This carrot cake was a special request recipe, as I needed to bring a dessert to a family event. It is sugar free and mostly fruit sweetened. This carrot cake uses a coconut flour base and a dozen eggs, so it is quite protein dense and fairly nutritious for a dessert.
My kids actually enjoy this for breakfast, and I don’t mind giving it to them occasionally since it has so much protein.
Gluten-Free Carrot Cake Recipe
A healthy carrot cake made with coconut flour and a lot of eggs for extra protein. Filling and delicious!
Servings 8 -10
Calories 391kcal
Ingredients
For cake:
- ½ cup raisins (or dates)
- ½ cup coconut milk
- ½ cup warm water
- 12 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup pumpkin puree (or applesauce)
- 1 cup coconut flour
- 2 TBSP cinnamon
- ½ tsp nutmeg
- ½ tsp cloves
- ½ tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ¾ cup coconut oil (or butter, melted)
- 1 cup crushed pineapple
- 2 cups carrots (grated)
- ½ cup shredded coconut
- ¼ cup honey (optional)
For Icing:
- 8 oz cream cheese (softened)
- ¼ cup butter (softened)
- ¼ cup honey (or stevia taste)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
For cake:
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Grease a 9x13 baking dish with butter or coconut oil.
- In a blender or food processor, combine the raisins or dates, coconut milk, and warm water and blend until smooth. This will create a sweet liquid base for the batter.
- Add eggs and vanilla and blend until smooth.
- Add pumpkin puree or applesauce and blend until smooth.
- Pour into a large bowl.
- Add coconut flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, sea salt, baking soda, and baking powder and mix until well incorporated.
- Add melted coconut oil or butter and mix well.
- By hand, stir in crushed pineapple, grated carrot, shredded coconut, and honey if using. You can also wait and drizzle honey on top after baking.
- Add extra coconut milk or pineapple juice if needed to thin. It should be spreadable, not pourable.
- Spread batter in prepared pan.
- Bake at 350°F for 60-90 minutes, until middle is set and no longer soft. Coconut flour takes a while to bake, so be patient. You might also need to reduce heat and cook longer, depending on your oven.
- When done baking, remove and let cool.
For icing:
- Whisk together ingredients for icing and spread over cake just before serving.
- Enjoy!
Notes
Make into muffins for a fun hand-held treat, just reduce cooking time accordingly!
Nutrition
Calories: 391kcal | Carbohydrates: 30.5g | Protein: 8.6g | Fat: 27.8g | Saturated Fat: 20.6g | Cholesterol: 148mg | Sodium: 271mg | Fiber: 8.5g | Sugar: 15.3g
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What’s your favorite cake? Have you made a healthy version yet?
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