This gluten free Carrot Cake is hands-down the BEST carrot cake I have ever eaten. Moist, nutty, lightly-spiced, with a hint of orange… And slathered in thick, sumptuous cream cheese frosting.
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Gluten Free Carrot Cake… challenge accepted!
This gluten free carrot cake is amazing. Developed at the request of a reader who wanted carrot cake to celebrate a birthday, it needed to be good. And given that a carrot cake recipe was long-overdue for the blog, it was a challenge I took willingly.
I could of course have apologetically said I didn’t have a recipe for this most iconic of cakes. Or referred her to Google to do an alternative search, but I like carrot cake. And I like challenges. I also knew (because I had searched the internet previously myself), that most gluten free carrot cake recipes look either dry, or are written in American (with no metric converter). This cake was more than a requested whim!
Development of the best carrot cake
Carrot cake is a well-known favourite, which means that there is nowhere to hide. When de-glutening popular recipes at GFHQ, the start point is always the traditional wheat version. Why? Because when we make cake, it has to be impossible to know that it is gluten free… Even to the hardiest gluten-eater. Any cake made here has to stand proudly and equally alongside it’s non-gluten free cousins. And not because it is ‘apologetically ‘special’’.
The recipe shared here is version 3 of the development… And yes. We’ve eaten a lot of carrot cake in the last couple of weeks to get to happy. Version 1 was too dry and version 2 too ‘wet’. This recipe on the other hand is the BEST carrot cake. Perfectly moist but still fluffy… Wonderfully nutty, but not over crunchy… Rich, but not overwhelmed with spice… With a glorious citrussy hint of orange and a gorgeous carroty hue. All slathered with a sublimely silky, decadent and lightly tangy cream cheese frosting.
It’s even been created in delicious Carrot Cake traybake form too! Perfect for bake sales.
Secrets of the best gluten free Carrot Cake recipe… the key ingredients
Strangely, making a really good gluten free carrot cake was harder than expected… It came down to skilfully balancing the flour, carrot and oil so that the cake was not too wet, but was still moist without being ‘oily’ and heavy. The secret to success? Read on…
Flour for a gluten free carrot cake
The reader request was for a carrot cake recipe that specifically used my Gluten Free Alchemist Rice Free Blend B. Blend B is a home-mixed blend which uses a balance of protein-rich flours balanced with white starches, but without any rice flour. There is some evidence that rice contains concerning levels of arsenic, particularly where it has not been washed out. The difficulty with this is that many gluten free foods contain large amounts of rice flour and thus Coeliacs and gluten-avoiders are likely to be consuming greater amounts of arsenic than the wheat-eating population. Where possible therefore, we increasingly bake with my rice-free blend B, which is still incredibly versatile and healthy, without tasting too much like a health-food!
If you don’t mix your own flours, then this recipe should work equally well with other flour blends, including popular commercial brands found in the supermarket. If you would like to try blending your own flours though, there’s a handy guide on my Gluten Free Flour and Flour Blending Page.
Ground Almonds
Ground almonds are a godsend in gluten free cake-making because they add structure and moisture, which not only improves the texture, but keeps them fresh for much longer. They are also full of amazing nutrition… From monounsaturated fat, protein and fibre to essential vitamins and minerals. Which means eating cake isn’t all bad!
Ground almonds are a perfect addition to gluten free carrot cake, not only for the above reasons, but because they enhance the depth of flavour of the sponge against the carrot and pair superbly with the pecans.
Carrot
No carrot cake recipe would be complete without carrot. But recipes vary both in how much carrot is added and how coarsely it is grated. I am of the belief that a carrot cake should have plenty of carrot… Fresh carrot (it’s important… trust me)… Preferably grated so that it is discernibly there, but not so coarse that it sticks in the teeth. Ultimately, how you grate it is a matter of personal choice however.
For the best carrot cake though, you need to think a little ‘outside the box’. The first test cake was too dry and my second was a little too oily. It needed moisture without heaviness. An extra egg didn’t seem to be the answer. The secret to the success of this gluten free carrot cake is to add more carrot… Not grated, but as puree. Mind blown! Both for texture and flavour… Why don’t all carrot cakes use extra puree?
For speed and ease, I used a pouch of pureed carrot (nothing added) baby food from the supermarket.
Oil
Like most traditional carrot cake recipes, this one uses oil in place of butter. Which is great, because the sponge is naturally dairy free with no tweaks!
