My Healthy Carrot Cake
I love using ground almonds, quinoa and linseeds (flaxseeds) and chia when baking gluten free cakes. Almonds top the list because they make any cake or muffin so delicious and moist, plus they are packed with protein to help your body repair. Red and yellow vegetables such as carrots contains vitamin A precursers called carotenoids (Beta carotene) that help promote vision and support a healthy immune system. I’ve used macadamia nut oil in place of butter which is a delicious source of anti-inflamatory heart healthy fats, you can also use a mild flavoured olive oil. I’ve topped my cake with a good quality thick bio yoghurt and decorated with omega 3 rich walnuts. Enjoy!
500 g (3 large) grated carrots
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg
3 cups (300 g) almond meal
¼ cup (60 ml) macadamia nut oil or your choice or cold pressed coconut oil or quality butter
¼ cup (160 g) organic maple syrup or honey
1 cup raisins
2 teaspoons gluten free baking powder
Preheat your oven to 160 C.
Combine carrot, eggs, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, almond meal, oil, honey, raisins and baking powder.
Mix well until combined.
Pour into a prepared 20 cm baking tin.
Bake for 1 – 1½ hours or until cooked through.
Cover if necessary with foil.
Remove from the oven and cool completely in the tin then turn out.
Serve alone or topped with thick natural yoghurt or topping of your choice.
Keeps in the fridge for up to 5 days – it freezes well too!
Serves 16.
Nutrition per serve
Protein: 5.7 g
Carbs: 17 g
Sugars: 16 g
Total fat: 15 g
Saturated: 1.6 g
Fibre: 3 g
Kilojoules: 942
Calories: 225
Topping suggestions:
I’ve used thick natural organic yoghurt for my topping, you can also use the following:
1 whipped ricotta with a little cinnamon, vanilla and honey.
2 A dairy free cream made from 1 cup of raw cashew nuts or macadamias blended with 1/2 cup of water or orange juice and a little vanilla. Blend in a good quality blender like a vitamix until smooth and creamy. Allow to sit in the fridge for 30 minutes to thicken slightly Add a touch more water if you need to thin it down a little.
3 Neutachafel cheese blended with a little lemon, vanilla + honey.
Contact Teresa Cutter
Hi,
Do you think you could use melted coconut oil in this cake? My olive oil is a bit too tasty to put in and I don’t have any macadamia oil! :)
Yes you can. :)
Hi Teresa! Thanks so much for this recipe, I love Carrot Cake!! Just wondering if I use Quinoa Flour instead of the Almond Flour/Meal in this recipe do I use the same amount – 300g? Can’t wait to go home and whip it up, I always have plenty of carrots in the fridge. Thanks so much for sharing! Em x
Quinoa flour is great and it will work, however I have not tested it, so quantity will be different due to moisture content and density of the flour. :)
Yes you can. quinoa flour will need adjusting as properties of both flours are very different.
Yummy with the weather looking the way it is (where is summer?!) I have been craving something like bananabread/ carrotcake – this is perfect! Although… looks like I’ll be making a PURPLE carrot-cake-cup-cakes to take out to uni with me owing to the abundance of organic purple carrots in my fridge! Hahaha. Definitely a conversation starter : )
WOW ! that’s great – love it. You’ve inspired me to make a purple one too ! :)
Teresa, I just LOVE all of your recipes!!
I make them religiously & this one will undoubtedly be a winner too! Can’t wait to get my baking-on!! :D
Do you have a suggestion for a dairy free topping instead of the yoghurt?
Combine 1 cup of raw cashew nuts or macadamias with 1/2 cup of water or orange juice and a little vanilla. Blend in a good quality blender like a vitamix until smooth and creamy. Allow to sit in the fridge for 30 minutes to thicken slightly Add a touch more water if you need to thin it down a little. Serve + Enjoy
Would I be able to substitute egg whites for all (or a portion) of the eggs to reduce cholesterol?
Yes you can Joanne. 2 egg whites = 1 egg. xx
Yay T – excited for this one xxxx :)
Hi Teresa,
Do you use a mixer to combine your ingredients.?
I use my hands, don’t need a mixer :) it’s an easy one bowl cake :)
Another great cake for the kids lunch boxes – thanks
Sounds wonderful. Can it be frozen? or how many days ahead can it be made before eaten?
Yes you can freeze it. keeps for 5 days in the fridge. :)
This was delicious no need for any topping, keeps very well. I made it Sunday still very moist 4 days later, yum
I am going to make this today but I am going to attempt muffins instead of a cake :)
how do I modify this recipe to make it egg free?
