The deliciously soft and tasty low carb, this best keto carrot cake recipe has just hit the number one spot on Google AND it's only 3.8g NET carbs.
The lovely recipe is so popular because it's so simple to make and it's sugar-free too. Plus, this keto carrot cake is gluten-free, grain-free, and topped off with the most delicious cream cheese frosting.
Don't want (or need) a whole cake? Quickly turn this keto carrot cake recipe into scrumptious cupcakes instead!
If you love carrot cake, you can have your sugar-free cake and eat it too! This is an almond flour recipe the entire family will enjoy. Make this special celebration cake for birthdays, Mother's Day, Easter, Christmas, or just a winter treat with coffee.
Jump to:
Is carrot cake keto?
Regular carrot cake is not keto because it is often made with wheat flour, wholemeal flour, sugar, honey, dried dates, and often has a high sugar frosting on top.
The easy way to make a healthy keto carrot cake is to use low-carb baking alternatives such as almond flour and sugar replacements. Carrots are a root vegetable and are higher in carbs so fewer carrots can be eaten on a keto diet.
To make sure this keto carrot cake recipe falls within keto carb restrictions, fewer carrots are needed but the same warm spices and vanilla.
Nutrition information (per serving of one slice)
- Traditional carrot cake: 38 g net carbs, 3 g protein, 15 g fat, 290 calories.
- Sugar-free keto carrot cake: 3.8 g net carbs, 5.7 g protein, 31.6 g fat, 321 calories.
What a difference! Check out those net carbs - over 34 grams of net carbs saved in my keto carrot cake recipe!
Nutritional values from cronometer.com
Ingredients you need
All quantities, ingredients, and instructions are in the recipe card below.
Low Carb Carrot Cake
- Eggs - fresh medium eggs
- Butter - I used melted salted butter
- Sweetener - use your favourite sugar replacer and add more or less to your taste
- Vanilla essence - or vanilla extract
- Carrots - grated or shredded
- Walnuts - chopped
- Desiccated shredded coconut - always read the label to make sure your coconut is unsweetened and contains no added sugars
- Almond meal - blanched almond flour or ground almonds
- Ground cinnamon
- Mixed spice - or pumpkin pie spice
- Baking powder - do not be confused with baking soda
- Ground ginger - optional
Why develop a keto carrot cake recipe?
I once asked my Low-Carb and Keto For Beginners Group "who misses carrot cake when going low carb"?
I was overwhelmed by the response ... it was a resounding YES!!!
Luckily you don't need to miss out on carrot cake anymore because my low-carb carrot cake recipe is versatile and super easy.
It can be baked as a one or two-layer cake, muffins, cupcakes, or as a carrot loaf.
Which flour is best for keto carrot cake?
For this keto carrot cake recipe, I prefer to use either almond flour or almond meal. They are naturally low-carb flours and gluten-free flours.
They both work brilliantly. However, as with most natural and unprocessed low-carb and keto flours, they are not standardised and so will vary considerably from brand to brand, and even batch to batch.
So when making any low-carb baking, you will become accustomed to experimenting with possibly adding some additional low-carb flour to your batter to ensure it is the correct cake consistency.
Some almond flour/meal will absorb more liquids from your cake batter than others. Even how you store your almond flour/meal is important to prevent the flour from absorbing moisture from the air (and hence, less from your cake batter).
So if in doubt, add some additional almond flour to thicken your cake batter.
Can I use coconut flour?
You cannot directly substitute coconut flour for almond flour, these two low-carb flours behave completely differently.
Once you understand the difference between coconut flour vs almond flour you'll understand how to avoid expensive baking mistakes.
The cake tastes wonderful when made with almond flour, however, if you have a nut allergy, then there is a carrot cake with coconut flour version in my Lunchbox Cookbook.
I also have an entire index of coconut flour recipes. You'll find lots of tasty low-carb and keto recipes that are suitable for those of you with nut allergies or whose children attend a nut-free school.
How to make keto cream cheese frosting
This classic low-carb carrot cake with keto cream cheese frosting recipe is a fabulous treat with your morning coffee or as a low-carb dessert.
Top Tip: Always allow this healthy sugar-free carrot cake to completely cool on a wire rack before adding your keto cream cheese frosting (icing).
