Grain-Free Coconut Carrot Cake (refined-sugar free, dairy/nut free options)

Papa Bear loves carrot cake, and in fairness to him, he has really jumped on board since I meal planned the sugar and wheat right out of our kitchen.  But when Father’s Day began approaching this year, he knew what he wanted for his “gift.”  Yep, carrot cake.  And he said it could be a healthy one.

Bow-wow-chick-ah-chick-ah-bow-wow… It was time to start googling!  I’ve done plenty of baking in my time, but I am still feeling my way around with grain-free flours.  We’ve found our happy place with a few basic recipes, but this was my first attempt at “real” cake.  I stumbled upon some good info online and decided to mix, match, and add to a few different recipes based on what I had on hand and what I felt comfortable serving a small taste of to my smallies.

The result… Coconut Carrot Cake!  I’ve made it twice for a crowd so far and the feedback has been exceedingly good.  In fact, I’ve been asked for the recipe both times, so we are talking 100% success rate here.  Hopefully you will feel the same way about it!

LET’S GET BAKING!

Ingredients:

FOR CAKE:

• 3/4 cup Organic Coconut Flour (where to buy)
• 1 tsp each Baking Soda & Real Salt
• 10 Pastured Eggs
• 1 cup Organic Unrefined Coconut Oil, melted (where to buy)
• 1 cup Organic Grade B Maple Syrup (where to buy)
• 2 Tbsp Organic Cinnamon (where to buy)
• Optional: 1 Tbsp Organic Allspice (where to buy)
• 6 Organic Carrots, grated
• 1/2 cup Organic Raisins or roughly chopped Dates (or a mixture of the two)
• Optional: 1/2 cup Organic Unsweetened Shredded Coconut (where to buy)

FOR FROSTING:

Note: These proportions are based on just icing the center and top of cake (as pictured).  If you really like frosting and are wanting to comfortably cover the entire cake, I would double it.

• 2 Tbsp Grass-fed Butter (if Paleo or avoiding dairy, use Organic Palm Oil Shortening instead)
• 3/4 cup Organic Unrefined Coconut Oil (best if solidified at room temperature, but melted can also be used with additional step – see method below)
• 1/3 cup Organic Grade B Maple Syrup
• 4 Tbsp Organic Coconut Flour (or Organic Arrowroot Powder, or mixture of the two)
• A handful of Organic Unsweetened Shredded Coconut

Method:

FOR THE CAKE:

Preheat oven to 350 F.

1) Mix the coconut flour, baking soda, and salt together in a large mixing bowl.
2) Break eggs into the bowl and add melted coconut oil.  Mix well with hand mixer or whisk.
3) Stir in maple syrup and spices.
4) Gently mix in dried fruit, coconut, and grated carrots.
5) Pour batter into two 8 or 9 inch cake pans that have been greased with coconut oil.  Bake for 35 min, testing that it is baked through with a clean fork.

FOR THE FROSTING:

1. Whip butter, coconut oil, syrup, and flour/powder together using a hand mixer.
2. If your coconut oil was melted or very soft, or if you won’t be using for a while, you will need to put this mix into the fridge for 10 minutes (or until you will be using it) and re-whip.
3. Gently stir in coconut shreds and nuts.
4. Ice cake and sprinkle a bit of extra coconut on top!

A COUPLE OF THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW:

• The batter yields a really flavorful and moist cake, good enough & sweet enough (in my opinion) to even serve without frosting.  You could certainly use this same batter for muffins.
• No one will know this cake is grain/sugar-free unless you tell them.  It’s nice to be known as the person who brings deliciously healthy desserts, rather than my fear of being the one who serves “diet” cake.

This post was shared on Modest Mondays.