The perfectly moist, sweet, and subtly spiced Paleo carrot cake with a coconut “cream cheese” frosting made with cashews. It’s gluten free, grain free, dairy free, and refined sugar free, yet you’d never guess!
My love for cashew cream cheese frosting continues, and WOW, guys, this paleo carrot cake might be my favorite “vehicle” for it yet. In fact, the carrot cake itself, sans frosting, is so good that Adam ate all of the frosting-less-first-try-version over the course of 2 days. This is legit carrot cake, my paleo friends, in all its sweet orange glory.
That sounded sort of weird, didn’t it? A good cake does that to me, I guess. Along with the hint of spring fever (okay today is like 20 degrees, but last week it was 70, so yes, the hint) that’s making me want to go carrot-wild.
I’m not exactly sure when I got it in my head that I needed to make the perfect paleo carrot cake, but whatever it was, I was fiercely determined to get it totally right. That resulted in making the carrot cake three times – the first time it was good, but I made it in 3 layers instead of 2, which was too thin and just meh. Who really wants to shred all those carrots and then come out with meh? Nope, don’t think anyone’s into that.
The second time around I changed a few measurements, added apple cider vinegar and made it a double instead of triple layer cake. A triple layer cake was a bit too ambitious and unrealistic – I like to create recipes that people will actually MAKE, and not ones that make you feel exhausted simply thinking about making them. I hope this carrot cake doesn’t look exhausting! It’s not – although making it 3 times tested my sanity slightly.
The third time (and 2 bags of carrots later) I confirmed that this is the most perfect paleo carrot recipe that there must be in the world. Well now don’t I sound arrogant! I’m not, I’m just persistent and a bit of a perfectionist. All for your benefit. Anyway, I frosted it, CUT INTO IT (moment of truth) and took a bite. Well holy carrot cake heck – I was quite pleased!
As for the ingredients – they are all straightforward, though I admit I used quite a few. All in the name of flavor and texture, of course! Trust me – I wish I could’ve gotten the same type of texture from just one type of flour, but, I’ve found that a blend often yields the best results.
As for the frosting – I’m obsessed with this stuff. I used my coconut cashew “cream cheese” frosting which I debuted a few weeks ago and used for my chocolate cupcakes.
I HIGHLY recommend two things regarding this frosting: first, that you make it (haha) and second, that you make it the day before so you can chill it overnight. Chilling overnight thickens this frosting beautifully and gives it perfect texture to get a nice thick layer on the cake. Plus, you reduce your workload the day of, which is always a plus in my book!
Ready to bake a cake with me? Let’s go!
Paleo Carrot Cake with Coconut “Cream Cheese” Frosting
Paleo Carrot Cake with Coconut "Cream Cheese" Frosting
Ingredients
- 4 eggs room temperature
- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
- 1/3 cup coconut oil melted and cooled to almost room temperature
- 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 1 Tbsp raw apple cider vinegar
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 cups blanched almond flour
- 1/4 cup coconut flour
- 1/3 cup tapioca flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 Tbsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- Pinch nutmeg
- 2 and 1/2 cups shredded or grated, carrots (I use my food processor shredding attachment)
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 1 batch coconut cashew “cream cheese” frosting**--Click link for my recipe
- finely chopped pecans or walnuts for garnish
Instructions
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Recipe Note*** Prep time includes the time to cool before frosting, but NOT the time to make/chill the frosting
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Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line two 8" round cake pans with circles of parchment paper*.
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In a medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients - almond, coconut, and tapioca flours, baking soda, salt and spices, set aside.
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In a larger bowl, with an electric hand mixer, beat together the eggs, maple syrup, almond milk, cider vinegar, coconut oil and vanilla on low/med speed. Add the dry mixture to the wet and beat on low speed until fully combined and a thick batter forms. Remove the mixer and gently fold in the shredded carrots and the raisins.
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Divide the batter equally between the two cake pans, scraping the bowl to use all the batter (remember to line with parchment paper first!)
