One of my favorite desserts before eating paleo was carrot cake. I was never into overly sweet desserts and was the kid who scraped off that big wad of icing from the birthday cake. I know for some icing is their favorite part, and I have yet to share a great alternative. I know they’re out there though. Feel free to ice up this cake with your favorite icing recipe, or stay simple like me and drizzle a little unsweetened coconut milk on top. This is one of my top picks for birthdays, Holidays, or just because. Who needs an reason, right?
Carrot cake is sometimes thought to be the “healthier” cake, but truth is you can find yourself in a sugar overload between all the carrots, cups of sugar, pineapple, raisins and cream cheese frosting. About 5 years ago I put a halt to my sugar addiction and haven’t missed it, too much. As long as there are tasty replacements, I’m good! I definitely attest to the belief that your taste buds become less desensitized to the sweetness of natural foods once they aren’t constantly bombarded with sugar. I found this cake to be a delicious alternative for those who stay away from sugar, dairy, and white flour. And, my new springform pan I got over Christmas made the cake come out clean and pretty, whereas in the past I pressing on broken pieces like patchwork.
Carrots can be higher in sugar so to make this cake more low carb I replaced some of the carrot with zucchini. Even with just 1/3 cup shredded carrot, according to my taste buds it is clearly carrot cake. Feel free to adjust the ratio of zucchini:carrot to your own liking as long as it equals to 2 cups.
ingredients:
1 cup coconut flour
1 cup almond flour
4 eggs
1/3 cup coconut milk
1 tbsp coconut oil
2 tablespoon cinnamon
~1/2 teaspoon nutmeg & cardamon
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp sea salt
stevia to taste
1 2/3 cup zucchini
1/3 cup carrot
directions:
- Shred carrot and zucchini.
- Whisk wet ingredients. Sift flour and evenly mix the dry ingredients before adding to the wet mixture.
- Add batter to a pan greased with coconut oil. I used a 9 in springform pan.
- Bake low carb carrot cake at 375° F for about 30 minutes, then reduce your oven temperature to 350°F for an additional 30-40 minutes (until toothpick comes out clean in center). Keep an eye on it so it doesn't over brown.
diane January 11, 2013 at 10:31 am
The best frosting alternative i’ve ever had is from the raw dawg rory blog which makes frosting out of cashews/dates/orange juice, and a few other simple ingredients. It’s not something I can eat anymore because of the sugar content and the nuts, but for someone else – i highly recommend it over ALL conventional frostings. It takes like it came straight from heaven. I bet you can modify it to make it even better! http://rawdawgrory.com/2010/12/30/1182/
lauren michelle January 11, 2013 at 10:58 am
Awesome :) thanks for sharing.
Anesia March 25, 2013 at 12:00 am
Can you give me an estimate of how much stevia to use? I have been totally off sugar/sugar substitutes since starting a paleo diet 6wks ago and am a bit anxious about using this.
lauren michelle March 25, 2013 at 8:10 am
Many people who are new to using it seem to be confused with how much to use. I can only give an opinion on the brand KAL powdered stevia as this is what I use. It pretty potent. Liquid stevia or other brands will vary in strength in comparison. I would just recommend starting with 2 tsp mix well and then taste test. Adjust to your taste. Too much stevia may taste bitter, but too little will taste plain.
Rod April 6, 2013 at 11:11 am
What is that yummy looking white frosting you drizzled over the cake?
lauren michelle April 6, 2013 at 11:17 am
Rod- I drizzled unsweetened coconut milk (nature’s forest). No need for frosting :)