Enjoy our keto carrot made with almond flour, pecans and coconut is slathered with a sugar-free cream cheese frosting. A delicious moist cake with a soft texture and warm flavors.
This low carb carrot cake only takes 15 minutes as we bake the gluten-free cake in a rectangle cake tin which is then sliced into 3 pieces to assemble a layer cake.
This cake achieves a perfect balance of tender crumb and rich flavor, enhanced by a mix of warm spices like cinnamon and nutmeg. The natural sweetness of finely grated carrots adds depth and moisture, while a generous spread of silky, keto-friendly cream cheese frosting crowns the creation, offering a luscious finish that's hard to resist
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Are carrots keto friendly?
Carrots can be included in a ketogenic diet, but in moderation. They contain natural sugars and carbohydrates, which means they have a higher carb content than many other vegetables. However, when consumed in small amounts, they can fit within the carb limits of a keto diet.
- Raw Carrots: A medium-sized carrot (about 61 grams) contains approximately 6 grams of total carbohydrates and 1.7 grams of fiber, netting around 4.3 grams of net carbs.
- Cooked Carrots: Cooking carrots can change their nutritional content slightly. A half-cup serving of cooked, sliced carrots (about 78 grams) has about 6.5 grams of total carbohydrates and 2.3 grams of fiber, resulting in approximately 4.2 grams of net carbs.
Ingredients
Turn a traditional carrot cake into a low carb one by substituting just a few ingredients.
- Almond flour - finely ground almond flour. We have not tried this with coconut flour.
- Carrots - peeled and grated.
- Sweetener - we used brown monk fruit sweetener for the cake and allulose for the frosting. Any other low carb sweetener can be used too.
- Coconut - unsweetened coconut flakes.
- Pecans - toasted for extra flavor. Substitute the pecans with walnuts.
- Almond milk - this can be substituted with coconut milk.
- Spices - we used a mix of cinnamon, ground ginger and nutmeg.
- Frosting - for the cream cheese frosting we use cream cheese, sweetener, butter and sour cream.
How to make keto carrot cake
Although we baked this keto carrot cake recipe in a rectangle cake tin, you could bake it in a circular cake tin.
Mix the cake ingredients in a bowl.
Stir in the carrots and chopped pecans.
Pour the cake mixture into a 13 x 9 tin.
Cool and cut into 3, then smother with the keto cream cheese frosting and assemble.
Storage
As the sugar free carrot cake has a frosting, it needs to be stored in the fridge. Place the cake in an airtight container and it should last up to 5 days. Before serving, you might want to let it sit out for a short period to come to room temperature, as some flavors are more pronounced when not served cold.
Recipe Tips
Don't skimp on the spices. Cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger can help elevate the flavor of your carrot cake, making it taste more authentic without adding extra carbs.
Be patient and let your cake cool completely before applying the frosting. A warm cake can cause the frosting to melt, leading to a messy finish.
Toast the pecans before using for an extra depth of flavor.
Turn this recipe into muffins by spooning the carrot cake batter into a lined muffin tin, although you will need to half the cream cheese frosting.
Keto Cake Recipes
If you enjoy a low carb cake, try one of these recipes:
Try our carrot pupcakes recipe for your furry ones too!
Keto Carrot Cake
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Ingredients
Cake
- 2 cups almond flour
- 4 large eggs
- ½ cup butter, melted
- 1 cup grated carrot
- ¾ cup brown monk fruit sweetener or other low carb sweetener
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup unsweetened coconut flakes
- ½ cup toasted pecans
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ cup almond milk
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon Nutmeg, ground
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ginger, ground
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 8 oz cream cheese softened
- ½ cup allulose or other low carb sweetener
- 4 tablespoons butter softened
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon sour cream
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C/350F degrees and line a 13 x 9 inch baking tin with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, mix together the almond flour, brown sweetener, coconut, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg.
- In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, melted butter, almond milk and vanilla extract. Stir this mixture into the dry ingredients until well combined. Fold in the grated carrots and pecan nuts
- Pour the mixture into the prepared baking tin and bake for 15 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the baking tin for about 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Make the Frosting
- While the cake cools, beat together the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add the allulose, vanilla extract and sour cream. Beat until creamy and spreadable.
Assemble
- Cut the sponge into 3 equal pieces and spread a layer of frosting on each piece. Layers the pieces on top of each other and sprinkle with chopped pecans on top to serve.
Notes
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator.
