diagnosis. He was so excited to see one of his favorite desserts “Peter friendly” that he immediately started taking out the ingredients. From the mom of a boy who has more foods he can’t safely eat than can~ Thank You for making his day. :)))

    Reply

    • Carla,

      Welcome to you and Peter! I hope you enjoy the website, and thanks so much for stopping by and for your lovely comment.

      Elana :-)

      Reply

  107. I made this cake yesterday as my first foray into the world of almond flour. All I can say is WOW!!! I was prepared not to like almond flour as well as agave nectar (I’d never tried that before either), but I was blown away. This cake is rich, moist, and filling. My family loved it, too.

    Elana–thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for this website!!

    Reply

  108. We are allergic to tree nuts (and we are also gluten and dairy free). I am tired of doing so much GF baking with grain flours and starches and have wished and wished I could use almond flour. Well, after all this wishing, the brainwave came to me today that I could do a hemp seed-sunflower seed combination as an easy replacement for the almond flour in your recipes! I used a generous cup of shelled hemp seed and a generous cup of raw sunflower seeds and ground them in the food processor, which came out to about 3 cups to replace the almond flour. I figured the sunflower seeds alone would have too powerful a flavor and the hemp seeds alone would be too oily and not light and fluffy like almond flour. The combination was quite delicious and I’m going to try it with your other recipes. Yahoo!

    Reply

    • Sunita,

      Thanks so much for your comment and for sharing your brilliant experimentation with seed flours. I am totally inspired!

      Thanks again :-)
      Elana

      Reply

  109. Well, it looked delicious and I made it today…(currently in the oven) There was no mention of how the batter should look…mine was very thick and crumbly. I was worried it would not be moist like the picture and wondering if there is an ingredient left out? Water? I added a can of crushed pineapple and that added a bit of moisture…not much. I hope this turns out…craving carrot cake so much. Will post later with results. If anyone else is wondering about the batter texture I would appreciate feedback.

    Thanks,
    Gretchen

    Reply

    • Just realized my mistake…I used coconut flour instead of almond flour…I honestly couldn’t smell the difference and it looks alike. I store it in bulk. I will try this recipe again some day. (heavy sigh)

      Reply

  110. Hey Elana! A friend showed me your page and I am very excited about trying some of your recipes. I made the cake today and I let it cool in the pan for several hours. I used grapseed oil to grease the pan, and the cake stuck very badly. I my cake was very dense and didn’t rise much. I made some of my own blanched almond flour because I read that you don’t like Red mill kind and that is all we have. I used one cup of that and 2 of coconut flour. It tastes ok. The frosting didn’t turn out at all. It was one gluttons mass. I let it sit in the fridge and it never turned white so i reheated it thinking I didn’t cook it long enough after I added the Arrowroot flour. I put it in the freezer to cool and after a few hours it did turn white but was still incredibly thick. no mixing possible.

    Reply

    • Dear Nicole,

      I’m sorry this did not work out for you.

      If you take a look at my FAQs you will see that I do not recommend using homemade almond flour because it does not work in my recipes.

      It would seem that the reason your cake was so dense and stuck to the pan is that you added coconut flour. This Carrot Cake recipe does not call for any coconut flour.

      I do hope you’ll try to make it again with the recommended ingredients and let us know how it goes for you :-)

      Thanks,
      Elana

      Reply

  111. I have made this cake but as cupcakes twice. I don’t do agave but honey works wonderfully as a sub, and I also use coconut oil instead of grapeseed oil. This recipe is amazingly delicious and I can hardly control myself when I make a batch they are so yummy. Thanks, Elena. I also made your asparagus quiche from your cookbook today and will be trying that later on today.

    Reply

  113. 2 tsp salt? I wish I had thought harder about it before making the batter because it was quite salty. I just checked your carrot cupcake recipe which is this one, only halved, and it calls for 1/2 tsp of salt. Is there a typo somewhere?

