Gluten Free Carrot Cake with Coconut Orange Frosting
Carrot Cake is always a winning recipe around Easter and spring. This version is actually really healthy, including the frosting. It’s made with almonds and coconut flour and lots of healthy spices and whole food ingredients. Not to mention abundance of healthy fats from the almond flour, coconut cream, coconut oil, walnuts, and almond butter.
Carrot cake usually has a traditional cream cheese frosting but I wanted to make it a little lighter. Sometimes I find frosting can be too rich and sweet but this one is light and tasty. I used Cha’s Organics Coconut Whipping Cream. You just have to chill it in the fridge and whip it with your electric mixer. You can also use regular coconut cream but this version is made for whipping so it holds up the best. The orange zest gives it a nice kick and you can always add more maple syrup if you want an extra sweet frosting. Because it is made from coconut cream, it’s best to store it in the fridge and take it out to sit at room temperature before serving. Don’t worry you can eat it straight from the fridge too!
Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cup of blanched almond flour
- 1/4 cup of coconut flour
- 1/4 cup of shredded coconut flakes
- 1/2 tsp of baking soda
- 1/4 tsp of nutmeg
- 1/2 tbsp of cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp of ground ginger
- 1/8 of cloves
- 1/8 tsp of sea salt
- 2 eggs at room temperature
- 1/3 cup of maple syrup
- 1/4 cup of almond butter
- 1/8 cup of almond milk
- 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup of melted coconut oil
- 1 1/2 cups of shredded carrots
- 1/2 cup of walnuts (optional)
- 1/2 can of chilled coconut cream (used made for whipping version)
- Zest of 1 orange
- 1/4 tsp of cardamom (optional)
- 1/2 tsp of cinnamon
- 1 tbsp of maple syrup (more to taste if you like)
- 1/4 tsp of vanilla extract (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- In a large bowl combine the almond flour, coconut flour, shredded coconut flakes, baking soda, nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and sea salt. Stir.
- In another bowl, add the eggs and make sure that they are at room temperature. Whisk in the maple syrup, almond butter, and vanilla extract. Slowly pour in the coconut oil while stirring. Make sure it is melted but has cooled down a bit, closer to room temperature.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix. Fold in the carrots and walnuts.
- Line a 8 x 8 pan with parchment paper. Pour in the batter. Cook in the middle rack for 28-32 minutes. Until a toothpick runs clean.
- Remove from the oven and let it chill. When it is safe, lift it out of the tray by holding the parchment paper and set it down to cool on a rack. Once it has been cooled down completely you can make your frosting.
- In a bowl combine the chilled coconut cream, orange zest, cinnamon, cardamom, vanilla and maple syrup. Whip it with an electric mixer until fluffy. Taste test and add any additional maple syrup or spices as necessary. Smooth on the cake and store in the fridge as the frosting will get really soft at room temperature if it sits out for too long. To serve, remove from the fridge and let it sit for 5 -10 minutes.
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