Carrot-less keto carrot cake may sound like it’s too good to be true, but we promise it will be sure to delight everyone at your next meal!
WHAT IS KETO CARROT CAKE?
The first published recipe that is similar to carrot cake dates all the way back to 1591.
Traditional carrot cake is a cake that has carrots mixed into the batter. On top of that, most recipes call for a cream cheese frosting.
As you might can guess, regular carrot cakes are full of sugar and carbs. Everything from the carrots themselves to the cream cheese frosting is full of sugar.
This cake, however, uses keto-friendly ingredients and sweeteners to
KETO CARROT CAKE INGREDIENTS
Before you try to make this carrot cake, make sure you have the following ingredients on hand first.
- 2 1/2 cups almond flour
- 3 large eggs
- 1/2 cup powdered erythritol
- 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
- 2/3 cup unsweetened cashew milk
- 1/2 cup coconut oil
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- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 pinch ground ginger
- 1 batch of our Keto Cream Cheese Icing
After you have them all, you’re set and ready to bake!
HOW TO MAKE KETO CARROT CAKE
- Preheat oven to 350°F
- Using a stand mixer or hand mixer, mix all dry ingredients together
- Then, mix all wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until well mixed and form a batter
- Grease a loaf pan with coconut oil cooking spray and pour bread batter into the pan
- Place into the oven and bake for 50 – 60 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the middle comes out clean
- Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes
- While it is cooling, whip up a batch of our Keto Cream Cheese Icing
- Using a knife, go between the edges of the bread and loaf pan, and remove
- Ice the top of the cake with the amount of icing you like
- Slice and enjoy!
A FEW WORDS ABOUT MONK FRUIT SWEETENER…
If you peruse our site a lot, you will notice that we recommend monk fruit sweetener for almost all of our sweets recipes.
In fact, it is our sweetener of choice for everything sweet except our ice creams (powdered erythritol just works so much better).
WHAT IS MONK FRUIT?
Monk fruit, otherwise known in China as “luo han guo,” is a member of the gourd family. The fruits are naturally sweet but are such without fructose or sucrose.
Instead, the fruits contain something called mogrosides, which are naturally sweet but are chemically different than sugar.
WHY IS IT BETTER?
The reason monk fruit is one of the best sweeteners for anyone looking to reduce their sugar and carbohydrate intake is that it has no glycemic index.
Simply put, this means ingesting monk fruit has no effect on your blood sugar whatsoever. No rise in blood sugar is exactly what you are aiming for on a ketogenic or low-carb diet.
Without a rise in blood sugar, your body isn’t signaled to store the food you are eating as fat. This is one of the major factors in carbohydrate-based diets and weight gain.
BUT WHY LAKANTO?
Most sweetener brands use dextrose or another binding agent to attach the sweetener to. These binders can cause a spike in blood sugar, much like regular sugar can.
Because of this, these brands, though using approved sweeteners like monk fruit, are not fit for a keto/low-carb diet.
Unlike a lot of monk fruit-based sweeteners you find in the store, Lakanto combines monk fruit with erythritol to form their sweetener. Like monk fruit, erythritol is also a non-glycemic sweetener.
Because of this, Lakanto is the best solution to get a wonderful sweetness, all while ensuring blood sugar levels don’t spike or rise.
DOES THIS RECIPE USE CARROTS?
No, it does not. While a small amount of carrot could be added without too much of a spike in carb count, we don’t add them to this recipe.
If you’d like to add shredded carrot for a more low-carb (instead of keto) option, feel free.
CHOOSING A GOOD COCONUT OIL
Before you can make a delicious, frothy butter coffee you need to have a good coconut oil on hand. Let’s take a look at what coconut oil is and how to choose the best brand.
WHAT IS COCONUT OIL?
Coconut oil is an edible oil extracted from the “meat” of mature coconuts harvested from the coconut palm. It is full of fat, making it a perfect ingredient for low-carb and ketogenic cooking.
Coconut oil can be used for a variety of things. In the beauty industry, it is often used for hair and skin care. Supposedly, you can even rub it on your scalp for faster hair growth.
Outside of an ingredient, it can also be used for removing the smell of garlic from your hands. Crazy!
IS IT FOOD-GRADE COCONUT OIL?
Obviously, when choosing a coconut oil for use in cooking, you’ll want it to be food-grade.
Food-grade oils are processed with much higher production standards. This means it will definitely be safe to eat in any recipe you choose.
Most stores separate their food-grade from non-food-grade oils by keeping the food-grade in the grocery section and the other in the beauty section.
IS THE COCONUT OIL SOLID OR LIQUID?
Even though it might seem a bit counterintuitive to have a non-liquid oil, stick to the solid. Pass on liquid forms you might find.
The solid form of coconut oil is generally more pure and can be easily melted into liquid.
It has a shelf life of around 2 years when kept out of direct sunlight and doesn’t need any form of refrigeration after opening.