    Reply

  114. This cake turned out so well, I will definitely make it again! I made a major modification, as I needed a sugar-free cake for diabetics (agave is not good for diabetics, despite the advertising to the contrary). I substituted sugar-free maple syrup for the agave. The syrup is made with maltitol, a sugar alcohol that can have a laxative effect in some people, so approach with caution! I don’t have a problem with it, and neither did anyone else who at the cake. Because agave is so sweet, I increased the amount of syrup to 1/3 cup, and I threw in a couple of extra tablespoons of almond flour to soak up the extra liquid. The flavor was great! I dropped in a few drops of Stevia as I wasn’t sure that the batter was sweet enough, but one person commented that it was almost too sweet, so I think I’ll leave it out next time. I wasn’t as big a fan of the coconut cream frosting; I found it too “oily”. But everyone else liked it. I think I’ll try to find a sugar-free cream cheese frosting the next time. But this cake is a “keeper”!

    Reply

  115. I was SO glad when I came across your website. I just started a new gluten and dairy free lifestyle and have been kind of disappointed eating the same things the last few months. I’m really excited to try out this recipe tonight. It’s my birthday tomorrow and I want nothing more than this delicious looking cake. :) Thank you, Elana!

    Reply

  116. Every year my mom makes a carrot cake for my birthday. My first year of college she sent me all the ingredients including carrots from her garden that she had kept in the root cellar (my birthday is in November) with the soil still on them ‘so I could have a bit of home’. Those carrots are really special- and that cake was the best I’ve ever had. This gluten free variety is the new best I’ve ever had… now that I can’t have the old kind anymore. I do think it is the carrots though, that make hers so good.

    Thank you, Elana. You continually inspire me with your phenomenal recipes, and make my food allergies a cause for truly gourmet celebration.

    Reply

  117. Hi Elana, I love looking around your Blog, it’s so much fun:)
    OK, My best friend has Celiac disease AND is allergic to Almonds!! I wanted to make her a dessert, Can I substitute Coconut or Rice flour for your Carrot cake recipe?
    Thanks so much, amanda

    Reply

  118. Hey, lovely recipe, tastes great without the frosting, we are trying that with another one later, however, try substituting the grated raw carrot with grated raw BEETROOT, (Red beet), same great texture & moistness with similar great taste but with a twist…..hope you like it !

    Pete UK.

    can you advice as to the quantity if replacing agave with stevia, & would we mix the stevia with extra oil or water?…if at all!

    Reply

  119. I have been searching the internet and books for a good GF Carrot Cake to make for my son’s upcoming birthday. I am really looking forward to making this recipe as it has so many rave reviews. Can’t wait to let you know how it turns out(this will be the only cake at the party since the “star” of the show is GF). Thanks again for the recipes and I can’t wait to try more.

    Reply

  120. I recently found your site and I love that your recipes use simple ingredients. I don’t want to buy a lot of different kinds of flour. My husband is returning from Afghanistan in a couple of days and the kids wanted to make him a cake. His favorite is carrot cake so I decided to try this recipe. No one in our house has to eat gluten free but I have been trying to cut back on gluten and sugar for various reasons. My daughter asked me to “just make it the regular way with sugar”. I explained to her that they get enough sugar away from home so what we make here needs to be healthy. We made cupcakes so that some could have nuts and raisins, some could have just nuts and some without either (this makes everyone happy). The kids wanted to try them before I even frosted them and they loved them! We had to half the recipe because I did not have 5 eggs. We used 2 eggs and I made half an egg substitute with 1/2 T flax meal and 1 1/2 T water. Looks like I may have to go to the store and buy some more eggs, there may not be any left when dad gets home. I can’t wait to try many more of your recipes.

    Reply

  121. this cake is soo good!! I only used 1 tsp of sea salt though. Next time I want to add some ginger!

    The frosting was good but I only did 1/2 c agave, 1 c is way to sweet.

    But YUM!

    Reply

  122. I made this carrot cake yesterday as I had a bag of carrots that needed to be used. The cake turnedout amazing!!! My question is: I made the coconut creamy frosting in the back of your cookbook and followed the directions exactly but the frosting was very ‘goo-ey’ for lack of a better word. It was just a large mass of thick goo that didn’t separate – there was no spreading possible. I had to literally pinch off a piece to try it. Any ideas on what went wrong?
    I still ate 1/4 of the cake after dinner last night – good thing I only had a salad. Ha!