Keto carrot cake FAQ
I used an 8 inch / 20 cm round cake tin. Prepare the baking tin by greasing the bottom and the sides, or use baking parchment paper to link the cake tin.
Alternatively, you can use a silicon or springform loose bottom cake tin too.
Yes, you can use the same keto carrot cake batter to make carrot cake muffins, keto carrot cupcakes, and even a keto carrot loaf.
Just adjust the cooking times accordingly and ensure the cake batter is completely cooked into the centre of the cakes.
Yes, the sugar-free and keto frosting is made with full-fat cream cheese, melted butter, and your favourite sweetener (sugar replacement).
Powdered sweetener is best because it will make the frosting smooth and creamy, however, if you only have granulated sweetener then place it in your food processor or coffee grinder and pulse until you have powdered sweetener.
Always allow your gluten-free carrot cake to be completely cooled on a wire rack before frosting/icing otherwise the icing/frosting will melt and slide right off the cake rather than rest on top.
Brands of almond flour/meal vary considerably to how much liquid from the batter the flour/meal will absorb.
To prevent your cake from being too moist use additional almond flour/meal to ensure the correct cake batter consistency. I recommend adding 1 tablespoon at a time until you get that standard cake batter look.
I have never heard of anyone's cake batter is too dry, but if it does happen, you can slowly add 1 tablespoon of heavy cream at a time. This will help to keep the cake moist but do not add too much. No one wants a soggy cake.
Sometimes the butter is still melted and rises to the surface of the warm carrot cake. Always allow the cake to cool completely so it may have time to absorb any butter that may have rendered out during cooking.
You can shred/grate your carrots by hand or in your food processor with the shredding blade. Some carrots have more moisture than others, so before you measure them, give them a gentle squeeze over your sink and allow any excess water to be removed.
This helps to make a sturdy carrot cake. Scoop your shredded carrots into your measuring cup. Do not overpack or pres down otherwise you will add too much and the nutrition values for the cake will be too high.
Yes, you can store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days and in the freezer for up to 3 months. Defrost on the counter at room temperature. You can freeze it undecorated or frosted.
Yes, omitting the frosting is the easiest way OR cutting smaller slices.
Without frosting: 3.8 g NET carbs, 5.7 g protein, 31.6 g fat, 321 calories
With frosting: 5.3 g NET carbs, 8.6 g protein, 35.1 g fat, 370 calories
I usually prefer to use prepared baking pans that have been sprayed with cooking spray or brushed with melted butter. I have baked this delicious cake in round cakes tins, a loaf tin, or cupcake cases.
If you want a healthy birthday cake, use two prepared baking pans then once the cakes are completely cool, add sugar-free cream cheese frosting between the two cake layers.
Does anyone else have a watering mouth yet? This easy keto carrot cake recipe is at the top of my favorite dessert list. It has all the flavour I crave, but none of the guilt or sluggish carbs.
Make one for yourself and see!
📖 Recipe
Please rate this recipe.
Keto Carrot Cake Recipe
Calculate ingredients
Ingredients
Low Carb Carrot Cake
- 5 eggs - medium
- 200 g (7 oz) butter melted
- 3 tablespoon granulated sweetener of choice or more, to your taste
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 200 g (2 cups) carrots grated/shredded
- 50 g (½ cup) walnut halves/pieces chopped, optional
- 50 g (½ cup) desiccated/shredded coconut unsweetened
- 150 g (1 ½ cups) almond meal/flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1-2 teaspoon (1 teaspoon) ground mixed spice
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger (optional)
Cream Cheese Frosting (optional)
- 200 g (7 oz) cream cheese
- 1-2 tablespoon (1 tablespoon) granulated sweetener of choice or more, to your taste
Instructions
Low-Carb Carrot Cake
- Beat eggs, melted butter, sweetener, and vanilla together.
- Add grated/shredded carrot, walnuts, and coconut then mix almond meal/flour, spices and baking powder.
- Pour into a greased and lined tin. Bake at 180C/350F for 40-50 minutes or until a fork pushed in, comes out clean.
- Ensure your cake is completely cool before icing/frosting.
Cream Cheese Frosting (optional)
- Warm the cream cheese in the microwave for 20 seconds to soften it.
- Stir in 1-2 tablespoons of sweetener of choice until you get the level of sweetness you prefer.
