Keto Carrot Cake? Yes! The moment one says carrot cake, people will say “but that’s not keto”. Even though carrots are higher in carbohydrates, this Keto Carrot Cake only contains one cup of grated carrots, and a single serving comes to less than 6 grams of carbs.
I am such a stickler for a good piece of cake, and this one is one of those that you can quickly whip up over a weekend or when you’re having someone over. Not that we can do that now, though. 🙁 #sadface
It’s usually over weekends where I experiment with new recipes and try and keto-fy traditional cakes and desserts like this Lemon, Ricotta & Almond Flour Cake. It’s sometimes surprising to me just how easy it can be to change a traditional recipe, such as this carrot cake, into a healthier, guilt-free, keto-friendly carrot cake. Who said keto is restrictive again?
This carrot cake is also not like the “hum, yes, it’s nice…” kind of agreeable face when you’re eating something “healthier” while silently thinking it tastes like cardboard. No-no. The keto-version of this cake is equally moist and full of flavour. And, of course, the classic cream cheese frosting! What is a carrot cake without the cream cheese frosting, right?!
The recipe makes enough for a single layer cake. Next time I’d like to make it a double layer. By doubling the ingredients, the cake batter as well as the cream cheese you can easily make it a double layer, or even 3 layers. I’d also add a little bit of desiccated coconut for variation. I saw many recipes have this in, but I’m not sure if this is the traditional way of doing it. Something else I picked up whilst looking at different recipes was this one lady who steamed the carrots until tender and then pureed the carrots before adding them to the recipe. I’d think it would be interesting to do it this way. I grated my carrots finely as I didn’t want chunks of carrots on the cake. So, next time I’m trying the steaming-the-carrots method.
The last little twist I wanted to incorporate was the lemon zest in the cream cheese. It’s optional, but it gives the frosting just that little bit of extra lemony twist!
I don’t usually write a whole blog when I post recipes (because who has time to read it, right? Just give me the recipe and let me make my cake!) Anyway, I hope you’ll enjoy this recipe as much as we did and if you ever make it, please do share it on social media and tag me @leanfitketo.
Ingredients
Cake
- 1.5 cups Almond Flour
- 1/2 cup Erythritol
- 1.5 tsp Baking powder
- 1/4 tsp Baking soda
- 1/2 tsp Pink salt
- 1 tsp Cinnamon
- 1 tsp All spice/Mixed Spice
- 1/2 tsp Nutmeg
- 1 cup Carrots, grated
- 4 large Eggs
- 4 tbsp Butter, melted
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1/2 cup Walnuts or Pecans, chopped
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 200 grams Cream Cheese room temprature
- 2 tbsp Butter, room temperature
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup Erythritol
- 1 tsp Lemon Zest (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 175C and prepare your cake pan. I used a round springform pan.
- Using a mixer or a hand mixer, blend the melted butter, eggs, erythritol and vanilla until frothy and the sugar is dissolved.
- Mix the dry ingredients together and add to the egg mixture and beat until well combined.
- Add the carrots and walnuts and fold in with a wooden spoon until completely mixed together.
- Bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes or until the knife comes out clean.
- When the cake is fully baked, removed from the oven and let it cool completely before frosting.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- Whip together the frosting ingredients until the sugar is dissolved and the frosting is fluffy.