    Reply

  123. Just made this, had a spoonful of batter…oh my, wow. Can’t wait to make the frosting and put it all together!!

    Reply

    • I think I must be one of your newest fans! This cake is wonderful. I have been searching for gf and grain free substitutes for all our family faves and this one is perfect. It was a huge hit with all the wheat flour fans at Easter. I have to admit, though, I have an inability to follow, so don’t be surprised when I have a little something new to add to the original. Not that it needs it, but I had some leftover pineapple 1/3 c. crushed, that I added, then 1/4 c. unsweetened coconut and decreased the walnuts, which I toasted, to 3/4 c. Just thought someone might want to try it. Thanks so much for all you do, Elana. It makes our lives sooo much easier.

      Reply

  124. I made this carrot cake for Easter. The frosting was very sweet and not even really necessary as the cake itself was divine. Next time I might just make these in muffin tins and eat them for breakfast. My one year old son loved it as well! It was a great treat and I will def. keep trying more almond flour recipes. Thanks.

    Reply

  125. Hi Elana,
    i am new to the gluten free world..and im a big fan of you and your wonderful recipes..today i tried this carrot cake…but it turned out to be a diaster..
    it was well cooked from the edges and almost liquid in the center..i never faced this problem in regular baking..any idea what the problem is??

    thank you,
    lulu from kuwait

    Reply

  126. Finally I made the carrot cake I have been drooling over. I did make a couple modifications. I used organic cold pressed coconut oil instead of grapeseed oil. I used natural honeyville almond meal and I lightened batter with three whipped egg whites. The batter seemed kind of heavy. I was very very pleased with how the carrot cake turned out. Thank you very much for all your hard work. Fabulous!

    Reply

  127. Can’t figure out how to link it but wanted to note i just posted this recipe with my changes to my facebook page. My facebook name is kelly caldwell and i’m in Portland OR

    Reply

  128. hey Kari – that’s great! Why did your doc suggest the bananas? Did you use them in place of something else?

    thx!
    Michele

    Reply

  129. This recipe was one of my first gluten free attempts 2 weeks ago. This was when the dr. said to take my son gluten and dairy free. At the suggestion of the dr. I also included two smashed bananas in the recipe and at my daughter’s request used golden raisins instead of regular. The cake was PHENOMENAL! Thank you Elana! I love your cookbook.

    Reply

  130. Hi Elana, my husband really love carrot cakes, but i do have a question for substitution. For the sweetner, I like to know if I can use Yacon syrup instead of Nectar? The reason for that is Yacon syrup seems to fit better for my husbands digestive tract.

    Thanks.

    Reply

  131. This was my first attempt cooking with almond flour. My first cake wasn’t very successful, played a little bit and ended up with a very Yummy cake. I substituted honey for agave nectar, increased nutmeg to 1 1/2 tsp & separated eggs, stirred yolks with honey & oil (whipped whites to soft peaks & folded in at the end). Decreased raisins to 1/2 cup & added 3/4 cup dates (I put them in the food processor until small bits then added them back when grating carrots). It was the first time in 4 years that my friend’s son had a birthday cake!!! What a blessing!!

    Reply

  132. I am about to try this cake out for my son’s second birthday along with some of your other cakes to see which one he likes best. We just got a juicer and have been making carrot juice and I am going to try it using the carrot pulp so hopefully we will have some use for it in the future. Thanks for these wonderful recipes. Can’t wait for my bag of almond flour to get here.