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Bake both layers in the preheated oven for 22- 25 mins or until toothpick comes out clean.* Cool in the cake pans for 30 minutes, then carefully remove from cake pans (use the parchment to help) and transfer to wire racks to cool completely to room temp before frosting.
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Frost the cake with the coconut cream cheese frosting**, garnish with finely chopped pecans or walnuts, serve, and enjoy!
Recipe Notes
*I made this into a double layer 8" cake, however you can make it a single layer in a 9-10 inch pan, though the baking time will increase to about 30 minutes, give or take depending on your oven
**I recommend making this a few hours ahead of time, or the day before, since it thickens up to a great consistency when chilled in the refrigerator overnight, plus it will cut down on the workload when you make the cake.
Nutrition
What I Used to Make My Paleo Carrot Cake:
Want more Paleo cake recipes? Try one of these!
Chocolate Cupcakes with Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting
Triple layer chocolate macaroon cake
Paleo Vanilla Cupcakes with Chocolate Ganache
Chocolate Chip Cookie Cupcakes
Tell Me!
Has spring hit you yet? Have you caught the fever?
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I LOVE that you were persistent, cause it looks absolutely scrumptious; no one would ever guess that it’s Paleo; it’s so scrumptious looking. I think the biggest thing I’ve learned from my blogger friends is persistence and patience; it amazes me to see how many time you test recipes t ou get them just right. I know that your readers appreciate it, including me.
Thanks Emily! Persistence isn’t easy but the times that it works out make it worth it 🙂
The cashews…are they measured before or after chopping?
thanks!
before, there is no need to chop them
Hi Michelle,
Your cake looks absolutely Amazing and I would love to make one 🙂 I bet it was Fabtabulous! I was wondering if you might be able to help me, I am looking for a Sugar Free Crusting Buttercream Icing, you see my 36th Birthday is Comming up in June and I’m making my cake look like a wedding cake! OmG it is going to be out of this world i have already Started planning for it right after Christmas :)) I’m going to subscribe to you and im really hoping you could help me out I have looked everywhere and I cannot find the purfect SugarFree buttercream crusting icing. I’m also making my own Tiered Cake pan it’s going to be 5 tiers and decorated to the Hills Ohhh I am So Excited 😀 You see I have went All Keto about 3 mo. Ago and I’m loving it so I would love to make a Beautiful Sugar Free/Keto Chocolate cake with the Purfect Icing on top. I Thank You so Very Much And I Greatly Appreciate It!
Sincerely Lena
I am not much of an expert in the sugar free/keto area and I’m not sure I’d be help with the frosting! Have you found anything on Pinterest? Are you looking for it to be dairy free as well as sugar free? I will check out a few recipes and let you know if I see something that matches what you want 🙂
I’ve always made my carrot cake with crushed pineapple… can you come up with a way to incorporate it into this recipe? I think it would really be amazing.
Thanks,
Janet Geiger
928-301-4545
Yogabody2@aol.com
Here is a recipe from one of my favorite bloggers. It isn’t cake, but these carrot cake magic cookie bars look amazing! And their loaded with pineapple! Hope this helps!
http://www.foodfaithfitness.com/carrot-cake-paleo-magic-cookie-bars/#comment-863648
Ooh those look good! Love her as well 🙂
I think the cake is sturdy enough to handle maybe 1/4 cup crushed pineapple as long as it’s well drained? If you want to add more, I’d say to add a bit more almond flour (say 1/4 cup) although I’m not sure about that measurement since I haven’t tested it. You could also try adding the pineapple and leaving out a Tbsp each of the coconut oil and almond milk since you’ll have more moisture there. I hope you do wind up testing it out!
That’s the only way I make carrot cake!! I add one can of pineapple chunks in juice, drained well. I add it to the carrots in the food processor. Moist delicious carrot cake!! Or cupckes
It’s still snowing here but I’m SO ready for spring! This cashew cream cheese frosting in on my list to try this week! And carrot cake is my all time favorite! YUM!
