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A few weeks ago I posted a keto low carb cream cheese frosting recipe, and mentioned that I had plans to use it more. And, I love that I got recipe requests for ways to use it! Well, you guys are totally my people, because many of you asked for the exact recipe I was planning. Low carb keto sugar-free carrot cake with almond flour! Yay!
With spring just around the corner, it’s the perfect time to start thinking about how to make sugar-free carrot cake. It makes such a wonderful spring dessert!
Granted, it doesn’t exactly feel like spring with the foot of snow (!!) we got last week. But I know the Midwest by now. We can easily go from arctic tundra to heat wave in a matter of days.
So, whether it’s still cold where you live or already starting to warm up, pin or bookmark this keto carrot cake recipe. It will come in handy soon.
It’s good enough to share with the whole family, even if they aren’t low carb. Try it for Easter, Passover, Mother’s Day, or any birthday coming up!
Low Carb Carrot Cake with Almond Flour
You probably know by now that I try to accommodate a variety of diets here at Wholesome Yum. The entire site is low carb and gluten-free, but I also have sections for special dietary requirements in the low carb recipes index.
Choosing a low carb flour for this keto carrot cake was a little challenging. Even though I love almond flour, I know many people have nut allergies, so I attempted with coconut flour.
But, almond flour carrot cake just turned out so much better, I had to go with that. If you can’t have almond flour, you might be able to get away with using ground sunflower seed meal instead. Of course you’d also have to skip the pecans if you have a nut allergy.
If you don’t have an allergy-related reason not to, I highly recommend making this low carb carrot cake with almond flour. It turned out so moist and flavorful! I served it for guests and they kept asking if I was sure that it had no wheat flour or sugar in it.
For those that are keto, you may be wondering how there could possibly be a keto carrot cake. Yes, it’s true that carrots contain more carbs than many other vegetables.
Still, a sugar-free carrot cake can work for a keto diet if it works for your macro requirements. A slice has 5.5 grams net carbs, so it’s totally doable!
I used a tiny bit of blackstrap molasses in this low carb carrot cake. It’s there for flavor, not sweetness, and does not add a significant amount of carbs per serving. But, if this is problematic, feel free to skip it. That is why it was listed as an optional ingredient.
Dairy-Free & Paleo Options for Gluten-Free Carrot Cake
Since we are talking about special diets, I’d like to give some dairy-free and paleo options for this sugar-free carrot cake recipe. In my opinion they are not quite as good as the original version with dairy, but pretty close!
I’ll share my modifications if you want to know how to make paleo gluten-free carrot cake with almond flour.
If you are able to tolerate grass-fed butter, I recommend leaving that as is. It provides the best flavor, and creaming the butter with sweetener creates air pockets. You can still do this with coconut oil, but I like the result best with butter.
But if butter is not an option, using ghee or coconut instead will work! There is just a slight difference in texture and flavor of the end result.
Since erythritol is a natural sweetener, I feel comfortable using it in paleo recipes. That being said, I know some people would rather not. Feel free to replace it with coconut sugar instead. Here is a conversion chart.
Finally, there is the cream cheese frosting for low carb carrot cake. The version I make is neither dairy-free nor paleo, but you can easily swap it with any frosting you like.
I don’t have a paleo one yet, but have heard that some people make it with whipped coconut cream. You can also omit it, too!
How To Make Sugar-Free Carrot Cake
Okay, are you ready to see how to make sugar-free carrot cake with almond flour? Don’t be put off by the number of steps. They are all straightforward!
You might be wondering about the number of ingredients. Isn’t it more than ten? Well, I have a couple of optional ingredients, which I don’t include since they are up to you. The frosting is also considered its own “ingredient”, which is what I always do when using one recipe in another.
I know that’s a bit of a stretch, but I hope you won’t get caught up on the ingredient count. This keto carrot cake recipe was too good not to share!
To start, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenhei. Line two cake pans with parchment paper, then grease the bottom and sides. I like to use springform pans for easy release, but whatever you have is fine.
Cream together the butter and erythritol, then beat in the remaining wet ingredients. These include molasses, vanilla extract, pineapple extract, and finally eggs, one at a time.
Pineapple extract is optional because it might be a little harder to find, but if you can get it, it’s so good! I included it because many traditional carrot cake recipes include crushed pineapple, and this was a great way to get the same flavor.
Mix together the dry ingredients in another bowl – almond flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and sea salt. Make sure you use finely ground blanched almond flour, not almond meal, for the right texture.
Stir the wet and dry ingredients together, then add the grated carrots and pecans.
Make sure the carrots are just loosely packed when measuring, don’t cram them into the measuring cup or you’ll end up with too much. You don’t really need to drain them, but if they are very wet and oozing water, give them a squeeze first.
You don’t want to get rid of all the moisture, though. The carrots help keep the batter moist. For this reason, pre-shredded carrots are not recommended. Grate them yourself right before using, so that they are somewhat wet.
Transfer the batter to the prepared pans, and bake until the top springs back. You can also use a toothpick to test for doneness.
Final Touches for Keto Carrot Cake
Let the layers of low carb carrot cake cool completely before frosting. I usually cool them in the pan for ten minutes, then a wire rack afterward.