I just want to say thank you so much for this recipe. I developed a dairy intolerance at the beginning of the year and I’ve been so down as dairy is my favourite thing to eat and I’ve been missing chocolate and milk especially.I’ve made this cake twice now, the second time I added apple, and it is just delicious and filling and so easy to make, and my mum loves it and she is not a cake lover normally, so a huge thank you and I look forward to trying out your other dairy free recipes.
This is great. Very yum and moist…
This cake is divine! My husband made it into muffins the other day and it’s so tasty & moist! Thanks Teresa!
I made the cake yesterday and the topping ( low fat cream cheese, stevia, lemon rind and honey blended together) today, it’s lovely, filling and not overly sweet. Another great recipe Teresa!
Awesome recipe! I have made this a couple of times already and can’t believe how moist and sweet it is. This will be a regular in our house. Thanks Theresa for such a fantastic recipe!!!
Hi Teresa,
My son hated carrot cake until I made your healthy carrot cake. It is so much better without wheat. A moist delicious carrot cake.
Can I add walnuts? Would the nuts sink to the bottom? And how much?
Sandra
Hey Teresa,
I am an Aussie who has recently discovered you and Im loving your recipes! I’m living in Israel and cant find Almond Meal! Im using Quinoa Flour but am having trouble with the quantities. is there a general rule for replacing almond meal with quinoa flour..ie how much? Maybe you have another suggestion for a flour to substitute with too?
Thanks so much!
Love
Carlie
Hey Carlie – use another nut meal…hazelnut, pistashio are all great with this or you can make your own by grinding whole almonds. Quinoa flour is so very different, so I can’t give you exact amounts. So glad you love the recipes. :)
Wowsers! I made this today and it’s definitely up there with awesome carrot cakes of the world, and I’d go so far as to say it’s gotta be healthier than probably any other carrot cake I’ve ever tried. It took me 4 big carrots to get the required 500g and I had to use sultanas as I had no raisins on hand. Yumm-o!
Hi Teresa,
Just wondering if I could add some pineapple to this cake to make it a touch sweeter? Do you think that would make the recipe too gluggy/moist.
Thanks,
Chez
Cheska – it doesn’t need to be sweeter. no pineapple it will be too wet. :)
Love your recipes Teresa! Could I substitute dates for the raisins in this recipe? Also, will you be opening up another cafe or associated with another cafe soon? I would love to try some of your recipes when you do!
Thanks, Jane
Hey Jane – yes you sure can – raisins will be awesome ! Well you’ll soon be able to enjoy all the favourites from my cafe at home! Watch out for my new product range It will be pretty awesome ! :) xx
Can anyone tell me where to get bulk almond meal or almond flour or almonds that don’t cost the earth??? I live on the Mornington Peninsula in melbourne. Thanks :)
You can buy almond meal in bulk from http://2brothersfoods.com – very reasonable postage charges…
Hi Meaghan,
It’s not that close to you, but the South Melbourne market has a nut stall which sells almond meal for about $13 per kilo from memory (the stall on the outside of the market not the inside).
Cheers,
Hayley
Hi, just wondering if someone could suggest how long I should cool this for if I made the mixture into muffins?
Thanks :)
Oops I meant cook not cool!
Hi Hayley,
I made this today and did 4 muffins and the cake as had extra mixture – the muffins took about 40 mins. But I would check from 30 mins on as my oven is not always reliable!
Teresa, I love all your recipes!! I’m always converting old recipes to a healthier version and today I made this cake as I’ve gone paleo with dairy and this cake hit the spot for a treat!! I made muffins and used some coconut flour with almond meal and coconut oil. I also added walnuts and pecans and a few handfuls of seeds. Now I can have my cake and eat it too!
I made this for my parents the other day. Big Hit!!!! Thank you.
Hey – I made this cake and it’s really good. Great recipe. Thanks!
WOW, had this today for my birthday lunch and it was a hit! everyone asked for the recipe!!! thank you so much for a delicious moist cake! i just wish it wasn’t so addictive… i keep going back for more! haha
HAPPY BIRTHDAY CAITLIN :) xxx
This looks amazing. All your recipes are so fantastic. I just moved out of home to do an exchange semester in the UK, and trying not to get stuck in the “pasta/toast/cereal/frozen meal” rut most of my flatmates are in. So I find your website very inspiring! Quick question, could I reduce the amount of ground almonds to substitute for some oat bran or rolled oats for a bit of texture?
Thank you! x
I cant remembered the last time i ate cake! I’ve already planned on making carrot muffins this week… hopefully that way it will be easier to stop at one.. it just tastes so good!
I printed off your blueberry muffins, apple cake and carrot cake recipe for people, they really appreciated it! x
love carrot cake and will be making tomorrow,
but can you put walnut in it?
Teresa, hi
You mentioned using quinoa and chia. What would the quantities be and would they replace other ingredients?