I have tried making it with both sunflower oil and olive oil… both work well. For personal preference, I go for sunflower oil as it is milder in flavour than olive. But the choice is yours. I wouldn’t use coconut oil however as the recipe has not been formulated to manage its particular qualities.
The right spice for the best carrot cake
Carrot cake needs spice… Traditionally, cinnamon and ginger are added, although again, the quantities vary. Some recipes also add any combination of nutmeg, allspice and cloves. For this recipe, I have balanced a good amount of cinnamon with a little ginger and a hint of mixed spice. I tried various ratios in the many bakes used to test the recipe, but this is by far the most delicious.
In addition to the spice, there is some finely grated orange zest and vanilla added for depth and a little citrus back-hit.
Carrot cake add-ins
A basic carrot cake recipe will usually contain some chopped nuts. These may be walnuts or pecans… Some recipes specify fine chopped and some leave them almost whole… Some will be raw and some will be toasted. This particular gluten free carrot cake uses toasted pecans, but you are free to chop however you feel you will most enjoy them. And to sub with walnuts if you prefer. Toasting the nuts is important however, if you really want to enhance the flavour to an almost rich, earthy quality.
While I keep things simple by adding just nuts to make the best carrot cake, other recipes can include other add-ins. From sultanas and raisins to coconut and pineapple. It seems anything goes. So if there is something you feel needs to be in there, don’t hold back! Ultimately, this is your best gluten free carrot cake. I’ve done the ground work… you can pimp it up!
Cream Cheese Frosting
The best carrot cake (gluten free or not) NEEDS cream cheese frosting. It’s a natural marriage that cannot be disrupted. But this is where the fun really starts.
Cream cheese frosting can be a tricky thing. There are literally dozens of recipes on the internet. In the past, I’ve followed many to the letter and failed. Runny messes that cannot be spread, let alone piped. So I’ve learned some secrets to getting cream cheese frosting success on my carrot cake journey…
If you live in the US it seems you have an easier job. Apparently you can buy firm blocks of cream cheese which are clearly more sturdy when making frosting. Enjoy.
For those who don’t have that luxury, the following advice may save your time and money!
Tips for perfect cream cheese frosting
- ONLY EVER use full fat cream cheese. It contains less liquid than its skinny sister and less liquid really counts in cream cheese frosting.
- Therefore, make sure you drain any pooled liquid that is present in the cheese pot when you open it.
- And… avoid adding ANY extra liquid… Absolutely no lemon or citrus juice and no liquid flavourings. For this recipe, I add vanilla as paste or powder. For citrus additions, add finely grated zest.
- Choose your cream cheese with care. I always use Philadelphia, both for flavour and consistency.
- Leave the cream cheese in the fridge until you are absolutely ready to use it… the firmer it is, the better.
- In order to get better stability to the frosting, you need to use a balance of butter and cream cheese. Butter contains a greater ratio of fat and thus is less likely to dissolve the sugar.
- Use real hard butter… NOT the spreadable kind. It will need to be softened enough to beat smooth, but the fat content is important.
- Cream cheese is pretty ambivalent when it comes to icing sugar. It needs a little sweetness for frosting, but doesn’t react well to it. When the liquid in the cheese is mixed with the sugar, the sugar dissolves… the result? Runny icing. And no amount of extra icing sugar will solve the problem.
- Therefore, the order in which you mix the ingredients is really important. Butter first! Beat until smooth. Then add the cream cheese and beat through (just). Lastly add the icing sugar bit by bit and beat until just combined and smooth. Don’t over-sweeten. A little less sugar is better for cream cheese frosting and the cheese flavour will shine better too.
- NEVER over-beat. Over-beating leads to the cheese starting to melt and dissolving the sugar. And we know that leads to runny icing. You have a couple of safer options here… a) beat and fold by hand with a wooden/silicone spoon; b) use a beater paddle attachment rather than a whisk.
- Given that this is a dairy free sponge, you may need a dairy free cream cheese frosting. I personally don’t have a recipe… But Veggie Desserts does. And since she’s successful enough to have books published, I’m guessing it’s probably a good one.
Decoration for the Best Carrot Cake
You can decorate your carrot cake as you wish. Plain chopped pecans are good. Icing carrots are perfect if you can find/make them. The cake in the photos has been decorated with candied pecans and candied carrots.
Equipment used at Gluten Free Alchemist for making Gluten Free Carrot Cake
- Kitchen scales. I love my Heston Blumenthal Dual Platform Scales.