What about the cream cheese frosting? You can make it anytime using this recipe. Don’t forget that you’ll need to double it to have enough for the cake! If you happen to have any leftover, try it on this chocolate mug cake – so good!
It’s fine to store the frosting ahead in the fridge, or just make it while the keto carrot cake bakes or cools. It only takes a few minutes.
Make sure it’s at room temperature before frosting your low carb carrot cake. Otherwise, it will be difficult to spread. You can always thin it out with a little cream if needed.
When the cake layers are completely cool, you can frost one of them. Stack the other one on top, then frost again. Top with more crunchy pecans. Yum, yum!
If you’re not ready to serve your sugar-free carrot cake right away – and if you can resist! – go ahead and refrigerate it. Gently cover it to avoid absorbing odors in the fridge. It’s best within a day or two, but may last up to a week.
Low Carb Keto Sugar-Free Carrot Cake Recipe with Almond Flour:
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Low Carb Keto Sugar-Free Carrot Cake Recipe with Almond Flour
Recipe Video
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PrintIngredients
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- 3/4 cup Erythritol (or coconut sugar for paleo)
- 3/4 cup Butter (softened; use coconut or ghee for paleo or dairy-free)
- 1 tbsp Blackstrap molasses (optional)
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp Pineapple extract (optional)
- 4 large Egg
- 2 1/2 cup Blanched almond flour
- 2 tsp Gluten-free baking powder
- 2 tsp Cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp Sea salt
- 2 1/2 cup Carrots (grated, measured loosely packed after grating)
- 1 1/2 cup Pecans (chopped; divided into 1 cup and 1/2 cup)
- 2 full recipes Sugar-free cream cheese frosting (double the frosting recipe; for paleo or dairy-free, omit or use a coconut cream based frosting instead)
Instructions
RECIPE TIPS + VIDEO in the post above, nutrition info + recipe notes below!
Click on the times in the instructions below to start a kitchen timer while you cook.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C). Line two 9 in (23 cm) round cake pans with parchment paper. (Use springform pans if you have them.) Grease the bottom and sides.
- In a large bowl, cream together the butter and erythritol, until fluffy. Beat in the molasses (if using), vanilla extract, and pineapple extract (if using). Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Set aside.
- In another bowl, mix together the almond flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and sea salt. Stir the dry ingredients into the bowl with the wet ingredients.
Stir in the grated carrots. Fold 1 cup (99 g) of the chopped pecans, reserving the remaining 1/2 cup (48.5 g).
Transfer the batter evenly among the two prepared baking pans. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the top is spring-y.
Let the cakes cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Meanwhile, make the sugar-free frosting according to the instructions here. (Double the recipe by entering "12" into the box for # of servings on that page.)
- When the cake has cooled to room temperature, place the bottom layer on a plate or cake stand. Frost, then add the top layer and frost again. Top with the remaining chopped pecans.
Readers Also Made These Keto Low Carb Recipes
Recipe Notes
Nutrition info includes the frosting, based on this sugar-free cream cheese frosting recipe.
Serving size: 1 slice, or 1/16 of entire recipe
Video Showing How To Make Low Carb Sugar-Free Carrot Cake:
Don't miss the VIDEO above - it's the easiest way to learn how to make Low Carb Sugar-Free Carrot Cake!
Nutrition Information Per Serving
Where does nutrition info come from? Nutrition facts are provided as a courtesy, sourced from the USDA Food Database. You can find individual ingredient carb counts we use in the Low Carb & Keto Food List. Carb count excludes sugar alcohols. Net carb count excludes both fiber and sugar alcohols, because these do not affect blood sugar in most people. We try to be accurate, but feel free to make your own calculations.
More Low Carb & Keto Support
If you want to know more about how to start a low carb diet, want to substitute sweeteners, need a food list, or need support, check these guides:
Low Carb & Keto Diet Plan
Starter Guide 
Sweetener Conversion Calculator 
Keto Low Carb Macro Calculator 
Low Carb Keto Food List + Printable PDF
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163 Comments
Ummie
AMAZING CAKE!
so delicious and moist and just a perfect cake! My family enjoyed it!
I remember reading a comment saying the cake turned out dry, I think it might be because of using too much almond flour, since it can easily over packed when measuring with a cup (its dense and almost moist like). So you might have ended up using too much almond flour. I spooned it on to the measuring cup and used a knife to level it, to avoid over packing the cup. The cake turned out better tben I had expected! Thank you for sharing this recipe, it made my husbands birthday so much more special:))
Jennifer Jones
This cake is amazing!
Carol
The BEST carrot cake ever!!!!Everyone loves it…even if they are not on a keto diet !
Brittany
I am not on a low carb/keto/sugar-free diet at all. I made this cake because I have a friend who is low carb, her birthday was recently and her favourite cake is Carrot Cake. I’ve had low carb baking before and while my friends who haven’t eaten real sugar in months rave about how good these desserts are I always find them bland and honestly disgusting. I’ve played it off as being too full from dinner to not hurt anyone’s feelings but I hate sugar-free food. I’ll diet no problem, but the carb-free life isn’t for me.