    Reply

  133. Alana,
    I love your website! So many great recipes – and I’m not gluten free, but love finding new things:). I have my own Blog and have been doing product/book reviews…I wonder if you would be interested in having me review your book in exchange for a copy?!…maybe not – but thought I’d give it a shot ;). I’ve have some other cookbooks sent to me. And of course, it wouldn’t just be a one-time post as I’m sure I’d use it numerous times…just for that Carrot Cake alone! :). And I could also link to your site perhaps? Either way, you’ll be on my blog-roll! Have a wonderful evening :)

    Reply

  134. Made this today as both a mini-muffin and a regular sized muffin/cupcake rather than a cake. I left out the raisins and found it not quite sweet enough for my taste unless the frosting was on it. I decided to add coconut sugar to the batter I had remaining to see if that improved the flavor.
    Definately better with about 3/4 cup of coconut sugar added and also tasted better in the larger size as opposed to the mini-muffin (texture and flavor was improved in the larger size).
    Other substitution I made was using safflower oil instead of grapeseed oil. My health food store only sells grapeseed oil for cosmetic use, something about it not being made organic and the chemicals used to extract it being dangerous. Anyone have info on this?
    Anyhow, my guy, a very picky carrot muffin/cupcake fanatic gave the final version of these with the coconut sugar a thumbsup!
    thanks!
    Fern

    Reply

  135. I made the carrot cake and the coconut cream frosting. The cake was great, really great. The frosting didn’t work right. Couple of things. The canned cocounut milk was separated into liquid and solid when I opened it, but I reconstituted it by mixing it with a whisk before using it. Everything else went right until the freezer step. At an hour and a half, the frosting was only turning white on the sides and of course, it was freezing, so I took it out and mixed it all up. It never got fluffy. It looked more like tapioca pudding. We ate it anyway. My goodness that Agave nectar is sweet. So, I would like to try this frosting again. What happened? What do I do different?

    Reply

  136. Your photograph makes your cake look so moist! I wish I could taste some right now! Delicious looking, Yummy!

    Reply

  137. YUM! I love carrot cake; it’s my favorite. This carrot cake looks heavenly. I can’t wait to make it. Thanks for the great recipe.

    Reply

  138. Take two for this cake worked a treat for me!! :) I used almond meal and it was great – made it for dessert and it was very well received. Yum.

    Reply

  140. I tried the carrot cake recipe. Substituted crushed pineapple and coconut for the raisins. Turned out good- but very cinnamon-y. Is it really 1 Tbsp of cinnamon or meant to be 1 tsp?

    thanks
    Dara

    Ps so glad I happened in on your site. I was looking for ways to work with coconut flour which seemed to be the “miracle” I was looking for. Your recipes have inspired me to get going and start messing with recipes again! Finding coconut is a bit blah on it’s own- but feel mixing it with the almond flour might just do the trick. Will keep you posted. ciao

    Reply

  141. I made this cake last week and absolutely fell in love with it! Sooo good! I wanted to make it again this week but was lacking some ingredients. I currently have crazy amounts of squash coming from my garden that I didn’t know what to do with so I decided to make your cake again with a different twist. I made a cranberry and squash cake with orange zest. Oh my… awesome both ways! You have definately made it into the family cookbook that I will pass down to my kids.

    Reply

  142. Well, I made the carrot cake for a friend’s birthday this weekend and we all agreed, it was delicious. And when discussing what went into it I said it had a lot of all the food groups. Since I hadn’t had dinner I had two pieces that night!
    Everyone seemed to like the coconut frosting, but me. The nice thing about cream cheese frosting is that you don’t have to melt it down and really see just how much oil is going into it… It kinda grossed me out when I made it. I only put a thin layer in between and on top, but my friend bought coconut milk ice cream and I thought that was a really good compliment if you just wanted to skip the frosting all together.
    I know that it’s hard to figure out nutrition amounts, but if there’s a suggestion on how to do it for this cake, sans frosting, I would love to know how. Any suggestions?

    Reply

  143. Hi,

    Any idea how you would substitute regular sugar in this recipe? As we have a fructose intolerant person so they can’t eat the agave nectar or honey.

    Thanks,
    Paul

    Reply

    • Dear Paul, thanks for stopping by. Please see my faq’s for the answer to this and other common questions. Also, you may wish to post this question in my forums there are lots of super knowledgeable people over there.