You would love this one then!!
Heck YES Michele!! I loooove carrot cake so much but haven’t been able to find a paleo recipe that’s really hit the spot – I’m a perfectionist too! Can’t wait to try this one out for easter!
Ooh I know you’ll love this! Thanks Dana 🙂
Hi Michele!
I would love to try this carrot cake. Sometimes it’s a little bit tricky to convert the recipes (living in Switzerland) so, is there a difference between tapioca flour and tapioca starch? Because I got tapioca starch (and have been using it for cooking (mainly to put into gravy) 🙂
Thank you for your replay.
Greetings from Switzerland
Anke
Yup that is the same stuff to my knowledge, so it should work perfectly 🙂
This carrot cake is amazing! Thank you so much for the recipe. It worked perfectly with the tapioca starch. Too bad I don’t know how to upload a picture, but it tasted AND even looked great ??????
Hello Michelle, I remade the cake and must of not followed measurements the first time. OMG! A HOMERUN! Thank you so much for sharing. I will not only follow but try a lot of your recipes. This is a new lifestyle for us. My hubby, Mom, daughter and 18 month old granddaughter. Love the change!
So glad you’re loving paleo and the recipe worked out! I have to say this one is one of my very favorites and great to get in the mood for spring 🙂
This was amazing and not hard. The frosting had a strong maple flavor which is odd since I didn’t use maple…lol. Would like to thicken it up a bit more too but wonderful and no, would never know it was paleo!
Maybe the cashew component gave it a maple taste? To thicken the frosting I typically chill it overnight and it’s perfect 🙂 So glad you liked it!
I love carrot cake and am going to try this cake tomorrow! I don’t suppose you could use almond milk in place of the coconut cream for the frosting…?!
No, it would be way to runny! Hope it worked out!
I would just like to say this was my first attempt at a paleo cake and it was fantastic! So good I took it to work and didn’t tell coworkers that it was “healthy cake” and they ate it up! Thank you for the great recipe 🙂
Do you happen to know nutrition info for this? Net carbs, protein, calories etc? Thanks again
Wow! Thrilled to hear that! I don’t calculate nutrition but if you’re very curious this online calculator should help: https://www.myfitnesspal.com
since i am not a master baker, this might be a dumb question.
would this hold up as cupcakes? would i have to make any changes other than the baking time?
this would be perfect for my best friend’s bridal shower, but there are so many coming that a cake would be hard to make enough for everyone
Yes I think it would work fine, I’m thinking 12 cupcakes? Not entirely sure. I would line the pan with cupcake liners and fill the cups about 3/4 of the way since they won’t rise all that much. The bake time would likely be around 20 minutes but make sure you watch them so not to overbake. You can test with a toothpick for doneness and if it comes out clean, they’re ready 🙂
Found your paleo carrot cake (minus frosting) recipe on Pinterest. Made it tonight (with minor substitutions keeping proportions and method the same). Wonderful.
Greeting!…..any chance you can recommend an #egg substitutefor your carrot cake recipe?……Thank you☺
Hmm, I haven’t ever personally tried to sub chia or flax eggs in recipes, from what I heard it can work well with one or two eggs and might be tricky after that. If you do try, here is a reference for how to do this: http://detoxinista.com/how-to-make-flax-eggs-or-chia-eggs/
Would this freeze well? Even just the cake, thaw, then frost it… ?
Definitely not the frosting, but I think the cake can be frozen. I haven’t tried it with this one though so not positive!
Made the cake yesterday and it was delicious but can it be frozen or how long will it keep?
Sorry just saw the comment above. How long do you think the cake will last? I have lots leftover and don’t want it to go to waste.
Is there any want to substitute crushed pineapple instead of using raisins? Hope so.
Neither my daughter or I can do gluten or dairy, so I’m looking forward to trying this recipe.