- Mixing bowls : I use a Joseph Joseph nest of bowls.
- Measuring Spoons : like these Tala ones.
- A Good Grater : With lots of carrots to grate, you need a good grater. I am really lucky and have a Zyliss Grater bought by hubbie. To be honest, I don’t use it that often, but it was a godsend for this cake. You can also get a hand-held version, which works on the same principle and looks a lot more practical from a storage perspective.
- A whisk for the cake sponge : Mine is a Kenwood K-Mix Hand Whisk
- A mixing spoon/spatula : When making cakes, I always use my Zing silicone spoon. It’s a spatula as well as a spoon!
- Baking Paper : Don’t cut corners on this one… I always use Lakeland Baking Parchment… It hasn’t let me down yet.
- Cake Tins : The Masterclass are non-stick and have a loose bottom to make cake removal as straight forward as possible.
- A Zester : A microplane zester is an amazing thing for zesting.
Made the Best Gluten Free Carrot Cake recipe?
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Looking for other gluten free cake recipes? Check out our recipes for Big cakes or Small Cakes and even Tray Bakes. For everything else, check out our full gluten free Recipe Index.
Thanks for popping by
Gluten Free Carrot Cake (Dairy Free Sponge)
Key equipment
- Oven
- large sharp knife
- grater
- large mixing spoon/spatula
- clean tea towel
Ingredients
- 100 g rough-chopped toasted pecans toasted weight
- 350 g grated carrots peeled weight
- 1 large orange finely grated zest only
- 200 g plain gluten free flour blend I use Rice Free Blend B (see NOTES)
- 100 g ground almonds almond meal
- 1 tsp xanthan gum
- pinch fine sea salt
- 2½ tsp GF baking powder
- ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 2½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¾ tsp ground ginger
- ½ tsp mixed spice
- 320 g soft light brown sugar
- 4 large eggs UK large
- 190 g sunflower oil (or olive oil) (approx 200 ml)
- 60 g carrot puree (I used a baby food pouch)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
Getting Ready the Ingredients
- To toast the pecans, spread on a baking tray and place in the oven at 180 C/350 F/Gas 4 for about 10 minutes, turning a couple of times during toasting.
- Allow to cool completely and rough-chop to desired size. Set aside.
- While the pecans are toasting : Coarse-grate the pre-peeled and trimmed carrots. Set aside.
- Zest the orange and set aside with the carrots.
- Weigh and mix together the flour, almonds, xanthan gum, salt, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, and spices. TIP : Weigh into an airtight container and shake vigorously to mix. Set aside.
Make the Carrot Cake
- Preheat the oven to 170 C/325 F/Gas 3.
- Base-line two 8 inch (20 cm), non-stick, round baking tins with baking paper.
- Weigh the sugar, eggs, oil, carrot puree and vanilla extract into a large mixing bowl.
- Beat thoroughly for at least 3 to 4 minutes using an electric whisk until well blended, smooth, silky and beginning to pale.
- Add the carrots and zest to the bowl and gently fold through.
- Add the chopped pecans and dry flour-spice mix and gently fold through until just combined and even.
- Divide the mixture between the two cake tins evenly and smooth the tops.
- Bake for 30 to 40 minutes until a skewer inserted comes out clean and the tops are firm.
- Remove the cakes from the tins and transfer to a wire rack to cool, placing a clean tea towel over the top.
- Once completely cool, layer and decorate with cream cheese frosting (see separate recipe sheet).
- You may also wish to decorate with some caramelised chopped pecans and caramelised carrot. See NOTES below
Notes
Nutrition
© 2019-2023 Kate Dowse All Rights Reserved – Do not copy or re-publish this recipe or any part of this recipe on any other blog, on social media or in a publication without the express permission of Gluten Free Alchemist
Sumptuous Cream Cheese Frosting
Key equipment
- medium mixing bowl
- sieve
- wooden/silicone spoon (or beater attachment)
Ingredients
- 150 g unsalted hard butter block butter only
- ¾ tsp vanilla paste or powder optional
- 250 g cream cheese (recommend Philadelphia)- Keep in the fridge until ready to use.
- 150 g icing (confectioners) sugar sifted
Instructions
- Soften the butter slightly and beat in a medium bowl until smooth and beginning to pale.
- Add and beat in the vanilla if using.
- Take the cream cheese from the fridge and drain-off any excess liquid.
- Add the cream cheese to the bowl and beat into the butter (preferably with a beater attachment or wooden/firm silicone spoon) until just smooth. Do not over-beat.
