This week I celebrated 10 years smoke-free! Yay me! In celebration, hubs made me a gluten-free carrot cake. The original recipe from Elana’s Pantry called for agave nectar, but we prefer honey as a healthier and less processed sweetener. I’m also not a fan of raisins, so we nix those and add extra walnuts and/or pecans instead.
To make the carrot cake, combine 3 cups almond flour, 1 tablespoon cinnamon, 1 teaspoon nutmeg, 1 teaspoon baking soda, and 1 teaspoon sea salt. In a separate bowl, combine 5 eggs, 1/2 cup honey, 1/4 cup olive oil, 3 cups grated carrots, and 1 1/2 cups chopped nuts. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix well. Pour the batter into two greased 9-inch cake pans and bake at 325 for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let cool before icing.
This goat cheese icing recipe comes courtesy of my sister-in-law. Mix one package (1 pound) of soft, unripened goat cheese and half a pound of butter in a large bowl. If you’re very sensitive to cow dairy, feel free to use goat butter in lieu of cow butter. For easier mixing, cut the goat cheese and butter into smaller pieces before using the hand mixer. Mix in 2 cups of icing sugar, about one third of a cup at a time. The icing will become smoother as you add more sugar. When all the icing sugar is mixed in, add 2 teaspoons of lemon or orange juice and 2 teaspoons vanilla extract. Mix just until the icing is smooth and glassy, but be careful not to overmix or it’ll get runny. If you want to try this with chocolate goat cheese icing, mix in half a cup of cocoa powder. Mmm… heavenly!
Spread a generous amount of icing on top of one cake and gently place the second on top. Ice the top and sides, then garnish (or not) as you like. We like to use raspberries because the tartness contrasts nicely with the tangy sweet icing.
Gluten-Free Carrot Cake
Ingredients
- 3 cups almond flour
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 5 eggs
- ½ cup liquid honey
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 3 cups carrots grated
- 1 1/2 cup chopped walnuts and/or pecans
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees and grease two round 9-inch cake pans.
- In one bowl, combine almond flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
- In a second bowl, mix eggs, honey, and oil together, then add in grated carrots and nuts.
- Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix well.
- Pour batter into greased cake pans and bake for approximately 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.
- Let cool and ice with goat cream cheese icing.
Notes
Susie's Goat Cheese Icing
Ingredients
- 1 pound soft unripened goat cheese
- 1/2 cup butter
- 2 cups icing sugar
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon or orange juice
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
Instructions
- In a large bowl break up the goat cheese and butter into smaller pieces and mash slightly with a fork to prepare for blending.
- Mix in 1/3 cup of icing sugar with hand mixer. Continue mixing in 1/3 cup of icing sugar at a time.
- Add juice and vanilla to icing and mix until smooth.
Wow! Gluten-free never looked so good:) Goat cheese frosting!! Wonderful~ Thanks for linking up this yummy cake on Tasty Tuesday! Lynn @ Turnips 2 Tangerines
It is really good! Thanks for stopping by!
That looks delicious!
It is so yummy! Thanks!
mm i love carrot cake! i will have to give this recipe a try 🙂
I’d love to hear how it turns out if you do.
Beautifully delicious. I think I am going to have to pin this!
Pin away! 🙂
Love that you made frosting with goat cheese!
I like it better than regular cream cheese frosting.
Wow, I’ve never thought of goat cheese frosting. Clever!
It’s my sister-in-law’s recipe because she’s allergic to goat dairy. I actually like it better than regular cream cheese frosting.
I love goat cheese, I would never have thought about it for a carrot cake topping though. Sounds yummy though.
It works really well – creamy and tangy just like regular cream cheese icing. I actually prefer it.
Congrats on hitting 10 years! You are so lucky that your husband baked you cake! I don’t think mine would be able to! Looks delicious and love the idea of using goat cheese!
Thank you! I’m blessed with a husband who’s a really good baker.
It was fantastic! The goat cheese frosting really set the whole thing off. I made it for the top tier of my wedding cake because my Mother in Law is gluten intolerant. There is no sacrifice in this cake. She loved it, as well as everyone else who was quick enough to the cake table. We had a tiny ceremony (25 people) but there still wasn’t enough of this cake. I found myself licking every utensil that touched the frosting while I was making this. You hit the jackpot of recipes. I cannot say enough good things about this cake, but if you need a professional review, I am here. It is the least I can do for what you did for my Big Day. Thank you!!!
Congratulations on your wedding!
I’m so happy you and your guests enjoyed this cake and frosting so much. Your comment really made my day. Thank you! This is the cake and frosting we have for all the birthdays/events in our family, and nobody knows it’s gluten-free unless we tell them. Feel free to review away. 🙂
Oh, P.S. I used the frosting all over my cake. It went beautifully with my dark molasses fruitcake (secret family recipe) and a simple lemon sponge cake. Goat cheese is magic.
Mmm. I can only imagine how well this icing would go with fruit cake. Wait, I guess I could do more than that. I’ll try this with the traditional fruit cake my dad insists on having for Xmas. Thanks for the tip!
Congratulations on being smoke free!
So sweet of your husband to bake you a cake to celebrate. I’m also not wild about raisins in carrot cake and always leave them out. Never would have thought to use goat cheese for icing…very cool!
Thank you for linking with See Ya in the Gumbo. Hope you have a nice weekend!
The goat cheese icing sounds delicious!
Oh wow this looks so good, I think I’m going to have to take a trip to Bulk Barn and stock up on some almond flour, this makes 2 recipes I want to make so far
Carrot cake with cream cheese icing is my favourite dessert. Yours sounds amazing!
My mom made me this cake for my birthday. It was wonderful! Thank you for a great recipe.
I’m so glad you liked it! Happy belated birthday!
This recipe looks really good. I don’t know why you are paleo but it must take a real commitment because when I looked up what you can and can’t eat I realized most of my favorite foods would be out for me so there’s no way I could do it.