That being said; This cake was freaking amazing. I’m not sure if it had to do with the type of fake sugar I used or what but I followed the recipe exactly for the cake and the buttercream(Doubled). I could only taste the chemical taste of the fake sugars a tiny bit in the icing. This is a big deal because normally that is all I can taste. It was so good. My friends were almost in tears because they said it was the best low carb dessert they’ve had in a long time. My husband who is a red-seal chef helped me make it so maybe that had something to do with it and he also wasn’t comfortable leaving it in for the 30-35 minutes it stated. I think we only had it in the oven for about 25 minutes give or take a couple of minutes. I’ve sent it to everyone who had the cake that night and they were all super jazzed. Well done, this recipe is a definite win.
Lynn
It seemed to come out dry. Is there something that could be substituted to make it a bit more moist?
Wholesome Yum A
Hi Lynn, it might be overbaked if it’s dry, so try reducing the baking time. Other than that you can add more butter if you’d like but I didn’t find that necessary.
Kurtis
I made these into muffins. It made 18 regular size and I only needed 1 batch of the icing noted in the recipe. These are quite good, moist and certainly satisfies the old “sweet” tooth. I’ll definitely be making again. Love all the recipes I’ve found, thank you for sharing. It has made starting Keto so much more enjoyable.
Megan Malin
So, I made this recipe for the first time today and am very pleased with the results. I have tried many other recipes from other sources and was never happy with any of the resulting products. This was everything I was looking for…tender, flavorful, delicate…..sooo good!
Thank you for sharing this lovely recipe!!
Gigi
I made this cake today, and whilst the flavours are good it is extremely dry! I followed the recipe exactly, and have triple checked everything. I don’t understand how there are so many comments about how moist it is. My cake batter was pretty solid before baking which I was worried about at the time, but I trusted the recipe and thought it might work out. Well I should have followed my instincts! I might make this again but when I do, I’m going to reduce the amount of almond flour.
PAPAW GIG
Saturday I am celebrating my 70 years of LIFE along with my Christian brother, business partner and best friend who is celebrating his 77th annual date of his DELIVERY.
Another of our business associates is baking THIS cake as a KETO FRIENDLY carrot cake and we are introducing it to many of our families and friends.
I’ll let you know how it turns out.
Julie
Hi, I am all set to make this but I cannot see how many eggs to use??
The reviews look so good I have to try this cake!
Wholesome Yum A
Hi Julie, it’s four large eggs!
Ashley
Just thought I’d share a funny story – one that shows how darn good this recipe is.
My family and I travel full-time in a camper. My oven broke a while back, so I use our pressure cooker for everything. Also, I gave ALL my baking supplies other than a few things away before we moved in because I thought we’d lack the space.
So, today is my husband’s birthday, and carrot cake is his absolute favorite, but he didn’t want one unless I could eat it with him. So I decided to make THIS recipe in a pressure cooker and see how it turned out.
Bought all the ingredients, using monk fruit sweeter instead of erythritol in both the icing and the cake, and lemon extract instead of pineapple (because I couldn’t find it). No molasses because I couldn’t find that, either. We are in the actual middle of nowhere, so grocery supplies are limited. Still shocked that they have monk fruit but no molasses.
Then I get home last night, and I cannot find my small cake pans that will fit in the pressure cooker. Yay.
Finally, hubs found an old metal dog bowl that my dog won’t use because he’s terrified of the steel color. LOL.
So anyway, I baked the cake in a dog bowl in my pressure cooker, two layers, added cinnamon to the icing because I ran out of vanilla. Oh yeah, my son poured water in the butter while it was sitting to room temp. So probably a tbsp of water that shouldn’t be in there mixed in. hahahaha.
It still turned out delicious, and it has little paw prints embedded on the bottom.
It’s more moist, less brown, and probably more dense than if cooked in an oven, but it does work, and it is wonderful.
Thanks for this great recipe that can basically withstand a disaster.
Wholesome Yum
I LOVE this story, Ashley! Thank you for sharing! 🙂
Ashley
Thanks for reading it! Lol!
My husband just finished the rest of the cake for dinner. . He said this is the best he’s ever had, and he’d choose this over “a regular normal cake” any day.
Thanks again for an awesome addition to our treats. 🙂
Georgina Mojardin
This is the best Keto Carrot cake recipe ever. I make this for my family and friends and co workers. And they love it even though they are not on the Keto diet. I have some non Keto people get seconds!!!!!
Mariana Mariles Alvarez
I love carrot cake and haven’t had it since I went on a low carb diet, this is the best recipe ever, everyone in my family loved it. My to go carrot cake from now on without the guilt, thank you!
Angela
I tried to make this today. Sadly, I did not put parchment paper on the bottom of the pans. Now the cakes won’t come out and they have crumbled. It is impossible to assemble the cake. I am upset with myself. I did not realize parchment paper is so important. I also do not quite understand how to bake with almond flour because it does not hold up well in cakes or cookies. Live and learn.
Szilard Molnar
Thank you very much for this recipe! I baked it for my wife’s birthday because she loves carrot cake, but I wanted to find a sugar free option. It worked perfectly, we both loved it!!!
Hannah
Made this twice and in love.
Katey
Yum! I made this for my husband for his bday and it was a huge hit!! I ended up using lactose free butter and cream cheese. I also used local honey instead of other sweetners which i know isnt keto.. but tasted amazing! So moist and so delicious.