      Reply

  144. I modified this recipe to make apple spice cake this weekend- it turned out great. I used one large Empire apple (I made a half-recipe)- I’ve never shredded an apple before and wasn’t sure texture-wise how it would turn out so I sliced it thin and then sliced into matchsticks. I omitted the raisins and reduced the salt to half. I still love the carrot version- it was one of the first of your recipes I tried after I found your blog last year. Thanks for sharing so much with us, I’m looking forward to the cookbook!

    Reply

  145. Does anyone know if you use the same about of regular table salt for the sea salt? 2 teaspoons seems like a lot for this recipe of regular salt.

    Reply

  147. I made this recipe and the coconut cream frosting for my daughter’s first birthday. She loved it and so did I! The only thing I changed was I used only 2 c. grated carrots and added 1 c. drained pineapple. Thanks for the delicious recipes! I love that the frosting looks like normal frosting.

    Reply

  148. Lynn – how long did you bake the mini-muffins for? And at what temp?

    I’m not much of a baker.

    Thx!
    Michele

    Reply

  149. K, thanks so much for the Trader Joe’s tip. I won’t re-grind the almond meal next time. I happily buy everything I can at Traders and will continue this item.

    Michelle, I made mini-muffins with this carrot cake recipe and they turned out fab!

    Reply

  150. Hi Elana – we made the cake yesterday and thought it was awesome!…well, at least the parts that were baked right!….I underbaked it, even though I had it in the oven for 40 minutes.

    Do you think the recipe would work as cupcakes? If so, how long would you bake them?

    Thanks!
    Michele

    Reply

  151. Hello,

    We bumped into your blog and we really liked it – great recipes YUM!!! YUM!!!.
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    Best regards,

    Vincent
    petitchef.com

    Reply

  152. Lynn–I’ve used Trader Joe’s (unblanched) almond meal for lots of Elana’s recipes with great success. I never re-grind the meal and still get incredible results. I DO, however, usually end up using more almond meal than the recipe calls for, until the batter or dough resembles the consistency one would normally expect it to. Just thought I’d share, in case you dislike cleaning your food processor as much as I do :) TJ’s does it again…

    Reply

  153. While my kids were playing happily this morning I took the time to make this recipe. I experimented using almond meal from Trader Joes. I ground the meal in the food processor intil it was of a finer consistency, and somewhat fluffy. I poured the finished batter into mini muffin tins. About 15min in the oven and they came out perfect! This time I skipped the frosting, but next time I’ll make the cake and frost it too. YUM! Thanks!

    Reply

  154. Can stevia or other natural sweetners be used in
    these recipes? I’ve read some not so good things about agave syrup.

    Thanks

    Reply

  155. Laney,

    I’m glad you liked the cake. You definitely need to leave the frosting in the freezer until it turns an opaque white.

    Let me know if it works next time and/or enjoy the cream cheese frosting, that’s my boys fave.

    Thanks,
    Elana

    Reply

  156. I made this last night for my boyfriend’s birthday (in a heart shaped cake pan:)) The cake turned out amazing! I had some trouble with the coconut cream frosting though, I think I was just impatient and didn’t leave it in the freezer long enough. But even though the frosting isn’t perfect, it’s still very tasty! I think next time I will use your cream cheese frosting recipe with the carrot cake. Thank you for such deliciousness!

    Reply

  157. Elana –
    Just wondering – do you grate the carrots or shred them? It seems it would take a ton of time to grate them.

    Thanks

    Reply

  159. Elana,

    Love you blog! Have you ever seen an organic almond flour??? Have you used it and what did you think? TU SO MUCH!!!
    Jillian

    Reply

  160. Julia,

    For the frosting, maybe try leaving it in the freezer a tad longer, that usually helps. That is great that you ground your own almonds.

    Thanks for sharing all of your findings.

    Elana

    Reply

  161. Just finished making this cake. My only regret is that I substituted Real Salt for the celtic salt, and it was WAY too much. I feel a bit stupid for not realizing how much I was adding. If anyone uses any other type of salt for this, only use 1/2 tsp!!! Besides that, the cake is BRILLIANT- it cooked beautifully and it’s hard to believe there is no flour in it. I also blanched the almonds myself, then ground them in a food processor. They didn’t get as fine as flour, but it’s good to note that a blanched almond meal is perfectly fine for this recipe. My frosting did not get as thick as the picture shows, so I will have to tweak that a bit next time. Can’t wait to perfect this cake!