- You could also add some lemon zest to give it more flavour. This would add a small number of carbs.
- Cover with cream cheese frosting.
Notes
- I used an 8 inch/ 20 cm cake tin.
- Always allow your cake to be completely cooled before frosting/icing your low-carb carrot cake
- Brands of almond flour/meal vary considerably to how much liquid from the batter the flour/meal will absorb. To prevent your cake from being too moist:
- you may need to use additional almond flour/meal to ensure correct cake batter consistency
- always allow the cake to cool completely so it may have time to absorb any butter that may have rendered out during cooking
- Nutrition values are for the cake only. Frosting/icing is optional.
Without frosting: 3.8 g NET carbs, 5.7 g protein, 31.6 g fat, 321 calories
With frosting: 5.3 g NET carbs, 8.6 g protein, 35.1 g fat, 370 calories
5-INGREDIENTS COOKBOOK
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Approximate nutrition information is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. For the most accurate nutritional data, use the actual ingredients and brands you used in your preferred nutrition calculator.
More keto cake recipes
Whole orange flourless cake (no peeling and no boiling)
Chocolate flourless fudge cake
1-minute keto vanilla berry mug cake
Chocolate cream cheese sugar-free frosting
Esther Powell
This cake was absolutely amazing. I added butter and lemon rind to the topping and this was a game changer. The only issue I had was that the cake was really wet! I think it was butter. Any ideas on how to avoid this? Used good quality grass fed butter. The flavour though was absolutely the same as a full sugar carrot cake. We all loved it......apart from the wetness.
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
Oooh, I love the idea of lemon in the frosting/icing. As for the butter issue, I find the cake batter really is determined by the brand and moisture content of the coconut and the almond flour/meal used. Next time, you may need to use some additional almond flour to thicken the batter and to absorb more of the butter. Then I'll be sure to pop round to your place and share some (for the sake of recipe development of course 😉 ).
Jo
I found the same thing too much butter. And after a few days the butter seemed to solidify at the bottom of the cake, which was nasty. Great taste other than too much butter, so will halve the amount of butter next time
Bharat
Can I keep the mixed dry ingredients in a bag in fridge and then use directly when needed combining it with wet ones?
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
Ooooh, that sounds like a great idea. You could also calculate how much of the dry ingredients require 1 egg and turn it into a mug cake?
kate
Wished you wd not use grams, so hard to configure, and what size of pan, that is so important. I love your recipes but sometimes they are a little confusing.
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
I give you grams and US cups for those of you who still cook by volume and not weight. There are large red buttons above every single recipe so you may switch between the system that you prefer 🙂 I've done all the hard work for you and it doesn't cost you a penny 🙂
Eva
Will this recipe work as cupcakes as well?
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
YES!! I make it quite often as cupcakes because they are easier to transport in school lunchboxes. My top tip, cut in half and put the cream cheese icing/frosting inside - genius!
MICHELLE PENDERGRASS
I have done it this way, and it makes a great lunch time treat, that doesn't get messy.
I have found that if I use regular cupcake paper though, it sticks to the paper unless I use avocado oil spray on the paper cups or directly into the muffin pan with no paper cups, then they don't stick.
I have also read that parchment cupcake papers work well for keto baking, but they are expensive.
Sarah
Can I put half the mixture in TWO spring form pans so I can use the cream cheese frosting in the middle ?
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
Yes, I do this occasionally too. Beware, however, it sometimes has a tendency to not hold together as well as one larger cake.
Genevieve
I am not sure how to ask a question but what if I can’t find mixed spice??
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
Great question. You can use pumpkin pie spice instead, they are very similar.
Helen
The pan size is mentioned above in both inches and cms. Not all countries use lbs. Simply open a converter in Google to switch grams to lbs. It's very easy.
Jolene Buxton
Not everyone that uses the site is American.
Nicole
Weight is much more important when low carb baking since the flours used can vary greatly in grind/texture, I always weigh my ingredients. Thanks Libby!
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
YAY! Another vote for cooking by weight. I totally agree. It is so accurate and brings far more consistent results (and less washing up too).
Liza
I have just come back for the recipe as I've just eaten my last slice of this delicious cake from my freezer and need to make it again. I notice you have used sunflower seeds since I last looked. Did you use the same quantity as almonds in the original? Any tips on using sunflower seeds? thank you.