Byenia
Made this recipe a couple days back and loved it! Boyfriend loved it too, and planning to share it with my best guyfriend as well. Reduced the recipe by half since we wanted a small cake, and added the xanthan gum & baking soda as recommended by other commenters. Skipped the optional molasses and pineapple extract. Used half pecans and half walnuts for the nuts. Decided to try out a cream cheese/greek yogurt frosting to accompany this, but next time I’ll likely try your cream cheese frosting recipe instead. Thanks so much! This was very tasty and has a great texture! 🙂
Jessica
Can you freeze this cake? I’m thinking in individual pieces to have on hand.
Wholesome Yum
Hi Jessica, you should be able to do that. Let me know how it goes!
Pam Cameron
The reviews are right, AMAZING! I’m not a “baker” but had to try this as my husband is type 2 diabetic and we occasionally need a good treat. this is so good, and not difficult, which is important for me. Didn’t have molasses or the pineapple extract (getting some) but enjoyed it without. I took an earlier suggestion of adding 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum and 1/2 teaspoon baking soda. The cake was moist, not too crumbly and with the frosting, perfect sweetness. I didn’t have erythritol so did some calculations and used Fructevia (about 4 tablespoons) which seems fine. Thank you so much. This is a big hit and I’ll be sharing with my friends who don’t beleive you can have yummy baked goods without sugar. Love your recipes.
Lisa
Can this be made in Cupcakes?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Hi Lisa, Yes, you can do that. The oven time will probably be around 25 minutes.
Estelle
I’d been hungry for carrot cake for a long time. I happened to be the recipient of some fresh home grown carrots and decided to make this cake. It is delicious and was satiated my hunger for carrot cake. I made it in a 9X13 pan and it was perfect with the double recipe of the cream cheese frosting! Thank you Maya for the great recipe!
Marcy Smith
This carrot cake was amazing! I just made it for myself for Easter, the rest of my family is full carbohydrate and sugar. I make stuff for them but leave myself out most of the time. I made my dessert a priority this holiday and I am so thrilled I did!
I substituted walnuts for the pecans as that is my family’s tradition with carrot cake. I didn’t have the pineapple extract, and I made the dairy-free option. I used Switch from Thrive Market as the sweetener for the cake, that was all I had. I found a dairy-free cream cheese frosting recipe and used that recipe. The frosting was not just like the dairy version, but I felt the cake was just like a flour and dairy version. Perhaps it didn’t rise as high as a flour cake, but the taste and texture was bang on! Thank you so very much for this recipe! You really made my holiday great. I am going to have another slice now!
Brenna
Made this for Easter (2019) and everyone loved it! My Husband even to seconds! Even with the confectioners swerve I still found the frosting a bit grainy, but my dad thought it was great. (and that is coming from a man who can complain about anything.)
Kathy Packard
Does the carb count include the molasses?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Hi Kathy, Yes, it does.
Gloria
Omygod! I had 22 guests, my keto carrot cake and a chocolate cake. I did double up on the cream cheese for this recipe, and a bit more butter for the icing. It was so incredibly popular. Everyone truly loved it.
Marylyn
Can I use drained crushed pineapple to this cake? I love carrot cake with pineapple.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Hi Marylyn, You’d need to make other changes to add pineapple, it would make the cake too wet. I have pineapple extract in the recipe for this very reason and recommend using that.
Jennifer
I made this cake this afternoon and it is positively yummy! Can’t believe that it is low carb! My husband raved about it with every bite! I hope you have more yummy recipes for low carb dieting! Thanks so much for this one! I will be making it again and again!
Mabel
OMG, this dessert was absolutely outrageous! My guest couldn’t believe that it was made with almond flour and swerve. Only adjustment made omitted pineapple extract and blackstrap molasses and added ½ teaspoon of xanthan gum and ½ teaspoon of baking soda. Texture was moist, not dense, did not taste like almond flour, did not crumble and was extremely flavorful. BTW, this is my first review ever, so thank you so much for all your contributions and excellent details. This recipe is a keeper!
Samantha Rowland
As a baker I’m experimenting more with keto creations as I have recently gone semi-keto (mostly low carb).
I like the simplicity of ingredients and it was easy to make. I used Stevia in the Raw with a ratio of 1:1 , so 3/4c same as the Erythritol. I found that the texture and flavors were lovely, but it wasn’t very sweet, at all. I think I’m going to up the sugar for next time but overall great recipe.
Emily
I baked this last week and it was the first cake I have baked in my life! Being a T1 diabetic cakes were off limits.. Thank you for this recipe it worked perfectly now I’m going to try other low carb baking!
Chris
I’m a little confused on the pecans. When I measure 1Cup of crushed pecans, I then put it on my scale and I’m only getting about 130g as the measurement. This is no where near the 340g you have stated. Should I stick to my measuring cup or go all the way up to 340?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Hi Chris, Sorry about that. The recipe calls for 148.5g pecans, which is correct, but the weights in the instructions were off. I updated them.
Lisa
Fingers crossed. Ordered all the ingredients. Will make this for my husband’s birthday April 6th as carrot cake is his favorite.
