Happy Easter, y’all! Here in the Healthy Indulgences household, we’re serving up my Sugar-Free Carrot Cake with our holiday dinner.
Here’s my updated recipe, with a couple of tweaks. It’s gluten-free, sugar-free, diabetic-friendly (carb count listed in the recipe notes), and can be made nut-free by leaving out the walnuts. The measurements listed work well with my <a href=”http://healthyindulgences.net/2012/02/truvia-sweetener-review-how-to-make-your-own-truvia-substitute-in-bulk-much-cheaper/”>homemade stevia blend</a>, made with the wonderful non bitter pure stevia powder found at Trader Joe’s.
Recipe Notes
Made from coconut flour and a little bit of gluten-free oat flour, this recipe is Trim Healthy Mama and Wheat Belly compliant.
Because I left xanthan gum out of the updated recipe, it falls apart a bit more easily. To solve this dilemma, chill the cake before cutting and frosting. Also, chop the walnuts very finely before adding them to the batter.
To make this cake grain-free, you can replace the oat flour with 1/4 cup of arrowroot starch. I use oat flour in order to tailor the recipe to people trying to watch their blood sugar.
The measurements for the old NuNaturals stevia are listed in the recipe at the old post if you still have some on hand!
If you’d like to make a 4 layer cake as shown in the photos, double the ingredients and bake the cake in 4 separate, 8 inch (20.32 cm) cake pans on 2 racks placed in the middle of the oven. Half way through the baking process, switch the cakes to the other racks to be sure they cook evenly.
For a dairy-free cake, use melted ghee or coconut oil in place of butter. My dairy-free, Sugar-Free Buttercream works very well in place of the cream cheese frosting!
- 1/2 cup plus 2 Tablespoons stevia blend OR Truvia (if you eat sugar, 1 cup pure cane sugar works)
- 8 Tablespoons melted butter, ghee, or coconut oil
- 4 large eggs, room temperature
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup (1.9 oz, 54g) sifted coconut flour
- ¼ cup (0.8 oz, 22g) gluten-free oat flour, spooned and leveled into cup
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon OR pumpkin pie spice
- 1/2 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder
- 2 cups (7.4 oz, 208g) finely grated carrot, packed gently into cup
- 1 teaspoon vinegar
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 Tablespoons xylitol (for a boost of sweetness)
- 2 teaspoons blackstrap molasses (for a richer looking cake)
- ½ cup finely chopped walnuts
- Preheat oven to 350 degree F.
- Grease 2-9 inch round cake pan, or 16 cupcake liners with grapeseed oil cooking spray or melted butter. Sift a little oat flour on the inside of the cake pan to ensure that the cake comes out easily.
- Wash peel, and grate carrots. Be sure to use a grater with fine holes so that the carrot shreds are small enough to cook through!
- Place carrots shreds in a tea towel, and fold tea towel on itself into layers. With clean hands (or clean feet!) wring or step on tea towel to extract moisture from the carrot shreds.I like to dance on top of the tea towel to get in a quick workout! Set aside carrot shreds.
- Using a hand blender, beat together butter, sweetener blend, and xylitol for 2-3 minutes, or until butter is light and fluffy. Scrape around edges of blender bowl with spatula.
- In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together dry ingredients (excluding the carrots). Crack your 4 eggs into a glass measuring cup.
- Turn on hand mixer and start alternating between beating in the eggs and dry ingredients. Mix in an egg, then mix in a little bit of the dry ingredients. Keep adding eggs and dry ingredients until batter is just beaten together, smooth and free of lumps.
- Beat in carrots, vinegar, and baking soda.
- Scrape into 2 cake pans, smoothing the top of the batter with your spatula.
- Gently rap cake pans on a towel lined counter to pop any air bubbles in the batter.
- Bake cake pans on the middle rack for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Cool the cakes for 10 minutes. Run a skinny knife around the edges, then invert cakes onto a cutting board or cookie sheet.
- Frost with Sugar-Free Cream Cheese Frosting and stack layers.
- Store in fridge, wrapped in plastic wrap for up to one week (if it lasts that long!).
- Per Serving: 216 Calories; 17g Fat; 5g Protein; 11g Carbohydrate; 4g Dietary Fiber; 106mg Cholesterol; 148mg Sodium.
Here’s my fluffy, Sugar-Free Cream Cheese Frosting recipe. The secret ingredient that takes the place of sugar and makes it so fluffy is coconut milk powder! Check your local Target or Asian grocery store to find the packets. This post has much more info about this magical, frosting-enhancing ingredient!
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup coconut milk powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup homemade stevia blend OR Truvia, powdered
- 2 teaspoons xylitol, powdered*
- Leave cream cheese and butter out on counter to come to room temperature.
- Add butter with knife (doesn’t have to be exact) and add to bowl along with cream cheese.
- Beat together with a hand mixer until smooth and fluffy.
- Add in powdered sweeteners and vanilla.
- Beat until smooth and fluffy (30 seconds to one minute), until sweeteners are dissolved and no longer gritty feeling.
- Beat in coconut milk powder.
- Taste, and add more sweetener if necessary.
- Use immediately, or store in a plasticware container for up to 1 week.
- *The small amount of xylitol helps the frosting from becoming gritty, but you can leave it out and still have a tasty batch!
What sugar-free treat are you serving up at your Easter table? Leave a comment and share your ideas, please! Hope you have a blessed day full of good food and good company. 