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
I think you may be thinking of another recipe, this does not include and has never included, sunflower seeds.
Trudie
Ummm... your "further update" says you ran out of almond flour so used sunflower seeds 🙂
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
Ahhhh, my apologies. From memory, I had to use half almond flour with half sunflower seed flour which I made in my food processor.
Susi
I baked this fie the first time today using coconut oil instead of butter at 180 degrees in a non fan oven. I took about 1h 20mins to properly bake and still quite moist which is nice. I could not see at what type of the temperatures are based on. Could you please clarify? Many thanks
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
The baking times are "Bake at 180C/350F for 40-50 minutes or until a fork pushed in, comes out clean.". I used an 8 inch/ 20 cm cake tin.
Lisa
Wanted a carrot cake for my mum's birthday just tried this & absolutely perfect thank you 🙂
Kristen Madeley
Can this be frozen with the frosting?
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
Yes, you may freeze the cake in an airtight container. I would also wrap the cake in baking parchment to prevent it from drying out.
Kelly Charbula
Wonderful Cake!!
My hub who is new to low carb and sugar free loved this for his birthday. Would have given 5 stars but some parts of mixing were confusing.
Truvia worked great. I did not use your icing. I will next time.
MIXED SPICE: what is this? Didn’t notice till I was mixing it up. Is it even available in the US or do I have to make it?
BUTTER can you give the amount in Tablespoons? I wonder if that is why the one reader said hers was oozing butter. It is a bit confusing to read melted next to the amount listed. It made me wonder if the measurement was for melted or measure the butter then melt it. I chose measure then melt it. It came out beautifully and tasted fabulous!
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
Great questions. MIXED SPICE - there is an Amazon link to show you which spice this is, alternatively, you could use pumpkin spice or something similar. BUTTER - if you press the big red button below each recipe you can swap between metric and old school ounces. I prefer to cook by weight as there is no confusion.
GypsyChick
Measuring in weights is so much easier and more precise than volume! 10 grams (weight) is always 10 grams, but 1 tbspn(volume) is different in UK, AUS & US. Thank you for giving weights!
Kelly Charbula
Wow so many comments! I love carrot cake but have not made one sugar free. I see you recommend Swerve. Can you tell me if it would work with Truvia?
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
I like a variety of sweeteners, mainly erythritol and/or stevia. I generally let each reader decide to use their favourite brand as so many people have very strong likes/dislikes. This is my Ultimate Guide To Sweeteners.
Kelly Charbula
Thanks for your quick reply. I am making this for my husbands birthday and I want it to come out perfect. I have found another low carb blog with wonderful recipes but if I use the exact amount of Truvia as she does Swerve they come out too sweet. So I was just wondering if other readers have used Truvia in this or other sweetners besides Swerve???
Shelley
This carrot cake worked perfectly first time. Lovely texture and much more moist than I expected. I added some extra flavouring as per some of the other reviews and this worked well for us as we like the strong spiced taste. It took 50 minutes to bake at 160 fan oven.
I tested my glucose levels before and 90 mins after and there was no spike at all - perfect for those who watch such things. I will certainly make this again. I used a cream cheese frosting from another recipe and found this worked perfectly: cream cheese, butter, vanilla essence, lime juice & some zest grated, and 1 tblspn of sweetener. It is a great cake. Thank you for the recipe.
Marsha
I made these tonight for a dinner party tomorrow, We are going to have a dessert taste testing party after dinner, lol. These along with the mini lemon cupcakes and imitation bounty bars. I made these as cupcakes to go along w the theme. Watched the time since I didn't find any comments (of those I read) that made them and gave a time. So I started at 10 minutes and checked them every few until I decided at 16 minutes they were done. Taste tested one to be sure it was company worthy (although they are pretty easy going and will try anything). It was quite tasty even without the frosting. Still deciding on which one to use. But when I was putting them away the bottoms were a bit wet so next time I will bake them a few minutes longer. Maybe 20 minutes will be better. Carrot cake is one of my favorites so I am glad I saw this recipe. Keep them coming!!
