Carrot Cake

Carrot cake has Easter written all over it. Maybe it’s because it is obviously made with carrots, maybe it’s because it is so delicious, but if you’re still hunting for an Easter dessert, carrot cake is it. Loaded with shredded carrots and topped with the tangy traditional cream cheese frosting, this moist, sweet cake is gluten-free.

I originally posted this recipe back in 2016. It has less fat, less sugar, and is from my favorite little gluten free bakery in Seattle, the Flying Apron. Here is the recipe as it appears in the Flying Apron’s Gluten Free and Vegan Baking Book, as well as a few modifications I made. Some bunny is going to be happy you made this. Happy Easter!

Carrot Cake
2 cups brown rice flour
1 1/4 cups garbanzo bean flour or chestnut flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 cup canola oil
2 cups water
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups agave syrup, maple syrup, or concentrated fruit juice (Mystic Lake Dairy’s pineapple-peach-pear juice concentrate recommended)
5 medium carrots, grated (about 1 and 1/4 cups)
2 1/2 cups shredded unsweetened coconut
2 cups chopped walnuts or pecans
1 cup golden raisins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line bottoms of 3 9-inch cake pans with parchment paper. Set aside.

Combine brown rice flour, garbanzo bean flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a large bowl. In a second large bowl, combine canola oil, water, vanilla, and agave syrup. In a third bowl, combine carrots, coconut, walnuts, and raisins.

Slowly whisk the flour mixture into the canola oil mixture until thoroughly combined. Fold in the carrot mixture until combined.

Pour batter into prepared pans and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Once cake has cooled, remove from pans. Assemble, frosting the top of each layer with cream cheese frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting
8 ounces softened butter
8 ounces softened cream cheese
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
agave nectar to taste, approximately 1/2 to 1 cup

In a large bowl, beat butter and cream cheese together until creamy and well combined. Add vanilla extract and 1/2 cup of agave nectar, and continue to mix. Taste and add additional agave if desired.

Notes:

I used coconut oil in place of the canola, and used 1 cup water and 1 cup of coconut milk. I used a lot more carrot – 3 cups – but only used about 3/4 cup of agave. I cut the shredded coconut back to 1 cup, and omitted the walnuts for my allergy person. Left the raisins out. Not a big fan of raisins in carrot cake. I opted for traditional cream cheese frosting rather than using the recipe suggested in the cookbook. Cake was delicious!