Can I use Macadamia spread, (contains 90% Macadamea and 10% Cashew)
Thanks Teresa for such a wonderful and inspiring recipes. x
Hi Teresa,
Just wondering if the calorie count per serve is with or without the icing? I LOVE this cake without the topping, so just wondering if it’s even less calories?!
Thanks
Calories are without icing Tracey :) x
I made these today as muffins and YUMMY!!!!! And as I didn’t have the ingredients for the icing (and I have a slight obsession with pecans at the moment lol), I crushed up pecans and sprinkled them on top before putting them in the oven- holy moly made them twice as delicious!
Hi Teresa,
My daughter can’t eat nuts, so that makes a lot of your recipes an issue.
Can I swap equal quantities of almond flour for another flour like spelt or laucke?
I am not sure if it works the same, and was wanting to make it for orthodox christmas next week.
Have just been told about your fabulous website and was so keen to ‘get started’ I made the carrot cake. Didn’t have any almond flour so swapped with the same amopunt of rice flour but I suspect 300gr might be overkill…it’s looking rather dry. I’ll keep trying!! Thank you for being you!!
Hi Teresa,
I noticed above the mention about using Quinoa flour and adjusting the quantities. Instead of 3 cups of almond meal what quantity of quinoa would I use? would also love some more quinoa recipes….maybe quinoa fritters?
many thanks for all your fabulous recipes!
Best wishes
Sussan
Hi Teresa,
Your website is just what I have been looking for – a wealth of ideas on how to feed your family without filling them with junk!
Regarding this carrot cake recipe, my son has a nut allergy – what would you recommend substituting for the almond meal?
Many thanks,
Kate
Hi Kate – Either wholemeal spelt flour or coconut flour if gluten free would be perfect. Amounts will vary – they will need some testing :)
Hi Theresa
I made this recipe into muffins yesterday – so we can freeze for grab and go lunch fillers. The only other difference was that I only had 150 g almond meal left, so substituted by using 150 g spelt flour with the almond meal. I will definitely be making this into a cake soon!
I am pretty sure Carrot Cake was the reason I was put on this earth.
Hey
Is it possible to use maple syrup or rice malt syrup instead of honey?? :)
YES it is :)
Hi Teresa,
This cake looks fantastic! I want to make this as a birthday cake for my friend who is doing a completely sugar/fruit free diet, i.e. no maple syrup/honey etc and no raisins! Could I substitute xylitol for the syrup, and if I do, would I add another egg, or more oil?
Cheers,
Alisa
Hi!
I’m 11 years old and I want to make this cake for my class at school. I’m in year 7 so please don’t think of me as a little kid! Anyway, I would like to know if I could use flour instead of almond meal? If not, could you put in some different examples of what I could use?
Thanks, Janani.
Hi again
I was actually just looking through the comments and found out that I can use Wholemeal flour now (stupid me!). But now I have different questions. Firstly, can I use self raising wholemeal flour instead or will that ruin the cake? Also, can I use anything else than raisins because I really hate them in cakes? Sorry if you think I’m a weirdo since I hate them but I really want to make this cake.
Thankyou so much for your help! From Janani.
Sorry I don’t to bug you anymore but I have 1 more question. Could I use cloves instead of nutmeg?
Made with 11 yr old easy and far too tasty!! Finally a carrot cake To be happy to feed
Kids!!! thanks
I’m giving this cake a whirl, its in the oven, fingers crossed I have done mine right and it looks and tastes as amazing as yours. I am going to try a ricotta and lime icing, hopefully it will work, what would go good with the lime that would add sweetness??
hi teresa
do you think if i added some walnuts(1/4c) and crushed pineapple (1/2C), i would need to up to almond meal? any idea how much? I was thinking 1/4c
Hi, thanks for posting this recipe =)
I made this cake with 2/3 almond flour and 1/3 hazelnut flour and coconut oil. However I only had 400g of carrots and an extra 50g of hazelnut meal… I hope it turns out ok. It smells delicious. Do u think this cake will turn out ok if I use oat flour next time round?
Wow! I baked these as mini muffins and my two and four year old devoured them. I have never seen food disappear so fast. Thanks for the yummy recipe. There goes the four year old for another one…
It looks so good..look forward to trying soon! Just wondering if it’s possible to use Grapeseed oil as an alternative? thanks :)
Can you omit the raisins?
Hi Teresa – I wonder if you had a supplier if bulk/affordable grains and flours such as almond meal?
Wowee! So far I’ve had two comments from family members saying “Best carrot cake ever”. And then my husband went one further “No, it’s the best cake ever”. And it is such an easy, one bowl cake to mix up. Thanks so much, Teresa!