Alle
So I made this cake, followed the recipe to the T but decided to increase the spices because I like my food well seasoned and yeah, was not impressed... Despite me adding more spices than mentioned, the cake had no taste or flavouring. It literally taste like nothing. Was not impressed at all - if you are used to traditional carrot cake, this will not satisfy you at all. I just ended up throwing the entire thing in the garbage.
Carley
This recipe sounds great and I'm planning on making it as cupcakes for a tea party this weekend. One question though, do the finished cakes freeze well? Has anyone tried before? TIA
Miriam Vann
Can I leave out the sugar although? Can I also substitute the cream cheese for something non dairy?
Jen
What sugar? There is no sugar in this recipe, being low carb. I'm sure you can search for a dairy free substitute for cream cheese out there that is dairy free.
tessaszy
Is it possible if using carrot puree than grated carrot? Thank you..
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
The carrot puree will possibly have too much liquid, so if you were to use this, you may have to add some extra almond flour/meal to the mixture.
Michel Daw
OMG! THIS WAS SO DELICIOUS! Some minor adjustments. Added a tbsp of sweetner to both the cake and the frosting, and a couple of tbsps of butter to the frosting as suggested by another poster. Well, done , Libby. Number 1 for a reason!
Sis Pet
Seriously?!?! What did I do wrong, then? I followed the recipe to the last gram, but the result turned out to be the worst carrot cake I’ve tried. What sweetener did you use? I used powder stevia, which gave a horrible metal taste to the cake..
Made it today as a surprise for my mum’s bday, cos she’s insulin resistant, and I was so disappointed. It was so greasy - there was butter everywhere. And very heavy because of all the fat from the butter and almonds.
What can I substitute the stevia with? I’m certain the taste is so awkward because of it!
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
Stevia is the problem - if you overuse it your end result will be a bitter and metallic taste. If you would like, it may be helpful to read my Ultimate Guide To Low-Carb Sweeteners. What I use and what I avoid. As for it being too buttery, it sounds like maybe you needed to add more almond flour/meal. If you use cups to measure ingredients, some people under pack or overpack their measuring cups and hence they may have too much or too little almond flour to make the cake the proper consistency. I recommend weighing but I totally understand so many prefer cups, but this may just be one explanation.
iMommy
Try xilitol. I also add a cup of butter to the frosting. ?
The type one foodie
Thank you Libby!! I made this last night and it was absolutely delicious. ? Your recipes are a lifesaver for diabetics! Xx
Rebekah
I made this recipe last night, but made muffins! Turned out perfect! So moist and moreish! I also added about 50gm of butter to the frosting, which made it less tangy! Will be making this recipe again!! Thank you so much! xx
Sandra
When I try to print this recipe on the US Measurement, it switches back over the metric. There's a bug here. Just thought I'd let you know.
Betty
Me too!!!!
Victoria Otaño
I like your recipe. thank you! But can i use coconut oil instead of butter?, what should be the correct measurement for coconut oil ?
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
Yes, you may substitute coconut oil for butter, the only problem is that butter gives this cake so much of its amazing creamy flavour. You may have to add extra vanilla or spices.
Kristeena
Made this yesterday. I cut the recipe in half as I wanted to make cupcakes but only in a quantity myself and hubby could eat within the week. Half recipe netted 8 normal sized cupcakes and I baked them at US 350 degrees for 20 minutes. I did not find them to be any more crumbly than most almond flour cupcakes. For my "personal" taste, next time I would add SLIGHTLY more nuts (I measured then chopped rather than the other way around), a bit more spices and for MY taste a bit more sweetener. Not too much, but these were rather on the breakfast bread level than dessert level. All in all though, this is an absolute keeper and I don't miss the traditional raisins or pineapple at all!!!!! Also, per my recipe calculator I got slightly higher carbs, about 4.3 per, including frosting. But again, that's using my personal ingredients.
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
Thank you Kristeena, this is brilliant! I love your idea of mixing up the quantities and spices to your liking. And I love the fact you baked them as cupcakes. I have often done this for my children's lunch boxes as they are easier to transport. Isn't it fun to experiment?
Ann Suziedelis
I agree about the sweetness! What I find interesting is that the batter tasted much sweeter to me than the cooked product. Next time, I am going to add a bit more Swerve before cooking. This time around, I have not yet made the cream cheese frosting, and am considering adding a little more sweetener there, instead. Basically, though, the cake is delicious. I look forward to serving it to company tomorrow, and to a lot of experimenting in the future.
