PALEO LOW CARB CARROT CAKE WITH COCONUT BUTTER FROSTING

“Carrot cake carrot cake have ye any nuts?  This carrot cake has….” SO many nuts!  Made with ground almond flour this paleo carrot cake is super moist, super tasty, and with such a nice springy cakey texture, you would never guess it was completely gluten free, dairy free and sugar free!  Read on to see just how easy this cake is to make.

I remember when I was growing up that I never understood carrot cake.  I mean its vegetables in a cake!  That would never make sense to a child.  Children want the obvious kind of cake that’s chocolatey or creamy.  Carrots? Spices? What?  So I’d say carrot cake is a very adult kind of cake.  It’s a sophisticated cake for a sophisticated grown up pallet.  But at the same time, most of us only like carrot cake for the amazing frosting on top.  Although I do think carrot cake frosting was much more appreciated back in the day before cupcakes came along with their buttercream frosted delight and totally stole the show.  ​

So I probably didn’t try carrot cake until my mid-twenties at least, and my boyfriend in his early thirties has only recently been introduced to it.  So of course I had to make my own gluten free version for him to test.  I’d also been hankering for proper carrot cake as I recently discovered a tub of Perfect World A Taste of Carrot Cake ice cream hiding in my freezer that I had forgotten about.  It’s amazing.  This ice cream is gluten, dairy, and sugar free, and tastes just..like…carrot cake.  It even has sultanas and nuts in it!  You have to try it.  I stumbled upon it one day while browsing the frozen aisles in Tesco and their frozen Free From section.  

One thing that has always made me weary of making carrot cake is the number of ingredients needed and the necessary grating of carrots.  I like hassle free recipes, things that are in my cupboard and to hand.  But this recipe is soooo worth it trust me.  And when you’ve made it once and have all the ingredients and seen how easy it is, there’s no excuse to not making it again hehe…

BUT BEWARE…. As this cake is made with nut flour it is very calorific with its high fat content.  If you're on a ketogenic diet then this cake will be great for you otherwise eat with caution. Remember that a ‘healthy’ cake or an allergen free cake isn't a calorie free cake. 

So here is the recipe for my PALEO CARROT CAKE.  ENJOY! 

PALEO LOW CARB CARROT CAKE
​
Prep Time: 10 mins      Cook Time: 1hr 10-15mins      Total Time: 1 1/2hrs
Makes: 1 loaf cake  ​

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 ½ cups ground almonds

• ½ cup tapioca flour

• 3 tbsp stevia 

• 2 tsp baking powder

• 1 ½ tsp cinnamon

• ½ tsp ginger

• ¼ tsp nutmeg

• 3 eggs separated

• ¼-½ cup almond milk

• 2-3 large carrots grated

• Optional ½ cup chopped nuts of choice

FROSTING

• 4 tbsp coconut butter (chilled)

• ½ tsp vanilla extract 

• 1 tbsp stevia or to taste

• Optional ½ cup pistachios to decorate

DIRECTIONS:
​Preheat oven to 175˚C

1. Grate the carrots by hand or with a food processor and use a clean tea towel to gently squeeze the water out of the carrots

2. In a small mixing bowl whisk the egg whites until fluffy and stiff and set aside

3. In a large mixing bowl beat together the egg yolks and stevia

4. Add the rest of the dry ingredients and mix until well combined

5. Add ¼ cup of the almond milk to loosen the batter

6. Fold in the carrots and chopped nuts if adding

7. If the batter still looks a little dry add the remaining ¼ cup of almond milk

8. Gently fold in the whisked egg whites being careful not to beat the air out

9. Pour into a greased or lined loaf tin and bake for 50 mins

10. Cover with foil and bake for another 20-25 mins.  As there can be a lot of moisture in the batter cooking times will vary.  You can use the toothpick test but I find the best way to measure if a cake is baked through is by the way it sounds.  If it sounds wet and sizzling there is still moisture and needs a longer bake.

11. Once the cake is baked, turn out onto a rack and allow to cool completely

FROSTING

1. Use an electric whisk to whisk together the chilled coconut butter, vanilla, and stevia until fluffy

2. Make sure the loaf cake has cooled completely before spreading the frosting and sprinkling with the chopped pistachios

Carrot cake is a sophisticated cake eaters choice and this one definitely doesn't disappoint the taste buds.  And to top it off it's gluten free, dairy free, and sugar free, making it even healthier (if that's possible for cake)!  

If you're a chocolate cake die hard I'm sure you'll be a carrot cake convert after trying this recipe.  Give it a try and let me know if you love this paleo low carb carrot cake as much I do.