Yes, I think you can do that as long as you squeeze it to get rid of all the excess water before adding it in. I also have a carrot cake bread that’s nut free and includes crushed pineapple, here it is: https://www.paleorunningmomma.com/pineapple-carrot-cake-bread-paleo/
This cake is loved very much by my whole family So we make this cake twice or thrice in a month. We want to give thinks to you by heart for giving such superb recipe.
I’m SO thrilled you guys like it!
My family was very skeptical about this cake. However, we all agreed it was delicious! I used dates (1/2 cup processed with a little bit of water) to sweeten it instead of maple syrup. I found a pineapple mango jam to fill the cake with, and it was absolutely delicious!
Unfortunately, I did not try the frosting. I attempted to frost it with seven minute frosting (sweetened with honey), but it didn’t turn out well.
Thank you so much for the great recipe!
So glad you liked it! It’s good even without the frosting I think!
How many calories and sugar it’s in this cake?
I made this recipe for a kids party and it was amazing! Every kid ate their piece and the adults couldn’t say enough good things about it. I added squeezed crushed pineapple to mine (about 1/2c I think) and it was perfect. One lady said it was the best birthday cake she’d ever eaten and I had to agree!
Hello. I was wondering if you or anyone has tried this carrot cake recipe using liquid stevia before? Thanks
Hello,
Instead of using coconut and tapioca flour, could you just use all almond flour?
This cake is so good! I made it pretty much exactly as stated, except I used dates instead of raisins (just because I didn’t have any raisins!). It was SO good, and my boyfriend’s non-raw-paleo appreciating mum and sister really raved about it too. (I’m slowly trying to convert him… it’s slow going!!) Thanks Michele 🙂
So happy you guys liked it! Woohoo!
Could you please put a link to the frosting recipe? It’s not coming up when I click it for some reason. Thanks!
Just added it back in! Lost it while updating to a new recipe plugin, thanks for letting me know!
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This was absolutely AMAZING! I made it for my family and everyone raved about how good it was. I have been asked to make it again for my family but I was wondering if the cake part could be made a day or two in advance and stored in the fridge?
Hi! Thrilled you guys liked it! The layers can be kept in the fridge for about a day, possibly up to two without any noticeable difference.
Hi Michelle, I’m looking forward to making this cake for a friend’s birthday this weekend. Can you clarify the coconut oil measurement? I have already liquid coconut oil; can I use 1/3c of this, or do I need to do 1/3c solid coconut oil and then melt that? Thanks for letting me know!
I believe 1/3 cup liquid will work fine 🙂
This looks amazing! Unfortunately I can’t have Tapioca Flour. How would you adjust the recipe to remove that ingredient? Any ideas? Thanks!
You can use arrowroot, which I think should sub in well 1:1 OR add 1/4 cup more almond flour to omit tapioca. I haven’t tried it, but from my experience I think that should work pretty well 🙂
My cakes didn’t rise 🙁
Not sure what I did wrong but I did follow the recipe
I haven’t tasted yet…only a small piece of one of the layers and it tasted yum but just didn’t rise up
This cake doesn’t rise a whole lot but sorry to hear it didn’t work out!
Actually after I put the two pieces together and added the cream it was perfect! Everyone loved it. Thank yoi!
I made this for Christmas bc my bf loves carrot cake and he is not a healthy eater (I’m trying to change that! Lol)
It was so good and not crazy difficult to make! I’ll be making this again!
So glad you guys enjoyed it!
Hi there, I only have one 8 inch cake pan, could I cooked the whole thing in there and then cut it into two layers?
I think that may work although the bake time would have to be longer!
Do you think I could also make this cake into a 3 layer but using 3 7inch pans?
Yes I think that would work well 🙂
Hello, do you think this can be baked in loaf form?
Not sure! The timing would be different but if you experiment, let me know 🙂
Because of a nut allergy, we can’t use almond flour (any nut flour). What would a good substitute be?
Hello Michele, I was wondering if I could do a straight sub of honey for Maple Syrup. Thanks.