IVANA
Hi, so, you made a half it the recipe and got 8 muffins? Could you write the whole nutritional,not just carbs?
Steve
Nadiya Hussain recently did a recipe for carrot cake pakora where she deep fried carrot cake batter and served it with the cream cheese frosting as a dip. Do you reckon this recipe would work deep fried in that way?
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
I imagine this low-carb carrot cake might fall apart if you fried it. I would guess her stays together because of the flour forming a "dough" and the sugar caramelising.
Debbie Cobbett
Made this today for the first time. I am recently diagnosed T2 diabetic and I love my cakes and sweet things so am always searching for decent low carb recipes. This is AMAZING!! So moist and sweet without feeling heavy and dense, and even my hubby - a die hard "real" carrot cake fan - said he couldn't tell the difference between this recipe and a traditional flour based cake.
All in all - excellent! Xx
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
Awesome Debbie! And welcome to Ditch The Carbs. As a newly diagnosed T2, you have come to the right place. You may want to join my free Low-Carb Support Group too. It's an awesome place to ask all the questions you may have. See you there.
Robin Hinds
I made this the other day also but it was way too dry. What can I add to make it more moist? Also, the cream cheese with added sweetener (splenda) was awful. I tried the lemon zest and that made it worse. Started over and tried vanilla extract and it was still bad.
Bronwyn
Made this today as carrot muffins. Normal size muffin pans. Took about 15 mins to cook. Used coconut oil because I have a colleague who, in addition to being coeliac like me, eats dairy free as well.
Muffins turned out very nice. I spread all except two with straight, unflavoured, unsweetened, slightly softened cream cheese. I know others thought this was too tangy or something but I reckon it rounds it off nicely. I do spread plain cream cheese on celery & cucumber as a snack so maybe I am just used to it. Although my husband liked it too so not too bad then!
Noorulain Ali
Hi, could you please tell me what's the net carb of 1 slice? It tells the total carb but I will appreciate to know net carbs. Thanks very much
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
The nutrition panel shows total carbs = 5.8g and if you deduct the 2g fibre = 3.8g net carbs per slice.
Connie Burton
I'm also having trouble calculating the carbs. The Red Mill almond meal/flour I have is 2T = 4nc. As I figure it that would be 48 NC for 1 1/2 C. Along with everything else & using Splenda, I get 85.4 NC, 9.5 NC per serving for 9 servings (easy to cut from a 8" pan).
I want to try this recipe again substituting half the butter for unsweetened applesauce (adds 12 NC) and only half the carrots (drops 12 NC). Also, I think by treating the mix like a muffin mix, minimal mixing/handling, it may not be as dense. It is a wonderful recipe, I guess everyone has to tweak recipes to their own liking.
Onin
Hi, I love your recipe. thank you! But can i use coconut flour instead of almond flour, or reduce the amount of almond flour and add some coconut flour? what should be the correct measurement?
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
I'm afraid coconut flour and almond flour behave completely differently so cannot be substituted easily, instead they have to be developed into a new recipe. This article might help explain how they work and how little coconut flour is required compared wiht almond flour. Ultimate Guide To Almond Flour vs Coconut Flour
sandra_nz
Oh my goodness, I made this yesterday and it is just lovely! As a long time low-carber, I found the sweetness level to be just right.
It's already half gone so it's been a hit in my house!
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
Yay - I am so glad you love this. This cake is a favourite in my house also (especially loved by my 11 year old).
Lonna
I am just now making the carrot cake and the instructions say to mix ground almonds. they are not in the ingredients. please help! what quantity?
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
Thanks for pointing out the discrepancy. Ground almonds are the same as almond meal/flour. I have amended it to read the same.
Jem
I'm only on my 4th day of keto so that may be why--but this isn't very sweet. It's delicious, but expect it to be more like a lightly sweetened breakfast bread than a flat out cake. I did pour some torani vanilla syrup over the cake once it was done which helped sweeten it up a bit. Still delicious though. I think it may depend on the sweetener you use. I used Monkfruit/Erythritol sweetener and the cake itself tasted good just not very sweet. I mixed torani syrup with cream cheese and that was very meh, I think the sourness of cream cheese normally offsets the sweetness of cake but in this recipe it overwhelms the only slightly sweet cake. Next time I'll try a different approach for the frosting. But I'll probably eat the cake by itself tomorrow morning. Anyways thanks for the recipe!
