Guys. This is probably my second favorite thing I've ever made that I've posted on this blog, sitting pretty right behind my Peanut Butter and Jelly Pie. My amazing friend was stopping for dinner as her and her sister were driving through on their way home to Ohio after visiting family in Georgia. She's one of the people I care about who has a gluten allergy, which is why I occasionally try to master some gluten free recipies when I bake so everyone can have some delicious options!
I'd never made a carrot cake before. My dad has never been a fan of carrots so a dessert featuring that vegetable has never made an appearance in my home growing up. However, I love the flavors of it and figured it was high time to try it out. My main goal, however, was to make sure it was gluten free. I went to the store, grabbed some almond flour and double checked that the rest of the ingredients I was going to use were good to go, then set to the task at hand. You would never guess that the end result was gluten free. This cake is lucious, moist, full of flavor and texture, and is "eyes-roll-back-into-your-head" kind of delicious. The sweet cream cheese frosting balances out the spices in the cake perfectly, delivering a symphany of flavor notes that force your fork back for more. Gluten free or not, this cake delivers and although I talked it up, you have to try it for yourself!
Servings: 12
Prep Time: 15 min
Total Time: 1 hr 5 min
INGREDIENTS:
The Cake...
3 cups almond flour
1 cup sugar
1 Tbsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp baking soda
3 tsp cream of tartar
Pinch of salt
5 eggs
1/2 cup butter, melted, but not hot (let sit on the counter 5 minutes prior to adding it to the batter)
1/2 cup greek yogurt
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups shredded carrots
1 cup toasted coconut
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (plus a little more if you want to use some for garnish)
Cream Cheese Frosting...
16 oz cream cheese (2 packages), softened
4 Tbsp butter, softened
3 cups powdered sugar
2 tsp vanilla
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease a 9 inch cake pan (I like to use a spring-form pan for easy release) and line the bottom with parchment paper.
In a large bowl with a stand mixer, mix eggs, greek yogurt, and vanilla. Slowly pour the melted butter into the bowl with the mixer on low speed.
Once all the wet ingredients are incorporated, with the mixer still on low, add the almond flour, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt.
Once all the ingredients are combined, fold in the carrots, coconut, and walnuts.
Pour the batter into your prepared cake pan and tap it on the counter a few times to level it out. Bake for 35-40 minutes.
Once baked, let the cake cool in the pan for 25 minutes, then remove the cake to a plate or serving platter and allow to cool in the refrigerator while you make the frosting.
Combine all the ingredients for the frosting using a stand mixer or hand mixer and blend until smooth with no lumps.
To assemble the cake, I like to just spread the frosting on the top and let the frosting drip down the sides, but you can definitely cut the cake in half and do multiple layers with the cream cheese in the middle too, then frost the entire thing. Garnish with leftover chopped walnuts!
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