Marcia
Dear Maya: I made this as a birthday cake for my sweetie, who was diagnoses with Type II Diabetes a few months ago. Everyone at the table loved it, and my (30-something) son was sneaking bites of mine off my plate when I wasn’t looking. This one’s definitely a keeper! First, I made a 1/2 recipe as I always do, since 6 slices, with no leftovers, is just right for us. As for the recipe, I used powdered monk fruit instead of erythritol, which was fine. And I didn’t use molasses or pineapple extract, because I didn’t have either of those on hand, but will add them next time. The cream cheese frosting? Well… I forgot to get cream cheese. I tried to use creme fraich instead, but that was *not* a success. Wound up using some additional creme fraich as frosting, and will remember to get cream cheese before the next time. Thank you so much for a tasty dessert that is just as good as a traditional recipe. Question: Would adding raisins or pineapple be okay for a diabetic-friendly recipe, or would those up the sugar too much? TIA for your advice.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Hi Marcia, I’m so glad you and your family liked the cake! Raisins or pineapple would not be low carb or keto, but in small amounts I’m sure some diabetics might be able to have them as part of a low carb cake. Pineapple would also make the cake more wet so would not recommend adding that, but from a recipe standpoint raisins are fine.
Marcia
Lisa – I had to laugh, as I just made this for *my* partner’s April 6th birthday. It was a hit here at our house. I hope it turned out okay for you as well.
Darlene
Hi Maya,
I am so thankful I found your website through Pinterest. Have made your donuts and blueberry muffins recipes multiple times. You’re so thorough in your decsciptions and research. My question today is about the carrot cake. It came out so delicious but crumbed when taking it out of the pan. Would using parchment paper help or do you have another suggestion? Or is it the timing after I take it out of the oven to cool? This is my first cake so, appreciate any suggestions you can provide.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Thank you so much, Darlene! Yes, definitely use parchment paper to line the bottom of the pan, and grease the sides. You could also use a springform pan but that’s not required as long as you use parchment paper. It could be the timing as well – it has to cool completely before removing it from the pan. I’m glad it was still delicious!
Doreen
Maya, this is absolutely delicious!! Thank you. I thought I was going to have to be carrot cake free for life…you’re a life saver. It’s really the only (apart from lemon drizzle cake) I’ve actually had a hankering for since going keto a few years ago. Bless you!
Heather
WOW!!! I can’t believe how amazing this cake tasted and turned out!! I think it’s even better than non-keto carrot cakes I’ve had… I couldn’t get enough! I didn’t have the molasses or pineapple extract, but still turned out perfectly. Thanks so much for this recipe 😀
Vee
I made these into muffins. I’m terrible at baking but I wanted to try this anyway since my hubs is on low carb and loves carrot cake. He asked for no sugar and they came out pretty good without it!! It’s a great idea to grab and go too if you do muffins.
Luther McNabb
Can you freeze this cake? There are only 2 of us. Thanks. My husband loved his birthday cake!!!!!!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Hi Luther, Yes, you can freeze it. So nice of you to make this homemade birthday cake for him!
Denise
How big are they and do they rise or are they kinda flat? I’m going to try and make cupcakes for a birthday with this.
Matt
Hi! The recipe looked great and the cake tasted great, too. However, one of my pans crumbled when I tried to invert after cooling. Would you know why? Also I had to spoon the batter into the pan, wasn’t that liquidy to pour itself on to the pan. Pretty sure I followed the recipe to a t. Any insight would be helpful! Thanks!
Conni Taz
This was absolutely delicious. Best keto dessert I’ve had. I was wondering if you ever substituted the carrots for zucchini to lower the net carbs? Thanks so much for posting this recipe it is incredible
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Thank you, Conni! I haven’t tried it with zucchini. It might work, but you’d have to sprinkle it with salt, let it drain over the sink, and then squeeze out the extra moisture before using it in the cake. Zucchini has higher water content than carrots.
Heather
Aahhh! I was wondering the same thing! I actually froze some from the summer, salted and drained already. I’m going to thaw and drain them and try it….stay tuned
Michelle
Hi Maya, I love your recipe! I made these into cupcakes and they were sooooooooooooo delicious and well received by everyone who tried them!
Angela Madden
So darn good! I LOVE this recipe!! Really craving carrot cake and made this recipe with ingredients as is, except I made a 9×13 pan size. Thank you so very much it’s DELICIOUS
Jeanna
How long did you bake it in the 13 x 9 pan; and did you need to double the frosting (as called for in the 2-layer version)?
Thank you!
Celeste Glass
Hi there, looks like the best recipe I’ve seen so far. One question, can I replace the erythritol with xylitol? I just can’t handle the taste of erythritol.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Hi Celeste, Yes, you can do that! You’d need a little less – check the low carb sweetener conversion calculator here.
Simone Hrycenko
Outstanding carrot cake – as good as any I have had. Thank-you for taking the time to craft and share this recipe. Mine turned out moist, not crumbly. Almost seemed better the second day after it had time to rest and meld. I added some orange zest (1tsp) to the icing and it went over well. I used the “Golden” monkfruit sweetner by Lakanto in the cake, and their powdered monkfruit sweetner in the icing. Flour was the extra fine almond flour offered at Costco. We have been eating keto for nearly two years; this recipe definitely elevated my dessert game.
Tara
Hi Maya, I’m about to bake this recipe and was wondering if you have tried a version replacing eggs. I know of “flaxseed eggs”, but have recently used this version and the cake was a disaster (not your recipe). Thank you
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Hi Tara, Sorry, I haven’t tried it without eggs. The substitutes I’ve seen people use are flax eggs or chia eggs, but can’t say how it would turn out for this recipe.