Colleen
Thank you for sharing your recipe for low-carb carrot cake. Wide range of reviews, but understand the time and expense one goes through perfecting recipes in the area of low-carb baking. Daunting for those of us who don't bake often, but enjoy baked goods for their families.
Made this twice this weekend, first time I had enough extra batter after filling 8" cake pan for 3 muffins. So maybe a 9" tin would have been better for using all batter. Baked muffins for 25 minutes, came out OK but crumbly, as many other comments have repeated. Used blanched almond flour and coconut flour, and all ingredients as listed with Swerve for sweetener. Family reviews gave it thumbs up for taste, I gave it a questionable review for it's crumbly texture even though I wouldn't consider it dry, but definitely drier than traditional carrot cake.
I have tried a recipe for low carb pumpkin bread with same quantity of almond flour and coconut flour and it always comes out more like a heavy pound cake, with custard-like texture so I felt the bake time for THIS cake should be on the higher end...50 min for the first attempt. I thought maybe it was dry because I over baked. Second attempt, I watched more closely beginning @ 35 minutes, and took out when toothpick test came out clean. Same results, a bit on the crumbly side. Maybe less baking powder? Or less almond flour/coconut flour?
Best reviews on taste came from family members who have been on low-carb diet for awhile. Those who have a serious sweet tooth, my husband for one, thought I forgot the sugar. Can't please everyone, but this WAS a Birthday cake for someone on the Adkins diet and she gave it thumbs up. Going to try adjusting flours and baking powder and see if I can achieve a carrot cake closer to the traditional version's crumb/texture.
Frosting hit mixed reviews. I liked it. Added a couple drops of lemon oil first time and lemon flavored stevia sweetener second time, and both tasted great. The slight tanginess of frosting contrasts more and brings out "sweetness" of cake.
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
Awesome review Colleen! Thank you. I completely agree with you. Low-carb baking gets the best reviews from those who have been low-carb for a little while. I think others are expecting baking to taste like the sugar and flour laden (and sometimes "fake" butters and such like) that are designed to hit the bliss point. Once we get our true taste buds back, we can enjoy all the subtle flavours and less sweet taste of low-carb baking made with simple ingredients. I love your adaptations, brilliant!
SAM
Did you possibly mistake the desiccated coconut for coconut flour? That may have caused the extra crumbly cake...
Lars Clausen
Made this today. The cake itself was nice, but not as fluffy as I hoped for, dry and falling apart a bit. we upped the spices a bit, which didn't hurt. We used Xylitol for the sweetener, making it relatively unsweet
One factor that might explain the highly variable outcome is how much oil has been removed from the almond flour, whether it's from blanched or raw almonds, and how finely ground it is.
My wife vetoed the frosting as weird, so we made it with powdered Xylitol and butter.
For an encore, I would try using half whole-wheat flour and half almond flour, which still makes it be carb/protein balanced (even before factoring in effects of fiber). Maybe also a bit of gluten for extra structural integrity.
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
True carrot cakes are never fluffy in my experience, they are very dense but nit heavy. When you use a sweetener of your choice, remember to always adjust to your taste. All my recipes state the amount of sweetener "or more, to your taste" as we are all on different parts of our sugar free journey. My sweet tooth may bee different to yours.
Justin P
Hi everyone! I’m reading mixed reviews on this carrot cake despite it being the top Google choice. Anyone recently make this without modifying it? I don’t want it to be crumbly/dry or too “floppy.” I’m more of a cook rather than a baker so I’m hesitate to try without feedback. Thanks all!
Nicola
I made this yesterday and found the almond flour actually retains a lot of moisture so it doesn't go dry and crumbly- was a hit with keto and none keto people
Greene
I made them new year's eve and it tasted better after a day 🙂 It was a little dry and crumbly but maybe it's because of my desiccated coconut. I will try it with coconut flour next time and try coconut oil instead of butter. I will also try cupcakes. I hope I am not changing too much.