Hi Michele, I am not paleo but I thought this recipe sounded great and healthy. I just made it but tweaked it a bit- more cinnamon and more ginger- I like it spicy), used skim milk instead of almond milk, didn’t have tapioca flour so I used the 1/4 additional almond flour you suggested to someone above, added shredded coconut flakes, and some raisins. It tastes AMAZING!!!! I did not to the cashew frosting, but the cake itself is so tasty. Thank you!
So glad it worked out well with the subs!
I’m excited to make this cake today. Before I dive in, I just want to confirm the amount of cinnamon. The recipe calls for 1 1/2 TBSP of cinnamon, while the ginger is only 1/2 tsp. The amounts seem a bit disproportionate so I’m just double-checking. No one has seemed to comment on this yet, so I’m assuming 1 1/2 TBSP is the way to go. Is that correct? Thanks
Yup that’s it! I like to use a lot of cinnamon but not much ginger is needed since it’s a stronger flavor. Hope it works out well!
I know this is an old post, but I have a question. Do you think I could successfully bake this carrot cake in a bundt pan? I know it would bake longer. I am just wondering if it’s too heavy of a cake.
I’m not sure if that would work out unfortunately!
Thanks for the reply 🙂
Maybe one day you can create a paleo bundt cake recipe?!
I have a son with nut allergies, he only can have almonds. What do you recommend them for the frosting? Thanks
I made this for Easter with the cashew frosting and it came out amazing! I used only one 9 inch round pan and had to cook it for about 45 minutes. Thanks for the great recipe!
Made this for Easter and everyone loved it! Came out beautifully following the directions layed out. And, that cashew frosting is ridiculously genius and delicious, Thanks so much!
Can I use more almond flour or coconue flour instead of tapioca flour?
If you’re trying to replace, I’d use the almond flour 🙂
Amazing! I make it in silicone muffin cups and send it for hubby’s breakfast! I reduce the maple by half and soak the raisins in boiling water to plump them up before using. Thank you Paleo Running Momma for the BEST carrot cake recipe I’ve ever made!
My boyfriends momma can’t eat gluten or dairy, so I made this for her on her birthday. She hadn’t eaten cake in years. She cried. All of the boys who can eat whatever they want thought it was delicious too! Thank you!
That’s an amazing story! So thrilled she and everyone else loved it 🙂
This cake is AMAZING!! I have many dietary restrictions and this cake is so moist, tasty and I CAN EAT IT! I didn’t put the raisins in as I can’t eat those and it was still delicious. Just added a bit more carrot and extra nuts. SO GOOD!!!
This is one of my favorites as well, so happy you enjoyed!
Hi! This was amazing!! We love love love it. Thank you so much for your hard work. Without brilliant persistence people like you, people like me would never get to enjoy something like this home made. Baking is always really tricky for me but this came out perfect.
Hi Michele. I made this cake to enter into our county fair’s gluten-free baking contest, and won first prize! My husband & I love this recipe and have made the cake for several family gatherings, and no one ever guesses it’s gluten-free! Thanks for an amazing recipe!
This cake is amazing. I highly recommend making it. I did not make the frosting so can not comment on it.
Tasted amazing!! I didn’t have the cake pans so I made it in 12 cupcakes… Delicious! It was a little moist and sticky to the cupcake paper so I’ll be sure to use a cake pan next time. Thanks so much!
I think there is a typo in the amount of cinnamon… I followed the instructions and put in 1.5 TABLESPOONS of cinnamon and i even questioned it. I think you meant teaspoons. Otherwise, I like this recipe and the simple ingredients.
This recipe looks amazing! Do I need to squeeze out excess water from grated carrots?
I made it substituting an extra 1/4 cup of almond flour for the tapioca since I can’t find tapioca flour where I live, and it turned out brilliantly. I also substituted chopped prunes for raisins, since that is all that I had, and it was delicious~! Carrot cake is my favorite cake by far, and now I can enjoy it more often. Thank you so much!!!