    Reply

  163. Elana,

    I made the carrot cake and coconut frosting today. I’m new at this type of cooking. My cake didn’t rise much but still tasted good. The coconut frosting is amazing! I really appreciate the time that you spend to share your experience and experiments with others. I have been trying to use the scd (specific carbohydrate diet) to help with several health issues. It is good to be able to find creative genius such as yours.

    Reply

  164. Camila,

    Thank you for your comment. I’m not sure if the ingredient substitutions you mentioned would work for this recipe. I’ve only used the ingredients listed. If you decide to experiment feel free to share your results here.

    Elana

    Reply

  165. Hi Elana,

    This recipe looks amazing and I would like to make this cake for my birthday, but I am allergic to almonds and eggs. I know it’s not recommended to substitute coconut flour for almond flour in the same measurement as they are very different. Is it possible to use coconut flour or another GF flour instead? Also, could I use an egg replacer? I typically use the Ener-G one and have pretty good results although I’ve never used it for cakes.

    Thanks you so much! I hope to be able to use this recipe.

    Reply

  166. Kathleen -Thanks for another great comment and for sharing your carrot cake story. Sorry to hear about your dad and thanks for the added bit of information about celiac and lymphatic cancer.
    xo Elana

    Reply

  167. Dear Elana, I just made your carrot cake with your cream cheese frosting for my daughter’s 15th birthday tonight. It was really delicious! I had to use “almond meal” bought at the grocery store rather than the almond flour you recommend because my daughter baked a bunch of banana bread yesterday and used it all up, so it didn’t rise really well, but still was very tasty. Everyone agrees they like your cream cheese frosting better than the sugary version, it is so light and creamy and not overly sweet. You asked what memories carrot cake brings back. My father was diagnosed with celiac several years before I was diagnosed. He got a really horrible gluten free cookbook, an old one from the 50s by some lady named Hulda, that was about the only thing available when he was diagnosed. He put up with crumbly dry baked goods and mostly just ate rice cakes. When I was diagnosed (only a few months after my sweet 15yo daughter was born) I would not eat that stuff and looked for some good gluten free cookbooks. I fortunately found Betty Hagman’s books, and next time my dad came to visit, I made him a REAL carrot cake just as good as any wheat based cake. He was so thrilled! After that, just about any time we visited, I would make him carrot cake, because it was his favorite. He passed away 7 years ago, just 2 weeks before my youngest child was born. He died from lymphatic cancer that is prevelant among celiacs who do not watch their diets (he was never as careful as he should have been). I miss him so much! So I always think of him when eating carrot cake.

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  169. I just love your site! I was so excited to find all of the delightful foods:-) Your recipes have changed the way we look at “our diet”. You have brought the joy of cooking and eating back into our home. I made this cake right away, and it tastes even more wonderful than it looks in the picture! My children and husband ate it all right out of the oven! Just had to say thanks…

    Reply

  171. This cake looks incredible. I’m sure the almonds would taste amazing with the carrots. I’m not on a restricted diet but like to dabble in gluten-free when I can. Cool blog :)

    Reply

  172. Jeanne –
    Thanks for your comment and HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Yes, I too have not really been big on carrot cake though have gotten really into it with this recipe…I am so glad that you liked it and that it worked out well for your bday.

    Per your comment about the restrictive diet, yes, there is so much that we CAN eat and I think we are all realizing that as we connect and comment over here. Comments such as yours inspire me and make me thankful.

    I am not very familiar with “threads.” Even though I have this website I am a middle aged techno-phobe. I would think if you wanted to start a thread it would be good to do so on the most recent post where there is a lot of traffic and just put out there whatever you wish to say and invite people to chat with you about it…

    Thanks again for your sweet comment and congratulations on growing younger!