Greene
I made them using coconut oil instead of oil butter 🙂 they were more moist than before and baked 12 big cup cakes at 35 minutes. I used half the desiccated coconut and changed the other half to coconut flour. I also used Swerve and not Stevia--it is much sweeter 🙂 I will make this at least once a month since it is carrot and we are on Keto. (limiting carrots to 'sometimes').
Thank you for this lovely recipe!
Patty stockdale
I should have tested the recipe before serving it to my circle of friends. Someone made the comment that it was another vegetable in our meal. It was not sweet enough and very dry. I should have had some ice cream to make it into the dessert I wanted. I was embarrassed I served it.
Gina
Wouldn't ice-cream defeat the purpose of serving a low carb cake?
Don't be embarrassed about serving the cake, be embarrassed that you have rude friends.
Claire
I made this today - my first adventure in low carb baking. I was going to try the low carb Christmas cake recipe, but my husband is a carrot cake fan and asked for this instead. I can’t begin to explain how wonderful we both think it is. The texture is fantastic, it is so lovely a moist, and the flavour is spot on. My husband says it is just about the nicest carrot cake he has ever tasted and that he wouldn’t believe it was low carb unless he’d seen me making it - praise indeed. Thank you Libby for your wonderful recipes. What with this and the totally miraculous fat head pizza, you’ve certainly fed us well!
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
Claire you have absolutely made my day!!! Happy Christmas 🙂 x
Lynn Donahue
I make this once a week. I love it in the morning with my coffee for breakfast and my husband eats it as a dessert. It's so easy and really makes you feel like you're not missing a thing by eating low carb. Sometimes I take the time to grate the carrots..... and sometimes I just toss in a bag of pre-shredded carrots from the grocery store. I bake it in a quarter sheet jelly roll pan for about 25 minutes. I also make cream cheese frosting with a stick of butter, 8 oz of cream cheese, vanilla and some Truvia to sweeten it. Thanks for the awesome recipes on your site!
PS I just now noticed the red US Conversion button.... has that always been there? I have been using my little scale converted to grams to measure the ingredients!
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
I have just installed the conversion buttons - I had to go through over 250 recipes and calculate them all. I’m so glad it was worth the effort, yay 🙂
Rebecca
How did you install or where do I go for the conversion. I'm making this Thanksgiving. Thanks much, Rebecca
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
It's the large red buttons below the ingredient list, under each recipe 🙂
DonnaBuckner
How does one converse ,, I am not al all familiar with grams etc,, how do you know how many cups etc.?
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
Great question, simply click on the big red buttons below any recipe on my site. They will swap ingredients between metric grams and cups and ounces. Yay. The hard work is done for you. You can also dial up how many servings you require, and it will adjust the quantities as if by magic!!! 🙂
Bev
I REALLY appreciate the conversion buttons - was raised on cups and pounds and since Canada has switched to metric, I tend to look up amounts to be sure. Thanks for all the work you did to do this - I like to check out your recipes first!
Kelly
This cake was a major disapointment. It was not cake. It tasted like carrot bread. I added in the exact amount of spices called for and it was completely bland. It wouldn't be hard to make this much more flavorful with a little creativity!
Ysanne Harper
I read comments after I had started mixing, therefore I added 3tsp cinnamon, 2tbs rice malt syrup, instead of 200g butter I used coconut oil and to keep moisture in I used about 3/4 cut coconut milk. I was worried it would make it go flop but it was AMAZING!!!! Everyone raves about how moist it was, oh I also added sultanas. But with this addition I must say it was the BEST carrot cake I’ve tasted.
Ntombifuthi
Because it's missing the ginger, notice that
Ginger is not mentioned as part of the ingredients
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
Thanks for the idea of ginger - I love it!!! I've added it as an optional extra 🙂
CARINA
Sounds great! Is this keto friendly? I'm a beginner 😉
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
It's low carb, but not keto. Keto is strict low carb and doesn't include carrots. The recipe is easy peasy to make.
Gina
Carrots are ok in low moderation so it should be fine on keto as long as you don't go crazy and watch your macros.
Juliet
Hi. Pls I have no almond flour for now so can I make use of coconut flour instead.? If yes plz what quantity?thanks
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com
I'm afraid not 🙁 Coconut flour and almond flour work completely differently. This is a good article to read "Coconut flour vs Almond flour". It will stop you making any expensive baking mistakes.