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Carrot Cake with Tangy Vanilla Frosting

10/21/2014

 
Carrot Cake with Tangy Creamy Frosting (grain free, gluten free, dairy free, paleo)  Ultra rich & delicious!  by Jenny at www.AuNaturaleNutrition.com

​It's probably no coincidence that I fell in love with carrot cake many years ago when it was served at a wedding I attended.  It's quite complex in an abundance of wonderful, rich flavors.  I'm sure that the wedding cake I ate was also made with refined sugar and white flour.  I've replicated that delicious cake here in this whole-food, gluten-free, lower-sugar recipe (paleo).  Take a bite, close your eyes, and take in the savory goodness. I'm certain you'll fall in love with carrot cake, too!

To shred/chop the carrots, I simply cut them into large chunks, then put them in my blender.  It worked great!  


​Carrot Cake Recipe

Ingredients:
  • 1/2 cup coconut flour (from Tropical Traditions, yum!)
  • 1 cup almond flour or cashew meal (find Honeyville almond flour)
  • 2 Tbsp allspice (a mix of cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves)
  • 1/2 tsp. sea salt (Redmond Real sea salt brand is best)
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda

  • 6 large organic carrots, finely shredded or chopped
  • 1/2 cup raw, local honey OR REAL Grade B maple syrup
  • 1 Tbsp organic molasses 
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce OR crushed pineapple
  • 1 Tbsp vanilla 
  • 1/4 cup melted butter/ghee OR coconut oil (Tropical Traditions is best)
  • 6 eggs
  • Optional: 3/4 cup chopped walnuts or raisins, or both
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​Directions:
  1. Preheat oven to 350.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients.
  3. Add in wet ingredients and blend again with your mixer.
  4. Mix in optional nuts and raisins.
  5. Grease a 9X13 glass cake pan with coconut oil.  Or 2 round cake pans.
  6. Then, line the pan(s) line with parchment paper.
  7. Pour batter into your pan(s)
  8. Bake times:  Large pan: approx 45 min.  (Check after 35 min.)  Round pans: 35 min.
  9. Check with a toothpick.
  10. Cool completely.
  11. Top with Tangy Vanilla Frosting (below).
  12. Store in fridge (no preservatives here!)
​
Creamy Vanilla Frosting (dairy free, paleo)  Ultra rich & delicious!  by Jenny at www.AuNaturaleNutrition.com

​
​Creamy Vanilla Frosting 

This frosting has a lovely, mild flavor and texture.  It's not super-sweet, so add more of your favorite natural sweetener, if you wish.

Blend these ingredients until light & fluffy.  It will take several minutes on high speed with an electric mixer.

  • 1 cup Spectrum palm oil shortening* or lightly chilled grass-fed butter 
  • 2 Tbsp raw honey
  • 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
  • ¼ cup tapioca flour
  • For this Carrot Cake recipe, add in the juice of 1/2 a lemon, to make it tangy, like cream cheese frosting. 

Spread the frosting on any of your favorite sweet treats by Au Naturale Nutrition!  Try it in my N'Oatmeal Cream Pies recipe, too.  Oooh, la, la! 

​
*
To read more about the lovely health benefits of Palm Oil (and where to find it from Eco-friendly Sustainable Farms), see my article:  Tropical Fats for both Health & Beauty: Cacao Butter, Palm Oil, & Coconut Oil.
​Pin it:
Carrot Cake with Tangy Creamy Frosting (grain free, gluten free, dairy free, paleo)  Ultra rich & delicious!
Creamy Vanilla Frosting (dairy free, paleo)  Ultra rich & delicious!  by Jenny at www.AuNaturaleNutrition.com
Carrot Cake with Tangy Creamy Frosting (grain free, gluten free, dairy free, paleo)  Ultra rich & delicious!
Sarah McLain link
10/21/2014 08:59:58 am

Yum! This looks delish! The only thing I don't have is the tapioca flour for the frosting... is there something else I could possibly use?

Jenny
10/21/2014 09:34:21 am

Hi Sarah! I think arrowroot flour might work as well as the tapioca. Or, perhaps 2 Tbsp of coconut flour? Let me know if the substitution works and I'll note it on the recipe. Awesome to hear from you, girlfriend!

Julie link
10/21/2014 11:03:17 pm

This sounds awesome. Could e add pureed pineapple do think?

Jenny
10/21/2014 11:29:28 pm

Great idea, Julie! I know a lot of people like pineapple with their carrot cake. I'm going to note on the recipe that it can substitute for the applesauce. Thanks for reading!

The Food Hunter link
11/3/2014 01:17:53 am

Adding this to my must make list!