- Add the sifted icing sugar about a third at a time and gently beat or mix through. Again, use a beater attachment rather than a whisk or a wooden/firm silicone spoon to avoid over-beating. If you over-beat, the icing may become liquid, so be very careful.
- Place back in the fridge until ready to use.
- When ready to use, if the frosting has become too hard to work, simply leave at room temperature for a short while and fold through.
Notes
Nutrition
© 2019-2023 Kate Dowse All Rights Reserved – Do not copy or re-publish this recipe or any part of this recipe on any other blog, on social media or in a publication without the express permission of Gluten Free Alchemist
Gluten Free Carrot Cake shared with :
- Cook Blog Share with Feast Glorious Feast
- Meatless Monday with Confessions of a Mother Runner and A Whisk and Two Wands
- What’s For Dinner #258 with the Lazy Gastronome
- Full Plate Thursday #490 with Miz Helen’s Country Cottage
- Fiesta Friday #334 with Angie and Frugal Hausfrau
Hello again Kate 👋 i’m nosey parkering at the comment below mine, re. nut allergy; have you tried polenta/buckwheat flour sub’s for ground/chopped nuts?? yes, i’ve been experimenting and learning and experimenting more! you have created a monster!!! 🤣 xxx
Ahhh!!! 😂😂… No… I haven’t tried either buckwheat or polenta (or anything else… BUT… I am currently exploring the properties of ground tiger nuts (which are actually a legume and not a nut) to replace ground almonds generally. Might be worth giving them a look?? 😘
i did look at tiger nut flour but the cost put me off 🙄
buckwheat’s in the Squidgy Chocolate Cake recipe, gf 101 (one of your comments re. favourite reference books, i bought a second hand copy 🤓) and i take back polenta, been getting an increasingly rubbery texture within a day of baking 👎 xxx
Hia Kate 👋
i’ve have had so many positive comments from people re. this carrot cake that it’d be rude not to share some of them with you! btw, these are wheat hardened veterans, unashamedly outspoken when it comes to negative critique of anything g.f.:
“this isn’t gluten free!” (older brother, no. 3 of 4!)
“this is THE best carrot cake i’ve ever eaten, in my life” (cafe customer)
“can you make me a carrot cake?” (neighbour)
“when are you making some more of that carrot cake?” (my dad!!)
“we’ve run out, panic! what do you need to make more? i’ll go to the shop now” (flatmate)
“would you make a carrot cake for me to sell in the cafe? can you make me another cake? we sold that last one in two hours flat! i’ll get another one off you before the weekend and let you know how many more we want tomorrow after tea time” (next door neighbour, owns a little cafe in the village).
this recipe might just be the beginnings of a Gluten Free EMPIRE 😉 today the village, tomorrow the world…
there might just be light at the end of the tunnel 🤓 Thank you 😘 Cath xxx
Oh WOW! That’s actually brought a tear to my eye. Such astonishing praise and thank you so much for letting me know. I’m so pleased that others are loving it too xxx
not a dry eye in da house 😉 xxx
I have been following your blog for a while and tried some of your recipes. The bread were so tasty!
Your carrot cake looks delicious. I definitely want to try but I am allergic to almond ( and other nuts). What can I use, instead of ground almonds? Thank you.
Hi Kelly
Do glad you enjoyed the bread.
In terms of replacing the almonds, this is quite a moist cake. So it’s definitely worth trying a straight sub of the ground almonds for the B Blend flour. As the almonds offer a protein structure, it’s important to sub with a flour blend with a good protein ratio (which is why Blend B should work well enough).
I’m also wondering whether there is anything you could sub for the pecans? Perhaps some sultanas or even a few pumpkin seeds could be fun fro texture?
I stress that I haven’t tried making the cake without nuts, so would always recommend trying a small batch bake first to see how it works (and to avoid wasting ingredients if it doesn’t).
Best wishes
Kate
Hia, I’m not usually one for posting comments, but your dedication to GF food is impressive – I’ve been wheat-free for 20 years and I’ve never come across anyone who feels so strongly that GF should be as good as non-GF, thank you for all your efforts!
I made a gluten/dairy-free carrot cake over the weekend (unfortunately not your recipe which I found later) I was so disappointed with the cake that it almost went in the bin but I was really stuck for ingredients to make another so it had to do!