    Elana

    Reply

  173. Hi!
    I have a quick minute to finally respond to the carrot cake recipe post..It was my birthday (May 20th) and I flew with my 10 yr old daughter to NY to be with my family and go to a party for a much loved 80 year old friend of the family. It was such a great thing for me to connect with folks from my past, (the 80 yr old has known me since I was 2!) and I wanted to do something special. Your carrot cake photo inspired me! I don’t even go for carrot cake that much, never have! BUT!!! I am now a believer in carrot cake. I made such an outstanding cake that I had to covet the last piece (in the nick of time, too) in order to get enough of it! And everyone raved about it even after! My second one is now baking in the oven for my daughter’s 4th grade teacher, end of the year, picnic party tomorrow! I love the coconut frosting with it, although I have to decide, my daughter wants a glaze instead. Hard call…do I make something I can eat or go with the requests….ahh, either way, I thank you again for the recipes that have helped me through a life changing “restrictive” diet. Unbelievable amounts of happiness through your good food ideas.
    there, that ought to do for a while- I shared!
    I have made simple bread and sesame crackers which give me great pleasure since I thought I’d never be eating those things on a grain-free diet. Over the last few months a lot of healing has happened and I am enjoying good health once again!! (after a long struggle with vague digestive trouble, failure to thrive, general malaise, I am getting younger at 48)

    So, I do go on and probably could say more on the right thread? I don’t know about threads enough to start one or go to one directly related to my “issues”.. any advice?
    Hope you’re enjoying good weather, it sounds intensely bad in the midwest, hopefully Colorado is peaceful.
    Jeanne

    Reply

  174. Courtney -You win “cutest comment” award for that one :-) xo Elana

    sara kay -You will find the answer to this question and many other common questions in my FAQ’s, though feel free to leave questions in the comments section any time and I will assist you. Thanks for stopping by!

    Reply

  176. Elana, I have a confession… I never wait for your recipes to cool! I get so excited at the fact that I made something and it is going to be healthful and tasty at the same time that I… Well, i just dig in! I think once I have a few of these cakes under my belt, I will not be so eager to assemble. This should do the trick.

    Reply

  177. Hi Courtney -Thanks for another great comment; your writing is so descriptive and beautiful. Great to hear that you and your mother had a good time together in NYC. Hope the carrot cake was delicious and that you enjoyed every bite. Gosh, on the grapeseed oil, I haven’t had any troubles with things sticking…do you let the cakes cool for 2 hours? That might help. If you are letting them cool all the way and they are still sticking then I am not sure what to do though would suggest experimenting with a light dusting of almond flour over the grapeseed oil. As you make more of my cake recipes, please continue to update me about this matter –I want to fix it! :-) Elana

    Reply

  178. Well- I made it back safely from NYC. I only see my mother 1-2 times a year so our times together are extremely special to me. I actually grew up with my father so seeing love “manufactured” in the kitchen is somewhat foreign to me. As I am beginning to spend more time in the kitchen with these recipes, I see how the preparation of one meal can bring gratefulness, anticipation, joy, accomplishment and indulgence! I used to look at a cake in the kitchen as a temptation for me to fail. This morning I am eager to dine on a piece of this carrot cake only to experience nurture and love. For me, the ingredients we often see in your recipes are priceless. I can only imagine one day I will be riding my bike everywhere, but not skimping on the “elana-basics”.

    *What do you grease your cake pans with? I have tried Grapeseed Oil for my last 2 cakes, but this does not seem to be working so well.

    *Also, I eagerly await to hear your innovative brownie recipe!

    Reply

  179. moi -That’s really strange that it turned out crunchy; though it seems like somehow it came out alright since you spread it on the carrot cake from the coffee shop…how did it all work out in the end? Did you discover anything that would be prudent for me to change in the recipe? I didn’t encounter the crunchy problem in the 20+ test batches I did of this recipe though am so curious as to what you encountered and how it was fixed. Always love feeback. Thanks :-)

    deborah -Mine too.

