Classic Carrot Cake KETO GF (Carolyn)* ❤

Classic Carrot Cake

This three layer Keto Carrot Cake is a stunner of a low carb dessert. Frosted with the best sugar-free cream cheese frosting, this cake will wow your friends and family. And it's remarkably easy to make! 

Keep in mind, this is KETO so it calls for sugar free ingredients. If you don't care about that but still want a GF recipe (Danni ❤) just replace it with regular sweeteners. 

Also, if you don't want to get all fancy with the tiered look, just put it in a cake pan and call it a day. Or you can always bake muffins or mini Bundt cakes too. You will obviously need to watch the cooking times.

Servings: 16

Ingredients: 

Carrot Cake

• 2 cups almond flour
• ⅓ cup coconut flour (to help with consistency)
• ⅓ cup unflavored whey protein powder, or egg white protein powder (I used vanilla protein powder, it's fine)
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp ground cloves
• 4 large eggs
• ½ cup avocado/extra light olive oil, or another neutral oil (avoid vegetable or canola, literally terrible for you) 
• ½ cup Swerve Brown
• ½ cup Swerve Granular
• 1½ cups finely grated carrot, lightly packed
• 1½ tsp vanilla extract
• ⅓ cup chopped pecans/walnuts

Cream Cheese Frosting

• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup powdered Swerve Sweetener
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream, room temperature

Garnish

• ¼ cup chopped pecans
• 1 tbsp finely grated carrot

Instructions: 

Cake

• Preheat the oven to 350ºF and grease 3 8-inch round cake pans. Line the bottoms with parchment paper and grease the paper.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the almond flour, coconut flour, protein powder, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and cloves.
• In a large bowl, beat the eggs and oil with the sweeteners until well combined and the sweeteners are mostly dissolved. Beat in the carrots and vanilla extract.
• Add the dry ingredients and beat on low until combined. Stir in the chopped pecans.
• Divide the batter evenly among the baking pans and spread to the edges. Bake 18 to 25 minutes, or until golden brown and the tops are firm to the touch.
• Remove and let cool completely in the pans, then run a sharp knife around the inside of the pans and flip out onto a wire rack.

Cream Cheese Frosting

• In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter together until very smooth. Beat in the sweetener and vanilla extract until well combined. 
• Slowly beat in the heavy whipping cream until a spreadable consistency is achieved.

To assemble

• Place one layer of cake on a cake stand or plate. Spread the top with one quarter of the frosting. Repeat with the remaining layers.
• Use the final quarter of frosting to lightly crumb coat the sides, so that the cake peeks through.
• Sprinkle the chopped pecans and shredded carrot around the outside of the top of the cake. Refrigerate 1 hour before cutting and serving.

Notes:

The sweeteners

• Staying true to conventional carrot cake, I incorporated both a brown sugar replacement and granulated sweetener. Swerve Brown is, by far, the most like real brown sugar, and it deepens the flavor of the cake.

The spices

• Carrot cake is really a kind of spice cake, so don’t skimp on the spices. I used plenty of cinnamon and some ground cloves. You can also add in nutmeg and a bit of ginger. But don’t overdo the ginger as it can overpower the rest of the flavors.

Is the protein powder necessary?  What can I use to replace it?

• Protein powder is a critical ingredient as it helps baked goods rise and hold their shape properly. You will find that my keto cake recipes are lighter and fluffier than many others. You can skip it, but please understand that your cake will be more dense and more fragile.
• You can use whey protein, egg white protein, or some plant-based proteins. But don’t use collagen protein as it will make the cake gummy and hard to cook through.

What if I want more frosting on the sides of the cake?

• You can make 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 times the frosting recipe to make a fully frosted cake.

I don’t like Swerve, can I use a different sweetener?

• The cake will probably turn out with other sweeteners but I do warn you that allulose causes baked goods to darken very quickly and look almost burnt. For the frosting, you need a good confectioner’s style (powdered) sweetener.

Storage:

• Store the keto carrot cake in the fridge, with any cut edges covered with plastic wrap. I like it best served at room temperature so I recommend cutting slices when it’s cold and letting them sit out for a few minutes. The cake should last for up to a week in the fridge.

• You can also freeze this cake, tightly wrapped up, for up to 2 months.

Macros:

• Serving: 1 slice | Calories: 320kcal | Carbohydrates: 6.3g | Protein: 6.2g | Fat: 32.7g | Fiber: 3g
• Source:  All Day I Dream About Food