Sugar Free Carrot Cake

Name: Sugar Free Carrot Cake
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 55 min
Total time: 65 min
Ingredients: 2 cup grated carrot (grated fresh and loosely packed, 220g ); 1/2 cup granulated sweetener (100g (white or golden) - use 3/4 cup or up to 150g if you like a sweeter cake); 4 eggs (large, room temperature); 1/2 cup butter (melted, 114g); 1/4 cup Greek yoghurt (65g); 2 cups almond flour (200g ** see notes); 1/4 cup coconut flour (30g); 3/4 cup walnuts (finely chopped or pulsed in a food processor (90g)); 3 tsp baking powder; 4 tsp cinnamon; 1 tsp ginger; 1/2 tsp nutmeg; 1 cup extra thick Greek yoghurt (250g ); 1 tsp vanilla extract; 2-4 tbsp powdered sweetener (to taste); 1 cup cream cheese (room temperature, 240g); 3 tbsp butter (softened, 40g); 1/4 cup powdered sweetener (40g); 1 tsp vanilla extract; 12 walnut halves; 1 tbsp chopped walnuts

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This easy sugar free carrot cake recipe is going to blow you away. It is fluffy, soft and moist, packed with flavour and tastes just as delicious as the original!

A carrot cake topped with greek yoghurt frosting.

It's autumn here and I'm in the mood for comforting dessert recipes. Many people think that carrot cake is a traditional spring recipe, but for me, it's always been a fall favourite. I think it's because of all the spices.

Regular carrot cake recipes contain wheat and sugar, both ingredients that we want to stay away from when eating a sugar free diet.

The good news is, you don't need either to make a cake that tastes so delicious everyone is going to ask for seconds.

I already have this wonderful keto carrot cake on my website. It's a brilliant quick dessert, because it's ready in just 10 minutes!

However, sometimes only a full-sized cake will do. Finally, here it is!

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🌟 Why You'll Love This Recipe
Ingredients
Instructions
Expert Tips
Recipe Variations
Recipe FAQs
Storage
More Sugar Free Cake Recipes
Recipe

🌟 Why You'll Love This Recipe

soft and moist, with a fluffy texture
nutty and sweet
contains natural, healthy ingredients
sugar-free, low carb, keto and gluten-free
ready in just over an hour
only 5.4 grams of net carbs per slice
easy to make, even for baking beginners
3 frosting variations, but also tastes great all on its own

Ingredients

Below are the ingredients you need to make a sugar-free carrot cake recipe.

Grated carrot - Use a box grater and grate the carrots freshly at home. Pre-shredded carrots from the supermarket are too dry and too coarse.
Eggs - make sure they are room temperature. You can put fridge cold eggs in warm water for a few minutes to warm them up.
Butter - should be melted, then cooled.
Greek yogurt - adds fluffiness and lift to the cake and creates a light and fresh-tasting frosting.
Almond flour - I used ground almonds, which is equivalent to regular almond flour in the US. If you are using super-fine almond flour, either reduce by 2 tablespoons or add 2-3 tablespoons almond milk to the batter.
Coconut flour - always great in combination with almond flour.
Sweetener - I used a golden erythritol monk fruit blend.
Baking powder - check that it is fresh by putting some in water. If it fizzes, you're good to go. Alternatively, use 1 teaspoon baking soda.
Spices - cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg.
Walnuts - I ground mine in a high speed blender. You can also chop them finely. Alternatively, use chopped pecans.

Instructions

This section contains step-by-step instructions and photos that show how to make this recipe. See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities

1. Blend the eggs with sweetener in a large bowl until pale, fluffy and double in size. You'll need an electric mixer for this.

Whisked eggs with melted butter and yoghurt in a bowl.

2. Add the other wet ingredients: melted butter and yoghurt. Blend till combined.

3. Mix the dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Option to add a pinch of salt as well.

4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix to combine.

Cake batter with grated carrot in a bowl.