Tara
Thanks so much for responding, I’ll give it a go and see how it turns out in the next few days.
Jodie Palasantza
I only have one cake tin. Would this recipe work as one big cake rather than two layers if I increase the cooking time?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Hi Jodie, You could do that, but you may need to cover the top part-way through to avoid burning the top before the center is done baking. You could also try making it in a 9×13 pan, cut that in half, and then stack the two halves to make a square cake. Of course baking time would still need adjustment with any pan different from the size the recipe is written for.
Mj Rad
This recipe is divine. I made this for my husband’s birthday and it tasted like a normal carrot cake. Everyone was happy and cannot believe it was a keto cake. No modification with the recipe but I may try to put xantham gum for the cake not to be crumbly. Again, thanks for the recipe.
Magda
I made this carrot cake for Christmas. It is awesome. I doubled the recipe to make one big cake, substituted pecans with chopped walnuts, used ground almonds and omitted molases and pineapple exctract but added instead gingerbread spices. Purely because I used what I already had in my pantry. Usually, the pictures in recipes are far better then the final product when you do it at home. Not this time! I think mine was even more impressive! Keto or no keto this carrot cake it’s just perfect. Dense, moist, sweet, full of flavour. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe.
Karen
I have looked at the “sugar” replacement charts. They don’t help me. I cannot buy erythritol where I am but stevia is everywhere and I HATE the aftertaste. I need a sweetener that doesn’t spike insulin – so no coconut sugar. Today I found monk fruit powder. How do I replace the erythritol in your recipe with monk fruit? Thank you for this site.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Hi Karen, The amount of monk fruit depends on the brand; some are pure whereas others contain other ingredients. You don’t need to use the chart, just use the conversion calculator here.
Karen
Thank you. As noted in the email reply, the conversion chart does not list powdered stevia. It works better if the TYPE of sweetener was listed, alphabetically, then by product. Thus: erythritol – , Monk fruit – Lakanto, Stevia -liquid stevia – dry, Xylitol – etc.
Jared
Awesome recipe, thanks for sharing. My girlfriend is okay with a little crushed pineapple, so how much pineapple should we add in place of subtracting some erythritol??
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Hi Jared, I haven’t tried it so can’t say for sure. Most likely you’d need to make multiple adjustments to the recipe, because replacing some erythritol with pineapple would make the batter more runny, and the cake might not set.
April Abbott
I am very impressed. Husband is keto and carrot cake is his favorite dessert. I’m sugar-free and low carb also so this recipe pleased us both. I omitted the molasses. Added a tsp of xantham gum. Also, I added a 1/4 cup of no sugar added applesauce for sweetness and moisture and 1/4 tsp of nutmeg. (something I always did to my regular carrot cake in the past). Interestingly, initially, I was not impressed. It didn’t quite taste sweet enough and was kind of so-so when we tried to dig in the first night. Husband loved it immediately though. But today, after letting it sit overnight, the flavor really comes through and it is very moist and flavorful. So sitting for a while really helped. I do like my carrot cake a little on the spicy side, so next time I will probably add a little more cinnamon. Overall a great recipe that I will share with my keto and paleo friends. Thanks so much!
Jeannie
My husband is diabetic and I am always on the hunt for desserts for family gatherings. This one was Awesome! I often stay away from almond flour (he doesn’t like almonds) but thought the carrots might counter balance it. I did make a few modifications because of that too. I substituted a cup of almond flour for 1/4 c. Coconut flour, 2 additional eggs, 1/4 c. Butter, and 1/4 c. sweetner. (They are such different flours). …the modification was successful and helped lighten the almond taste I try to avoid.
He often cringed when I try a new recipe because we have had some bad ones, but he loves this one. Moist, good flavor. Nice to provide a dessert that everyone can enjoy that he doesn’t feel left out.
LeeAnn Anderson
Looks amazing. If making as cupcakes, would you modify anything other than maybe the cooking time?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Thank you, LeeAnn! You should be able to keep everything the same if making cupcakes, just reduce the baking time. I suppose the amount of frosting needed might be different, too.
Beth
oooh nice one. I’m not a very good baker so it always feels miraculous when something turns out nicely- especially something I can actually eat on my weird diet! It was gorgeously moist and dense. The cakes were pretty thin by the time i split the batter (though that was fine for what I needed). Next time I might experiment with tin sizes.
I layered it with very thin slices of orange and coconut yogurt <3 this cake LOVED the orange!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
I am so happy you liked the cake, Beth! Thanks for stopping by!
Joanie McCann
I followed the recipe but didn’t have almond flour. I used coconut flour. It came out like cookie dough instead of batter! How could I thin it out?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Hi Joanie, Sorry, coconut flour doesn’t work well in this recipe at all. As you found, it’s very drying and requires a totally different recipe, but even then you get a more dense result. You could try adding a bunch of eggs and milk, but that would throw off the sweetener balance. You really need a coconut flour recipe if you’d like to use that. Hope you’ll try this again with almond flour.