I’ve saved your blog as my go to GF recipe/cooking advice and if I had any money in the bank I would be buying you several coffees… I’ve been off sick for a while and finances are very tight. I hope I can repay you in another way… I’m also an experimental baker and have come up with a dairy-free icing to replace the cream cheese; I make a hard (200gxsugar:100gxegg white ratio) swiss meringue remove from heat at 80’C, add 2Tbsp lemon juice then beat till stiff, for a layer cake I grill the middle layer for 30 sec (just until you can see tiny areas of light brown developing) which gives it the stiffness to hold the top without any icing squishing out!
The icing is very very sticky so you can tone down the top stickiness by grilling again, using less heat and a bit more time: turn the grill off after 10-15 sec, leave cake under grill for a further 30min with door shut, if possible (a good idea if the cake is not going to be eaten within 2-3 days) or just enjoy the sticky indulgence of it all!
Once again, thank you 🙂 and I wish I’d found your site sooner!!
cheers,
Cath
ps. loving the baby food puréed carrots 😉
Hi Cath
Thank you SO much for taking the time to comment and for such a generous sharing of your recipe. I will absolutely have to try it as it would be great to have a good dairy free ‘cream cheese frosting’ up my sleeve.
If you get a hankering for another carrot cake, do try this one. It has been a winner with so many people and I am so glad that I took the time to develop it.
And yes… I am very stubborn and very determined to make food like I remember before going gluten free. I came from a family where food was really important and my mother was a fabulous baker. I think that if we have to eat, we should do everything we can to eat really well. Food should ALWAYS be a pleasure and I am never happy until we achieve xx
so i made your recipe carrot cake, then another one, then another one, we’re several cakes in now and after thoroughly reading your flour blending page (thank you, it’s absolutely brimming with brilliant info!) i’ve bought all the gf flour for blends A and B as well as the some of the flours you highly recommend, like cassava, almond, etc.!! Anyhew, tomorrow’s delivery day and I’m (ridiculously) excited – I cannot wait to do your recipe justice, got my eye on the vic sponge next 😉
Thank you for your superb website and all the hard work you’ve put into it – 20 years GF and at last I am enjoying baking again – your advice is very very very much appreciated.
PS. my dad who used to call my food ‘mickey mouse’ cannot get enough of your carrot cake 🙄
BEST Carrot Cake Recipe EVER 👌👩🏻🍳👌
This recipe is brilliant and made a moist fantastic cake. I used a pastry cutter to stamp out mini carrot cakes and decorated them with frosting and chopped roast nuts – they are brilliant for small appetites.
Sorry I took a photo but I can’t see how to add it.
Thank you so much for dropping by to let me know Janette.
I love the idea of making mini carrot cakes with a cutter. I imagine they were super-delicious.
And I’m so happy you enjoyed the recipe. It was developed originally for a reader (as well as because I LOVE carrot cake). But it has fast become a firm favourite xx
Unfortunately you can’t attach photos to comments, but I would love to see your cakes if you still have the photo. Perhaps you could e-mail it to me? kate@glutenfreealchemist.com
It’s been raining all day and I decided to try out this recipe. It’s really delicious, the best carrot cake I have made, the frosting is scrumptious also. I modified the recipe for 7″ sandwich tins by using 3/4 of the amount and 3 eggs . Worked a treat. I used the full amount of icing with 100g sugar , perfect. Having been on a gluten free diet for 40 years, I am always on the lookout for tasty and moist cakes.
Wow! Thank you so much. I’m smiling from ear to ear. I am so happy when my recipes make a difference and people realise that gluten free food can be extra yummy xx
Do let me know if you try any others (or if there’s anything you miss) x
This GF Carrot Cake looks so moist and delectable, thanks for sharing,,,
Thank you so much. You’re welcome x
I’m so happy to now have a gluten-free carrot cake recipe that is this good. I can’t wait to try it. It looks beautiful
You’re so welcome. Enjoy xx
This looks like the best carrot cake, gluten free or otherwise! And I think I could bathe in cream cheese frosting, its sooo good!
I totally agree, it seems scrumptious!
Thank Chloe… You wouldn’t know it’s gluten free! Bathing in cream cheese frosting sounds a bit messy, but yep… It’s that good! x
This carrot cake looks so indulgent! I would love to try the recipe, pinning for later!
Thanks Leslie. It’s definitely a keeper! x
I have not had carrot cake in so long! I love all the spices in there they always make the house smell so good. Thanks for linking up
You’re welcome Deborah… I have to agree. You can’t beat the smell of spice in the kitchen x