This Gluten Free Carrot Cake Recipe is so moist and tender, you'll want to make it every Easter. And even outside of the spring holiday, just because.
Classic carrot cake spices like cinnamon and ginger, a homemade luscious cream cheese icing, and zested (instead of grated) carrots is what makes this Gluten Free Carrot Cake so darn good.
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Looking for More Gluten Free Desserts?
- Carrot Cake Muffins with Cream Cheese Filling - Gluten Free- Carrot cake for breakfast? I think yes!
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- Gluten Free Brownie Recipe - Easy Chewy, Fudgy Brownies
- Gluten Free Fruit Pizza - Mini Fruit Pizza Recipe
- Chocolate Pudding Pie with Gluten Free Pie Crust Recipe
- The Best No Bake Cheesecake Recipe - Vanilla Bean with Gluten Free Graham Cracker Crust
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- Strawberry Cream Cheese Icing for Cake | Easy, Gluten Free - If you love cream cheese icing, you'll love this strawberry cream cheese icing!
- Gluten Free Strawberry Shortcake - Homemade Whipped Cream Recipe
Why is this the Best Gluten Free Carrot Cake Recipe?
- This recipe uses the zest of carrots, rather than grating them. Not only does this take away the whole biting-into-a-carrot thing, but it's also the secret behind why this gluten-free cake is so moist. The zest of the carrots combines with the crumb of the cake, making it so you won't even notice it's there. (Now, if you're a fan of that crunchy carrot bite in your cake, that's fine. You can simply zest half of the carrots and leave the other half grated. Your kids might hate you, though.)
- It has all of the wonderful flavors of carrot cake. I use a lot of the classic warm spices that make life feel cozy. Cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice, and clove. Trust me, the spice mix is perfectly balanced.
- It's topped with homemade cream cheese icing, AKA the best kind of icing there is. Tangy, sweet, and lusciously creamy.
Ingredients for this Gluten Free Carrot Cake Recipe:
(dry ingredients)
- High quality gluten-free all purpose flour containing xanthan gum. I used Bob's Red Mill GF 1:1 Baking Flour (the blue bag).
- Light brown sugar
- Granulated sugar, or coconut sugar. This cake works SO well with coconut sugar!
- Baking soda
- Baking powder
- Ground cinnamon
- Ground allspice
- Freshly grated whole nutmeg, or ground nutmeg
- Ginger
- Ground cloves
- Salt
- Chopped walnuts or pecans or raisins, optional
(wet ingredients)
- Eggs
- Vegetable oil, or other neutral-flavored oil
- Greek yogurt
- Pure vanilla extract
- Zested carrots
For the Cream Cheese Icing:
- Cream cheese
- Butter
- Pure vanilla extract
- Milk
- Powdered sugar
Gluten Free Carrot Cake Recipe:
- Preheat the oven to 350 F with the rack positioned in the center. Grease two 9-inch round cake pans with butter, nonstick cooking spray, or line with parchment paper cut into circles. Alternatively, you can use a 9x13 cake pan or a cupcake tray.
- In a large mixing bowl or bowl of a stand-mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the sugar and eggs together. Add in the vanilla, yogurt, and oil, and beat until just combined.
- In a medium mixing bowl, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and all of the spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, and allspice). Whisk until evenly distributed. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, and beat until just combined. Do not overmix - it's okay to have a few flour spots at this point.
- Stir in the zested carrots, and fold in the chopped nuts and/or raisins.
- Pour the cake batter evenly into the prepared cake pans and bake for 25-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes before setting the cake layers on a wire cooling rack.
- For the Cream Cheese Icing: Beat room temperature cream cheese and butter with vanilla extract in a large bowl until fluffy. Add in the powdered sugar one cup at a time. Beat in 1-2 teaspoons of milk until the icing reaches your desired consistency.
- To Assemble: Frost your layer cake by placing one of the layers on a cake plate and frosting or piping the top. Place the second layer over top and frost the top and sides until smooth. Decorate with more chopped nuts and shavings of carrot.
- Enjoy!
When to Serve Gluten Free Carrot Cake:
You can make this Gluten Free Carrot Cake Recipe any time of year, but I especially love it for Easter. It's also lovely in the Fall because of all the warm spices like nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice, and ground cloves.
To make this recipe more party-friendly, you can easily turn the gluten free carrot cake into cupcakes or a sheet pan cake. Follow all instructions as normal, except for the baking time portion.
- For a 9x13 sheet pan: Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes, or until cooked through in the center and lightly browned. Do not overcook or you will dry out the crumb of the cake.
- For cupcakes: Bake at 350 for 18-22 minutes, or until cooked in the center and lightly browned.
