Wheat-based cakes *wish* they could be as moist, tender, and floofy as this almond flour carrot cake. Made with 1 bowl and 12 ingredients in 45 minutes.
Bake this grain-free dairy-free snacking cake in a square pan and finish it with cream cheese frosting for an anytime treat. Free of gluten, grains, dairy, and refined sugar – though you'd never know it.
This almond flour carrot cake has been years in the making. It started with this gluten-free carrot cake made with oat flour that I developed in 2016 for GFF (Gluten-Free Forever) Magazine. Struggling to get the tender yet sturdy texture I craved, I experimented with adding an additional egg where there would normally be a small amount of dairy such as buttermilk. Like magic, the batter poofed in the oven, set beautifully, and turned out the most addictive texture of any cake I'd ever had.
Today I'm turning that reader-favorite formula paleo with a few simple ingredient swaps. Coconut sugar stands in for white sugar. Cassava flour and extra almond flour take the place of grain flours. And paleo cream cheese frosting (or honey cream cheese frosting, shown here) graces the top in silky swoops and swirls of deliciousness.
You're going to swoon for the cozy flavor and gorgeous texture of this almond flour carrot cake just like this happy baker:
Amazing recipe!
“Thank you for putting out such amazing recipes that are true & tested. I made it with unrefined coconut oil and it came out really floofy & moist. ”
—Luna
This paleo almond flour carrot cake is:
- addictively moist
- tender, floofy, and springy
- balanced – just sweet enough
- loaded with finely grated carrots
- and ideal vehicle for tangy frosting (see below for options!)
- free of dairy, grains, gluten, and refined sugar
Ingredients & Substitution Suggestions
This almond flour carrot cake is made with a handful of easy to find ingredients that keep it grain-free and dairy-free.
Flours
A trio of flours – including almond flour – give this cake the most addictively moist and springy texture.
- Almond flour adds structure and tenderness. I use blanched almond flour, but almond meal should work just as well.
- Cassava flour adds lightness.
- Tapioca flour fluffs up the cake batter and makes is pillow-soft. Arrowroot flour can be subbed.
Other Key Ingredients
- Carrots make the cake golden and super moist. I tested this with super-sweet ones from my farmers market. Look for medium-sized carrots that are bright orange, crunchy, and flavorful, preferably with greens still attached for the freshest carrots.
- Oil makes the cake deliciously moist. Mild olive oil works well and is paleo; otherwise, a neutral oil such as sunflower or grapeseed give the cake a classic flavor.
- Coconut sugar or maple sugar sweeten the cake and keep it refined sugar-free. I like using half of each sugar. If you're good with sugar, feel free to use white or brown sugar here instead.
Method
I've streamlined this almond flour carrot cake recipe as much as possible to make it super simple to put together. It takes about 15 minutes of active time, 30 minutes in the oven, and an hour or so to let the cake cool before adding the topping.
This recipe makes one 8x8-inch square snacking cake or 12 cupcakes. For a layer cake or sheet cake, double the recipe and divide the batter between two 9-inch round pans, three 8-inch round pans, or one 9x12-inch baking pan.
The Icing on the Carrot Cake
Here are some favorite carrot cake toppings, including dairy-free and paleo options:
- Paleo Cream Cheese Frosting: made with coconut yogurt, cashew butter, coconut oil, and maple syrup, with lemon juice for tang. You'll never know it's DF, vegan, and paleo.
- Honey Cream Cheese Frosting (shown here): honey sweetens this frosting, adding lovely floral notes and bright acidity for an extra-silky finish.
- Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting: DF cream cheese, butter, and powdered sugar make a luscious dairy-free icing.
Bojon appétit! For more Bojon Gourmet in your life, follow along on Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest, purchase my award-winning gluten-free baking cookbook Alternative Baker, or subscribe to receive new posts via email. And if you make this almond flour carrot cake, I’d love to know. Leave a comment and rating below, and tag your Instagram snaps @The_Bojon_Gourmet and #bojongourmet.
Super-Moist Paleo Carrot Cake with Almond Flour (Dairy-Free)
Print Recipe Pin RecipeIngredients
Wet Ingredients
- 8 ounces carrots (about 4 medium), grated on smallest holes of box grater (1¼ cups packed)
- 3 large eggs
- ¾ cup + 2 tablespoons (130 g) coconut sugar or maple sugar* (I like half and half)
- ½ cup mild olive oil (or other neutral vegetable oil)
Dry Ingredients
- 1 cup (110 g) blanched almond flour* (I like Bob's Red Mill)
- ½ cup (75 g) cassava flour* (I like Bob's Red Mill)
- 2 tablespoons (14 g) tapioca flour* (I like Bob's Red Mill)
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
Topping:
Instructions
Prepare Things
- Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350ºF.
- Line an 8-inch square pan with 2 crisscrossing slings of parchment paper cut to fit.
Make the Batter
- In a large bowl, stir together the grated carrots, eggs, sugar, and oil until combined.
- Place a medium mesh strainer over the bowl and add the almond, cassava, and tapioca flours along with the baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and ginger.
- Sift the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, stirring until well-combined. No need to worry about over-mixing since there's no gluten to toughen up!
Bake
- Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth into an even layer.
- Bake the cake until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean, 25-35 minutes.
- Remove the cake from the oven and let cool completely, 30-60 minutes. Use the parchment paper "handles" to remove the cake from the pan and onto a serving platter, removing the parchment paper if you wish.
- Spread the paleo cream cheese frosting over the cooled cake. If the frosting is too soft to slice, chill the cake briefly (or up to 2 days).
- Cut the cake into squares and serve.
Video
Notes
- In place of coconut or maple sugar, use 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons (130 g) white or brown sugar in place of the coconut sugar.