Carole
Maya, I love this carrot cake recipe. The first time I made it, I cut the recipe in half because it is just me and I don’t need a big cake. I made the cream cheese frosting and it was delicious. Since then, I discovered I need to stay away from dairy. I decided to make this cake again only this time I invented a glaze to put on it. I use both the molasses and pineapple extract (which I could find anywhere and I ordered it online). For the glaze for half the cake: 1/4C coconut oil, 1/4C coconut butter, 1T powdered erythritol and 1/8 tsp pineapple extract. Melt the coconut oil and butter in a pan, add erythritol, take off heat, add pineapple extract and pour onto cake and spread around. Top with unsweetened shredded coconut. SO DELICIOUS!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
I am happy you liked the cake, Carole! Thanks for stopping by!
Mike
Hello, My wife is on this keto kick and usually, I would make the southern fatty carrot cake but not this year. 🙂 I did omit the 1 tbsp blackstrap molasses and pineapple extract. The molasses creates a flavor I don’t care for in carrot cake and I used 1/4 a real pineapple that was cut into 1/4 inch sheets and slightly dehydrated in a convection oven @ 400 for 10 minutes. I let them cool and cubed to 1/4 inch, roughly 1 cup. I also cut the cinnamon down to 1 tsp, cut the carrots down to 2 cups and used multi-colored heirloom ones. The interior pecans were cut down to 1/2 cup to make room for the pineapple and 1 cup coconut rough fresh flakes.
The cakes took me 38 minutes to pull a toothpick clean but never got a springy top like you would on bread… I would think if you cooked to get that result it would be well overcooked. Oh yes, I also replaced the vanilla extract with vanilla paste in the cake and frosting. In the frosting, I did not add any cream as the texture felt right for a cream cheese butter frosting but I did add 1 additional cup of the powdered erythritol as the sweet taste was not there for me. I let you know how this goes over in a few…
Thanks for the inspiration.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Thank you for sharing, Mike! I can’t say how it would turn out with all those modifications, but please let us know how it went.
Carole
I want to make this cake – well half of this cake. It’s just me here so I think I will cut the cake in recipe in half. I live in the mountains of N. California and could not find pineapple extract anywhere. I found it on Amazon, it was spendy but I thought I could use it for other things and have ordered it. Can’t wait to try this cake – it will be for my 66th birthday cake next week!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Happy birthday, Carole! I hope you like it!
Kemi
Where to get almond flour?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Hi Kemi, You can get almond flour here. Many grocery stores also carry it in the baking area.
Sil
OMG. I have been looking forward to making this for about a month. I made it yesterday and I’m about to cut all portions and hide them so I don’t eat the whole thing at a time!! I used more carrots than the recipe calls for (I put baby carrots in food processor and used about 3 cups of processed carrots) and also used whole walnuts. Removed all the optionals and used stevia instead (about a 1/4 cup of powdered stevia). I am so happy this turned out so good!! My new go-to keto dessert!!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
I am so happy you liked the cake, Sil! Please come back soon!
Kristen
Hi,
I am going to bake this tomorrow. I bought Pyure all purpose. I checked your sweetener conversion chart but still aren’t sure how much of the Pyure to use. I was going to put 1/2 cup.
Also can you bake in a 13 by 9 inch pan, the whole amount of batter?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Hi Kristen, There’s a sweetener conversion calculator here that you can use. Yes, you should be able to use a 9 x 13 pan.
Reneel
Maya!!! This cake is sooooo good! I made a couple changes based on the comments left by other folks. I added a 1/4 tsp xanthum gum, 1/2 tsp more of baking powder and about 1 tbsp of olive oil to the carrots. I also did not shred the carrots, instead they were food processed into bits. The cake was so moist and there was actually a good rise to the cake. Don’t get me wrong, it was still dense, but moist and delicious!! I am so glad you posted this recipe! Thank you so much! BTW, the icing was fantastic too…I dropped a little of it into my coffee and well, it may be my new sweetener for my morning coffee 🙂
Maya | Wholesome Yum
What a great idea to sweeten your coffee, Renee!:) Thanks for stopping by!
Skitch
The cake part came out dry. My carrots were manually shredded (by me). Is there something else that could be added to help make the cake more moist? The icing was awesome though! Thank you. This is a good recipe otherwise.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Hi Skitch, It might be overbaked if it’s dry, so try reducing the baking time. Other than that you can add more butter if you’d like but I didn’t find that necessary.
vicky
Amazing!!!! I changed butter for coconut oil. And It was super good!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
I am so happy to hear that, Vicky! Thanks for stopping by!
Rita
Hi just tasted,the carrot cake made into muffins. I only have 3 words wow wow wow. So yum moist flavorful. Don’t need any frosting perfect as is. Thank you!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
I am glad you liked it, Rita! Thanks for stopping by!
Robyn
Can these be made into muffins?
And how long would you bake them?
Looks delicious!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Hi Robyn, Yes, you can make muffins with this batter. I haven’t tried to say the time but other readers say they have. I’d start checking after 22 min and every few min after until a toothpick comes out clean.
Rita
Hi, Can’t wait to try the cake but says cream sugar and butter or coconut oil. I never used coconut oil without making it liquid in a pan melting it. Will it work to take it as is in jar and I mix with sugar? Or should I melt it first? Thanks, can’t wait to hear and make carrot cake.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Hi Rita, Don’t melt it first. Use a hand mixer to beat the butter or coconut oil (in soft solid form) with the sweetener.
Bayan
I made this yesterday it was so good!