    Zoe Francois -You’re very welcome!

    ali -You are very welcome; I love sharing my recipes and it is so great to get feedback such as yours about how they turn out and are received in other groups and settings. I also think it’s excellent when people take a risk and adapt the recipe to suit their own needs; glad it worked out for you :-)

    zebe912 -Did you make it yesterday? If so how did you like it –hopefully no funky taste; that’s what I like about almond flour, it’s not gritty or bitter. Thanks for your comment!

    Reply

  180. I love that this has an almond base rather than some of the other alternative flours that have funky flavors. With the nut base maybe I will actually like the way this tastes…unlike any other gluten free, non chocolate cake that I’ve found so far. I just bought a whole bunch of carrots too, so I think this is on the docket for tomorrow!

    Reply

  181. THANK YOU!! I just made your carrot cake complete with the white coconut frosting and brought it as the gluten-free alternative cake to a birthday party. It was a huge hit! It turned out to be the only cake at the party and I was shocked to see all the kids (and adults) gobbling it up. I left out the raisins and the walnuts because my kids won’t eat chunks- and the recipe was perfect! Thank you so much for sharing your hard work. I am loving your recipes!

    Reply

  182. This cake looks fantastic. Carrot cake is my all time favorite and I’m always looking for new recipes.

    Thanks!

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  184. Along with some morning coffee, I just had to get a slice of homemade carrot bread at my local coffee shop. I came home and spread the frosting. I was doubtful but it goes so well together! I have no hesitations on sharing this with a crowd.

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  185. Guess what. I made the coconut frosting. It didnt turn out creamy and quite crunchy. I followed every step of your instructions and didnt skip a beat

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  186. Anina -It’s been too long, hope you are well, was just asking Tara about you the other day and she reported your news to me :-) Much Love, E.
    ~M -Many apologies for the blacklisting; thanks for reporting all of the technical issues to me each time they occur! Hope you like this cake.
    gizmar Happy agave shopping; let me know how this turns out for you.
    Heather -HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
    Courtney -Have a great time in NYC and hope your husband enjoys the cake.
    Nicole -Yes indeed, it is the coconut frosting, though I think this would also go very well with my cream cheese frosting.
    Amy -If you do let me know how she likes it.
    LIzzie -What a wonderful carrot cake story; thanks!

    Reply

  187. Oh my goodness; this looks absolutely amazing! Yum! Carrot cake will now forever remind me of my engagement. Shortly after my (now) fiance proposed we went to a store called “World’s Best Carrot Cake” in Asheville, NC and bought one of their gluten-free carrot cakes. What a great way to celebrate :)

    Reply

  188. Carrot cake always reminds me my sister because it’s her favorite! Though I’m sure she’s never had it be this healthy before – I can’t wait to try it out on her.

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  189. Delicious pictures once again — carrot cake is a family favorite and I’m always looking for alternative recipes and yours looks so yummy! is that the coconut frosting?

    Reply

  190. OH MY GOODNESS…YUM!!! I am meeting my Mother in NYC for a girls weekend. My husband will be left at home and I have an idea… what if I left his favorite cake of all time, a homemade carrot cake behind to keep him company? I have everything but the carrots and raisins… Once again, here I go. Thanks Elana for your inspiration.

    Reply

  191. I remember having lots of carrot cake throughout childhood, as it is one of my mother’s favorite cakes. One year, I requested a Raw Carrot Cake, which was very good. Your GF carrot cake looks amazing… We are GF and have not really delved into the realm of cakes yet.. My birthday is coming up, this weekend actually, and I am going to have a GF Lemon cake with your Coconut frosting! Looking forward to it :) Thanks for sharing your recipes.

    Reply

  192. Carrot cake is my first love and greatest weakness. You’ve encouraged me to go and check out ingredients I’ve never used before – never even knew what they were. Tomorrow is agave nectar shopping. Thanks.

    Reply

  194. Dear Elana,

    This looks absolutely amazing ! I will definitely try to make it. I also made your grain free granola, it is the best I ever had.

    Anina

    Reply

    • I looked at the FAQs and I didn’t see an answer to my question. I’d like to add pineapple to the carrot cake recipe. Can I add it without creating a too moist cake? Thank you.

      Reply

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