5. Stir in the grated carrots.

6. Spoon the mixture into a cake pan (line the bottom with parchment paper and grease the sides first).

7. Bake until you can insert and remove a skewer or toothpick without dough sticking. See below how it should look - golden brown and with a few cracks on top.

7. Cool the carrot cake in the pan. Then, remove from the cake tin (cutting along the sides with a knife if necessary) and allow to fully cool on a wire rack.

8. Mix the optional frosting in a bowl.

9. Add frosting to the top of the cooled cake and and top with remaining walnuts. Alternatively, serve the frosting on the side.

Frosting

Sugar free carrot cake tastes delicious without any frosting. However, here are 3 frosting variations:

1.) The healthy & light option: Greek Yoghurt. I loved how fresh and healthy the combination of the cake with the yoghurt frosting tasted.

2.) The quick option: Whipped cream cheese plus 2-4 tablespoons powdered sweetener and a splash of vanilla extract to taste. I'm using this version in my keto carrot cake in a mug and it's simple and delicious.

3.) The classic option: For a sugar free cream cheese frosting, mix together:

1 cup / 240g cream cheese, room temperature
3 tablespoon / 40g butter, softened
1⁄4 cup / 40g powdered sweetener
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Important: If you go for the yogurt frosting and you know you'll only be eating a few slices of the cake, consider serving the frosting on the side. That way, the cake is easier to store and freeze.

Expert Tips

Measure ingredients with a digital scale.

Using scales over measuring cups will always yield a better result, especially where nut flours are involved. They are so much more exact.

Taste and adjust sweetener.

I don't like my cakes too sweet and this recipe is gently sweetened. If you have a sweet tooth, do increase the sweetener to ¾ cup or 150 grams.

Don't let the top over-brown.

Check the cake after 45 minutes in the oven. If the top is golden brown, cover it loosely with a sheet of aluminium paper for the remainder of the time.

Use extra thick yoghurt for the frosting.

Here's a trick to drain excess liquid from Greek yoghurt: Line a colander or sieve with a cheesecloth or kitchen towel and spoon the yoghurt inside. Place the sieve on top of a larger bowl and leave it in the fridge for a few hours to let the liquid drip into the bowl.

Recipe Variations

Almond flour carrot cake: Leave out the coconut flour and use 2 ¾ cups or 275 grams of almond flour in total.

Dairy free: To make a dairy-free low carb carrot cake, replace the butter with coconut oil and use coconut yoghurt instead of the Greek yoghurt in the batter. For the frosting, go for whipped coconut cream.

Use different nuts: Instead of the walnuts, use pecans or hazelnuts.

Roast the walnuts: This is a nice way to up the flavor: Roast the walnuts in a dry frying pan over medium heat until they are golden and fragrant.

Mix up the spices: Instead of the nutmeg and ginger, feel free to use pumpkin spice. Or, add a pinch of allspice or cardamom. Another flavour boost would be to add a teaspoon of blackstrap molasses. This does contain a little sugar, but spread over 12 portions the amount is negligible.

Recipe FAQs

What sweetener can I use?

Choose a low carb sweetener such as erythritol, xylitol to allulose. I like erythritol monk fruit sweetener blends such as Lakanto or Bocha Sweet (via Amazon), which is made with kabocha extract.

Is this cake suitable for a keto diet?

Yes. This recipe uses low carb flours and the net carb count per slice is low. Carrots are not generally recommended as a keto friendly ingredient. However, the amount per portion is low, which means it won't kick you out of ketosis.

Can I make muffins with this recipe?

Absolutely! Fill the batter into muffin pan lined with paper cups and bake for around 25 minutes.

Can I use a loaf pan instead?

Yes. The baking time will increase by around 10 minutes.

Storage

Refrigerator: Store in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Freezer: Freeze for up to 3 months, ideally without the yoghurt topping. Add it fresh after defrosting. Freezing with the cream cheese frosting works well.

To defrost: I like to freeze individual slices. This way, I can take out a slice at a time and let it defrost overnight in the fridge. Or, simply defrost at room temperature.