IS IT REFINED OR UNREFINED?
For most cooking purposes, unrefined coconut oil is just fine.
The refining process is said to strip nutrients from the oil. Refined oil is best for high heat cooking (i.e: frying) as it has a higher smoke point than unrefined.
Anything that calls for coconut oil in a lower heat recipe, unrefined will be perfect.
Unrefined coconut oil might also be labeled as virgin, extra-virgin, or cold-pressed coconut oil.
IS IT LABELED AS ORGANIC?
This one can be a personal choice for you. If you prefer to source products labeled as organic, then certainly aim for that.
If you are ever purchasing refined oil, going organic might be a better option since certain chemicals aren’t allowed to be used to refine the oil in an organic-labeled product.
STORING KETO CARROT CAKE
Storing leftover carrot cake is easy!
Simply put it into an air-tight storage container and place out of direct sunlight.
You can refrigerate the leftovers if you want, but it’s not necessary.
This cake will keep for several days but it would be a good idea to get rid of any leftovers after 4 – 5 days.
WHAT TO EAT WITH KETO CARROT CAKE
Carrot cake is a delicious sweet treat perfect for any time of the year, especially Easter!
However, you might want to pair it with a delicious main course!
Here are some recipe ideas to get you started.
- Keto Cast Iron Skillet Pork Chops
- Keto Flourless Fried Chicken
- Keto Air Fryer Double Cheeseburger
- Keto Shrimp and Bacon Chowder
For more ideas, you can check out our recipe index.
TOOLS USED TO MAKE KETO CARROT CAKE
Click on the links to see the items used in making this recipe. You can also find these products linked in the recipe below.
- Hand Mixer – We’ve said it before, but it’s always worth a repeat. A good hand mixer can truly change your life in the kitchen. Whisks and elbow grease is great, but a hand mixer can make short work of just about any mixing task. If you don’t have one as part of your kitchen utensils, there’s no time like now to fix that!
- Stand Mixer – A stand mixer can really make light of a lot of work. Unlike a hand mixer, stand mixers can handle a greater volume of ingredients. Either a hand or stand mixer will get the job done, but if you do a lot of mixing, a stand mixer on your counter or in your kitchen is a great idea!
Keto Carrot Cake
Carrot-less keto carrot cake may sound like it’s too good to be true, but we promise it will be sure to delight everyone at your next meal!
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups almond flour
- 3 large eggs
- 1/2 cup powdered erythritol
- 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
- 2/3 cup unsweetened cashew milk
- 1/2 cup coconut oil
- 1/2 cup Lakanto Golden Monkfruit Sweetener
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 pinch ground ginger
- 1 batch of our Keto Cream Cheese Icing
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F
- Using a stand mixer or hand mixer, mix all dry ingredients together
- Then, mix all wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until well mixed and form a batter
- Grease a loaf pan with coconut oil cooking spray and pour bread batter into the pan
- Place into the oven and bake for 50 - 60 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the middle comes out clean
- Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes
- While it is cooling, whip up a batch of our Keto Cream Cheese Icing
- Using a knife, go between the edges of the bread and loaf pan, and remove
- Ice the top of the cake with the amount of icing you like
- Slice and enjoy!
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Nutrition Information
Yield 12 Serving Size 1 sliceAmount Per Serving Calories 250Total Fat 20gCarbohydrates 4gProtein 9g
Barbara J Church-Meehan
Monday 28th of September 2020
Can you use almond milk instead of cashew milk?
Logan Childress
Wednesday 30th of September 2020
Barbara,
That shouldn't be a problem at all to swap them out.
Candis
Tuesday 6th of November 2018
Love ,love ,love it. I’ve been on Keto 3 1/2 months. Love baking. This was delicious. Made into little bread but next time will make in mini bunds and put pecans on top of frosting. Thanks
Logan Childress
Tuesday 6th of November 2018
Candis,
So glad to hear it!
Ellen R
Wednesday 22nd of August 2018
I made this for my husbands BDay on Sunday, he loves carrot cake, I must say it was really good! I followed the recipe but added chopped pecans to the batter and course chopped pecan after icing the entire cake. Will make this again.
Logan Childress
Wednesday 22nd of August 2018
Ellen,
Glad you liked it!
Jeanette Sewell
Sunday 12th of August 2018
What other sweetener can I use if I don't have monkfruit?
Logan Childress
Monday 13th of August 2018
Jeanette,
You can also use powdered erythritol. You'd use a total of 1 cup of it for the recipe. I don't really recommend a lot of the pre-powdered sweeteners like Splenda because they have tons of hidden carbs.
Jessica
Wednesday 9th of May 2018
Does the nutrition cal include frosting?
Logan Childress
Wednesday 9th of May 2018
Jessica,
It does not. We actually like the cake just as much without the frosting, so we didn't include it here.