Equipment
You don't need any special equipment to make this Gluten Free Carrot Cake Recipe, but I recommend:
- A handheld electric mixer or a stand-mixer
- Silicone spatulas
- You'll need a zester grater in order to zest the carrots, or a regular grater if you want to keep them chunky.
- You can use 9-inch round cake pans or a 9x13 pan or a cupcake tray and silicone cupcake liners.
Notes on this Gluten Free Carrot Cake Recipe:
- Zest your carrots, *don't* grate them if you want it to be like they're not even there. Also makes for a moister cake. If you like biting into carrots, zest half of the carrots and leave the other half grated. Tip: Do not pack down the zested carrots in the measuring cup.
- I grated the whole nutmeg fresh. Whole nutmeg tends to have a more potent flavor and be more aromatic than ground nutmeg. If you don't have fresh whole nutmeg, don't feel the need to rush out to buy it. I've made this recipe with ground nutmeg and it's just as good!
- While I prefer to make a simple carrot cake, feel free to add in (or top the cake with) your favorite fixings such as raisins and coconut. Keep in mind that adding wet ingredients such as crushed pineapple will affect the final texture of the cake.
Do You Have to Refrigerate Gluten Free Carrot Cake?
Yes! Fresh cream cheese frosting should always be refrigerated. Plus, this cake tastes amazing cold. The icing gets a nice firm, crisp shell but stays smooth and creamy underneath. I could eat the icing all by itself. I always lick the beaters clean.
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Best Gluten Free Carrot Cake Recipe with Cream Cheese Icing
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Yield: 10 slices
This gluten-free carrot cake recipe turns out perfectly moist and fluffy. Zested carrots combine with the crumb, making them undetectable. The perfect balance of spices such as nutmeg, cinnamon, clove, and allspice. Topped with homemade cream cheese icing.
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Equipment
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients:
- 2 cups high quality gluten-free all-purpose flour containing xanthan gum* I used Bob's Red Mill GF 1:1 Baking Flour (the blue bag)
- 1 cup granulated sugar or golden coconut sugar
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
- ¼ teaspoon ginger
- ¼ teaspoon freshly grated whole nutmeg or ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ cup chopped walnuts, pecans, or raisins
Wet Ingredients:
- 4 large eggs
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- ½ cup Greek yogurt
- 2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup freshly zested carrots (about 2-3 medium-sized carrots) or sub ½ cup zested carrots + ½ cup grated carrots
For the Homemade Cream Cheese Icing:
- 8 oz. cream cheese room temp
- 1 stick butter room temp
- 2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1-2 teaspoon milk I use almond milk
- 4 ½ cups powdered sugar
Instructions
- Zest carrots and set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 350 F with the rack positioned in the center. Grease two 9-inch round cake pans with butter, nonstick cooking spray, or line with parchment paper cut into circles. Alternatively, you can use a 9x13 cake pan or a cupcake tray.
- In a large mixing bowl or bowl of a stand-mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the sugar and eggs together.1 cup granulated sugar, ½ cup light brown sugar, 4 large eggs
- Add in the vanilla, oil, and yogurt, and beat until just combined.½ cup Greek yogurt, 2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, ½ cup vegetable oil
- In a medium mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients. Whisk until combined. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, and beat until just combined.2 cups high quality gluten-free all-purpose flour containing xanthan gum*, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon salt, 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon ground allspice, ¼ teaspoon ginger, ¼ teaspoon freshly grated whole nutmeg or ground nutmeg, ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- Stir in the zested carrots, and fold in the chopped nuts and/or raisins.1 cup freshly zested carrots (about 2-3 medium-sized carrots), ½ cup chopped walnuts, pecans, or raisins
- Pour the cake batter evenly into the prepared cake pans and bake for 25-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes before setting the cake layers on a wire cooling rack.
- For the Cream Cheese Icing: Beat room temperature cream cheese and butter with vanilla extract in a large bowl until fluffy. Add in the powdered sugar one cup at a time. Beat in 1-2 teaspoons of milk until the icing reaches your desired consistency.8 oz. cream cheese, 1 stick butter, 2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, 1-2 teaspoon milk, 4 ½ cups powdered sugar
- To Assemble: Frost your layer cake by placing one of the layers on a cake plate and frosting or piping the top. Place the second layer over top and frost the top and sides until smooth. Decorate with more chopped nuts and shavings of carrot.
- Enjoy!
Notes
*I always avoid using gluten-free flour that contains ingredients such as chickpea/garbanzo bean flour, pea protein, or lentil flour in desserts. It can leave a strange aftertaste.
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