Jenny
11/3/2014 01:51:35 am

Thank you! Please come back to comment on how much you loved it! ;-)

Sandy
3/8/2015 05:03:17 pm

I just made this a few days ago. The cake is amazing! Moist and delicious. I'm always so happy when I find recipes that I feel I can serve to guests who may not enjoy my food limitations. I wasn't overly excited about the frosting but I'm going to work on that. Thanks for sharing this recipe. It is YUM! Next time I'm going to try it in a cupcake form.

Jenny
3/8/2015 11:27:23 pm

I'm so glad you & your guests loved the carrot cake, Sandy! Whole-food ingredients do taste the best. :-)
Let me know about your work on the frosting. I'll note it here. Thanks for reading and commenting!

Brooke link
5/1/2015 12:30:19 pm

It's wonderful you've come up with a way to make dairy free frosting! I can't wait to try this recipe!

Jenny
5/1/2015 11:48:49 pm

You're very welcome, Brooke! The frosting is quite yummy. It's not super sweet, so experiment with it, if you like. Enjoy!

Ryan
5/16/2015 03:58:33 pm

My frosting never reached a "whipped" consistency with air entrained in it. It was more like heavy icing, barely lighter than butter.

And don't try lining the cake pan with coconut oil, my cakes came out of the tin pie molds in a million pieces.

The cake flavor is pretty good, the icing tastes more like butter than anything.

Clare
8/28/2015 10:26:49 am

would agave work as a sweetener instead of honey or maple syrup?

Jenny
8/28/2015 11:55:23 am

Hi Clare, Good question. I never recommend agave because it has more fructose in it that high fructose corn syrup. Not good! Fructose is metabolized in the liver (vs. the gut) and gets directly converted to fat. Dr. Robert Lustig is a foremost expert on fructose and has given an extremely popular talk on You Tube called, "Sugar: The Bitter Truth". It is definitely worth the time to watch.

Kate dermer
10/1/2015 01:26:47 pm

I'm concerned about the palm oil shortening. I can only assume you haven't heard of what's happening to the world's rainforests/wildlife because of palm oil. Nasty stuff. Can you recommend another substitute?

Jenny
10/2/2015 06:53:01 am

Hi Kate, I say right in the recipe that butter can be used. If you have read my articles about healthy food sources, you would know that I'm very concerned about sustainable agriculture. Plus, there is nothing nutritionally "nasty" about Palm Oil. It's a very healthy, delicious fat.

Also, Tropical Traditions offers a Palm Shortening that comes from Eco-friendly Sustainable Farms. They say "'Tropical Traditions Palm Shortening comes from small scale family farms in South America. These farmers are certified by ProForest, which ensures that they meet strict social, environmental and technical criteria. With regard to environmental criteria, the assessments are carried out at the landscape and operational level at both the farms and processing facilities. These assessments cover environmental impact on the soil, water, air, biodiversity and local communities. The lands the farmers use are not lands that were deforested. The lands used to grow the palm fruit are lands previously used for agricultural purposes (cattle, rice, banana)."

You can get it here (in Healthy Oils tab): https://secure.ttpurchase.com/F8079F00-C6B1-22B9-A10C7A26139CEE8D

Olivia
1/22/2016 12:56:06 am

Hello. This sounds yummy. Can coconut oil, or another oil, or ghee substitute the palm oil?

Jenny
1/22/2016 08:03:40 am

Hi Olivia,
I assume you mean for the frosting. No - you need something the consistency of shortening or butter. Hope you love it! ;-)

Tiffany link
9/3/2016 08:52:13 pm

I love that you recommend YL lemon vitality oil in place of lemon juice! GREAT substitute!!

Jenny
9/4/2016 07:31:20 am

Thanks, Tiffany! I love the YL vitality oils! 😊

Kathleen Crowley
11/24/2016 08:31:29 pm

I made this cake today for my mother's birthday/Thanksgiving. It was fantastic! Everyone enjoyed it - even those who are not gluten/grain free! I made the cake exactly according to the recipe (I used pineapple), but baked the cake in a springform pan, as that was all I had. To the frosting, I added an extra tablespoon of honey, plus a half-dropper of Whole Foods Liquid Stevia, and mixed it with a Bamix immersion blender. I added a rim of finely chopped walnuts around the edge for visual interest. I will make this again and again. Thanks so much...I can't even begin to tell you how much I enjoyed this cake!

Kathleen
11/24/2016 08:37:30 pm

Sorry...I also added a tablespoon of lemon extract as well to the frosting!

Jenny
11/25/2016 07:15:37 am

Wow, Kathleen! I'm thrilled and honored that you used this recipe to celebrate such a special day. And I'm so glad it was a hit. Thank you for letting me know. Happy Thanksgiving!


Comments are closed.
Jenny Yelle, MHNE  Holistic Wellness Educator & founder of Au Naturale Nutrition

Jenny Yelle, MHNE  Holistic Wellness Educator


​Hello lovelies! Thanks for visiting Au Naturale Nutrition and sharing my passion for
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