- In place of blanched almond flour, use almond meal, ground sunflower seeds, or tiger nut flour.
- In place of cassava flour, use sweet rice flour, GF AP flour blend, or try 3 tablespoons coconut flour
- In place of tapioca flour, try arrowroot flour, corn starch, or potato starch.
- In place of paleo frosting, top this cake with honey cream cheese frosting or classic cream cheese frosting if dairy isn't an issue.
- The cake can be baked and stored, covered, at room temperature for 1 day, refrigerated for up to 3 days, or wrapped and frozen for up to several months.
- The frosted cake can be covered and refrigerated for up to 2 days.
- Leftover cake keeps beautifully, refrigerated airtight, for up to 1 week.
Luna says
Amazing recipe! Thank you for putting out such amazing recipes that are true & tested. I made it with unrefined coconut oil and it came out really floofy & moist.I used half coconut sugar & maple sugar.
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
Hi Luna,
I'm so glad you liked you the carrot cake and that it worked well with coconut oil - that's so great to know. Happy baking!
-Alanna
Andrea Eisenberg says
I've been wanting to try this since I saw you post this recipe - I just hate grating carrots. But I had an occasion to go to tonight and I knew there would be no gluten free options for me, so I bit the bullet and made this cake finally. It ended up being the hit dessert of the evening, better than all the gluten options! Very moist and spicy. I used your mascarpone frosting which was beautiful for this cake. Definitely will make this again! Probably soon since I grated twice as many carrots than I needed - lol!
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
Ohhh I'm so glad the carrot cake was a hit and that it was worth grating so many carrots, haha! Hope you enjoy batch #2 as well!
nancy says
MOIST and terrific crumb! Made for my bday cake and it was perfect. Did half/half coconut & maple sugar and reduced to 120 grams total. Honey cream cheese frosting was great - 1/2 recipe was enough to top the cake. Excellent GF carrot cake with no compromises.
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
Aw happy birthday Nancy! So glad you liked this cake and frosting, woohoo!
Christina Gibson says
Hi Alanna. I made this today and it smells wonderful. We will eat it in a couple days. The texture seems perfect. Somewhat of a pain doing the fine grate but worth it I know. I used brown sugar, gluten free AP, arrowroot. I will frost tomorrow with the Honey Cheese frosting. Your cakes freeze wonderfully as well. Thanks so much.
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
I'm so glad the cake worked well with those ingredients. Please come back and let me know how you like it when you dive in. Bojon appétit ;)
Christina M Gibson says
It was delicious. I took it to a tennis match for the gals to have a treat. So moist and delicious. Everyone loved it. I used half the butter in the frosting and you didn't miss it. Such a simple recipe. Thanks so much.
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
So glad the cake was a hit and that the frosting worked well with half the amount of butter - I bet that played up the cream cheese flavor even more. Brilliant!
Lulu says
Oh.
My.
Goodness.
Is this ever YUMMY!
This is my first recipe I have ever done from your site. I used the fine lemon micro plane zester to grate the carrots super fine. Then for the spice, I used one teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice. Been Paleo since 2016, and I do a lot of baking for after church’s coffee brunch. We have had GF members or visitors shocked to see there’s actually something they can eat. So I’m always looking for dependable recipes and that they turn out the first time.
I plan on BUYING the cookbook!❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ thank you for such a fabulous carrot cake recipe. The next time I’ll plan ahead for the frosting you have instead of the organic coconut oil cream cheese frosting I keep on hand from the store.
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
Hi Lulu,
Aw I'm so glad you love this carrot cake and that it worked well with the super finely grated carrots and pumpkin pie spice - brilliant!
Just a heads up that there aren't any paleo recipes in my cookbook - just gluten-free with a few vegan recipes. I got paleo-curious after I had already written it, so all my paleo recipes are on the website (which means they're free!) Let me know if I can recommend any others to you.
That's wonderful that your GF church members have something they can eat thanks to you! I know they appreciate it so much.
-Alanna
Lulu says
I’m sure I can tweak it if I need to. (Regarding cookbook) My goodness, this is like the carrot cake from the past. So moist❤️ sort of like pumpkin pie cake or bars that I love but haven’t made since going paleo. This is a keeper!❤️❤️❤️❤️
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
Aw ok, fabulous! I'll be interested to know how you Paleo-ize any recipes in Alternative Baker. Please don't hesitate to ask if you need suggestions about any specific recipes!
Just in case it's helpful, I've shared a paleo pumpkin pie recipe that you might like. And I may be sharing another paleo pumpkin recipe this fall, so stay tuned... ;)
Laurie Hoffman says
So fluffy and moist! It tasted like it should have more calories than it does. I loved the sheer amount of carrots. I added chopped candied ginger to the cake batter. Oh sooooo delish! I baked it in a 6-inch springform.
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
Yay, I'm so glad you loved the cake! Chopped candied ginger sounds absolutely divine here. Thanks very much for the feedback!
MC Wong says
Wonderful flavor and texture. I didn’t make the frosting, which makes the cake perfect for breakfast (in my family’s opinion)!
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
I wouldn't be mad at having this carrot cake for breakfast. So glad the recipe's a hit with the fam!
Trish says
Nice and moist and floofy as you promised, Alanna. I topped it with your less sweet cream cheese frosting and it was a delicious Easter dessert. I think I might increase the amount of spice or change it out for five spice. What do you think? This recipe could almost make me like grating carrots! ;-) Another keeper!
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
Yay so glad you liked it Trish! Love the idea of five spice here, that sounds delicious. Or you could certainly increase the spices! I know, grating carrots is a chore but the end result is worth it IMO, because CAKE ;) Happy baking to you, my dear!