This is the best paleo cake I’ve ever made. I made it for the first time in November and have made it at least a dozen times since then (yes – totally true – lots of events and I just LOVE it for breakfast and snacks!). Everyone who has tried it has loved it and been shocked that it’s paleo! I can not recommend this enough! Make it!
I doubled everything and made four layers for my hungry sibs. We’re having a paleo night and there are 8 of us – 4 big burly guys. It’s a great, great cake and that frosting is out. of. this. world. If you’re still answering questions I’m wondering do you store the cake in the fridge if you make it a day early?
I’m making this for my son’s first birthday cake! Already made the frosting, it’s so good! I had to add more cashews and coconut oil because i put coconut milk instead of coconut cream. So far so good!
Make this and don’t change a thing! It is soooo good. Everyone loved it and most of my guests aren’t Paleo. That frosting though, it is a little bit dangerous….I could make that frosting and eat it alone, no need for cake, just a spoon.
Can this recipe be used for cupcakes?
This was a delicious carrot cake, I would have love to know calorie count, made a simple cream cheese, munk fruit, and vanilla frosting, so good.
Delicious I didn’t have tapioca or coconut flour so I did it with 11/4 almond flour as recommended per recipe and used flaxseed mill.
I made this for my girlfriend as Carrot cake is her favorite cake and she absolutely loved it.
I made some alterations, mainly that I didn’t have 8″ round pans, so I just used a bread loaf pan and baked for longer (38 minutes). Cut it in half horizontally with floss, then I used a regular cream cheese frosting (7tbsp butter, 4oz cream cheese, 1.5tsp vanilla extract, 1/2 cup powdered sugar), which was just enough to coat the middle and top.
Thank you for sharing!
So happy to hear it worked out well that way!
My family loved it! I didn’t have tapioca flour so I added an extra 1/2 TBS of coconut flour, and also decreased the maple syrup and used some stevia. These made terrific muffins for lunch boxes!
Would almond flour be ok if it doesn’t says ‘BLEACHED’ ?
I need to fly to my daughter’s with this cake ~ could I make cupcakes instead and still have your texture?
I don’t plan to frost.
What is the trick for getting it fluffy looking? Mine is dense very good just not fluffy , any tips ? 😁
It’s hard to know without being with you in the kitchen! Glad you enjoyed it though 🙂
Could I use granulated xylitol instead of maple syrup? Looks amazing 🙂
Unfortunately I’m not sure how that would affect the texture of the cake and the baking time too. If you’re familiar with subbing this in then I’d give it a shot, mindful that you’re losing some liquid by switching to a granulated sweetener.
Thanks Michelle, I tried it and it worked. I also baked it as 12 cupcakes.
Could I just not put in the raisins or will that mess with the wet/dry balance?
I can’t have almonds…what would you reco for a substitute? I know coconut flour is a bit drier so want to sub appropriately.
Loving this recipe, thank you!! I halved the maple syrup, used coconut milk instead of almond milk & used 1/4 cup crushed pineapple instead of raisins & it turned out great. Also made cupcakes out of the mixture. Will totally make again! Thank you.
Absolutely delicious!
how should you store the cake once frosted? in the fridge or outside?
Love this carrot cake. Easy to make, keeps well in the fridge. I used coconut milk and cran berries instead of almond milk and sultanas. There seemed to be a lot of icing so I froze it for next time and it kept well.
This carrot cake is amazing!! I used a loaf pan and baked longer (about 35 minutes or so). The frosting is insanely good. I have been craving carrot cake for quite some time and this hit the spot! Such a genius recipe– thank you!
I literally can’t xount how many times I’ve made this cake – I jokingly call it “cake diet cake” to my friends and family, as I can eat it for snack and breakfasts and don’t gain weight, I guess because of all of the good stuff in there 😂
This is my favorite cake ever! I’m so thankful for your recipes, I never feel deprived!
I’m so thrilled you love it, one of my faves too!
We love this carrot cake. I make into muffins and then freeze some for later.