Soft & Fluffy Almond Flour Carrot Cake
Soft & Fluffy Almond Flour Carrot Cake is packed with coconut, raisins, pecans, spices. Made with almond flour and coconut oil, this a great grain free, gluten free, and dairy free option. Topped with a delicious cream cheese frosting that can easily be made dairy-free, this is the best moist carrot cake you’ll ever eat!
Ingredients
Cake
- 5 large eggs room temperature
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 3 cups almond flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
- ½ teaspoon allspice
- ½ cup coconut oil melted and cooled
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 large carrots peeled and grated
- 1 cup shredded sweetened coconut
- 1 cup rough chopped pecans toasted
- ½ cup raisins
Frosting
- 1 pound cream cheese (2 8-ounce packages) room temperature
- 1 ½ sticks unsalted butter (12 tablespoons) room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 ½ cups powdered sugar
Instructions
For the Cake
- Preheat your oven to 375°. Line the bottom of two 8” round cake pans with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a small saute pan, toast pecans over low heat until lightly browned and you begin to smell the pecans, about 5 minutes. Allow to cool slightly. Using a box grater or food processor with a grating blade attachment, grate carrots into a large bowl. Place carrots onto paper towels and squeeze to remove excess liquid. Add carrots back to bowl, along with shredded coconut, raisins, and toasted pecans.
- In another large bowl or the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine eggs, brown sugar, and almond flour. Mix on low to combine, then increase the speed to high and whip the egg mixture until lighter in color and doubled in volume, about 5-7 minutes. The batter should fall back on itself in a ribbon when the paddle attachment is lifted.
- While the batter is mixing, combine salt, baking soda, and spices in a small bowl. With the mixer on medium speed, add the spice mixture one tablespoon at a time. Next, stream in the cooled coconut oil and vanilla down the side of the bowl. I like to add the vanilla to the same liquid measuring cup as the coconut oil so I can add them both at the same time.
- Pour the batter into the large bowl with the carrots, raisins, pecans, and coconut. Fold the batter into the mix-ins until just combined.
- Pour finished batter into the prepared cake pans and bake for 25 minutes, or until the cakes are lightly golden brown, spring back to the touch, and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Allow cakes to cool in the pans for 5 minutes, then invert on to a wire rack. Remove parchment paper from cakes and then place on another rack, top-side up, to cool completely. I like to place the other cooling rack on the bottom the cakes and then flip it together. That way I don’t break or crack the cakes while they’re still hot and fragile.
For the Cream Cheese Frosting
- Add softened cream cheese and butter to a large bowl or the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat butter and cream cheese on low to combine. Slowly add powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time. Add vanilla and mix until just combined.
Assembly
- On a cake stand or large plate, place one of the cakes bottom-side up. Add about 1 cup of cream cheese frosting and spread evenly on the top (which is really the bottom) of the cake.
- Place the other cake on top, top-side up. Add remaining cream cheese frosting to top and sides of cake, spreading evenly. Decorate with chopped pecans or as desired. Cake can be made 3 days ahead of time. Allow cream cheese frosting to set at room temperature, then cover and chill to store.
Notes
- If you don’t have cardamom, add 1 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon and 3/4 teaspoon nutmeg to the batter instead of 1 teaspoon cinnamon and 1 teaspoon cardamom. Add the same amount of ginger and allspice the recipe calls for.
- To make the frosting dairy free like the cake, substitute dairy free cream cheese such as Kite Hill and Earth Balance vegan butter.