Of course I will make it again.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
I am so happy you liked it, Bayan! Thanks for stopping by!
Helen
This is just perfect. Made today and sat eating it with my husband. Wish I could post you a picture. I put half pecans and half walnuts. Very moist and incredibly tasty. Thank you for your lovely recipe.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
I am so happy you liked the cake, Helen! Thanks for stopping by!
Sarah
Hi, I’ve always had carrot cake for my bday, and I’m making myself this one this year. my only question is all the carrot cakes I’ve every had have shredded coconut in them. Do you think I could sub out part of the carrot for unsweetened coconut flakes?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Hi Sarah, The carrot provides moisture and coconut absorbs moisture, so if you make that swap you’d need to add liquid. I can’t say how much without trying it. I think it’s probably safer to keep the carrot the same and add shredded coconut in addition. Then if you add just a bit you might be able to keep everything else the same, or if it’s more, like 1/2 cup, you probably need to add more moisture still. Let me know how it goes if you try modifying!
Sarah
I subbed out part of the carrot for the coconut and it turned out amazing. I think it was more like a muffin than cupcake but I was not at all disappointed. The whole family loved them!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Thank you for sharing! I’m glad that worked!
Sarah
I also left out the nuts since none of my family much cares for them, so I think that helped.
Stacey
This was my first attempt at any keto baking. My husband has been struggling with giving up the sweets and it was his birthday. I was surprised how easy it was. He was very happy with it and determined now that he could do this. Looking forward to trying many more recipes
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Thank you, Stacey! Happy birthday to your husband!
Jen
We really enjoyed the carrot cake. I didn’t have the pineapple extract, so I replaced it with orange extract, and it was terrific. I used the cream cheese frosting as well… but I didn’t put as much sweetener in it and added more vanilla.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Thank you so much, Jen! Great idea with the orange extract, too.
Randall
Thanks for posting this carrot cake recipe. I’m a baker but new to Keto baking. My cake came out just a little on the dry side and didn’t seem to rise at all. Do you think it would have worked out better adding another tsp of baking powder, some xanthan gum and a little liquid? I’d really appreciate your thoughts and advice.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Hi Randall, Thank you for the feedback. Did you by chance use pre-shredded carrots? Those are more dry. Otherwise it could just be variation in how “wet” your carrots were in general. Aside from that, keto flours don’t rise as much as regular wheat flour, so that’s pretty expected. You can try a bit more baking powder, but too much has the opposite effect and causes falling. Xanthan gum can definitely be used to improve the texture – try 1/2 tsp.
Randall
Thank you so much for your advice. I did shred my carrots myself but they may not have lent enough moisture. I am going try adding the xanthan gum but leave the baking powder as is (there’s no use in risking over doing it for just a little more height). I am determined to figure out the art of Keto baking.
Vicki
Oh my, this was just sooooo delicious, I even had the black strap molasses and sugar free pineapple syrup which I did include. Made the cake recipe exactly as instructed and it came out perfectly. The only modification was to the frosting where I used less sweetener and cream cheese but more butter but I am sure it is lovely as written.. Will be trying more of your recipes from now on. Thank you
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Thank you so much, Vicki! I’m so glad you liked it.
Sonya
I would love make this for my hubby’s birthday, but would prefer to use raw agave syrup for the sweetener instead of the sugar alcohols. Would this make the batter too runny?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Hi Sonya, I haven’t tried that but it probably would be too runny. If you prefer to use a natural sugar sweetener over erythritol, you can try coconut sugar instead.
Cyndi Rose
I made this today for my husband’s birthday. It was seriously good. I’ve always made my carrot cakes from scratch but never low carb before. I used Swerve and if I hadn’t been the one to make it, I would have never guessed it was low carb, sugar-free and not regular flour. My 11-year old daughter loved it. Thanks so much! This will be my go-to cake recipe for future gatherings.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
I am so happy to hear the whole family enjoyed the cake, Cyndi! Happy birthday to your husband!
Sarah
This sounds amazing! Going to try making it now but is it ok to use Truvia instead of erythrytol? Truvia is basically 95% erythritol and grainy like sugar… just wasn’t sure if it would be too sweet. Anyone tried this?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Thank you, Sarah! Yes, you can use Truvia, you’d just need a little less. Check my conversion chart here.
sarah
thank you! i used truvia, left out the pineapple and molasses, and subbed walnuts for the pecans and it was a HIT! my mom loved them even without the frosting lol they were moist, delicious, and healthy 🙂 i used leftover carrot pulp from my juicer and you couldnt even see any carrot pieces. this is def a recipe i’ll use again and again. thank you, maya!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
I am so happy to hear that, Sarah!
Caroline
This cake is delicious. I have been putting in less sweetner and more cinamon since the first time i made it. Ive made 3 in the past fortnight! Have also left out the blackstrap and the pineapple extract. Its amazing! Thanks for the recipe!!xx
Maya | Wholesome Yum
I am so happy you liked it, Caroline!
Marla
I made this cale last night @8:00pm after googling keto carrot cake and had a serious craving for it and as it tirns out it was a smash! Hubby loves it and i cant believe how good and sweet it is. I didnt have heavy cream for the frostso i used almond milk instead and it was delicious also didnt have the pineapple or molasses so i can imagine how good these would make it. Anyway thanks for the wonderful recipe!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
I am so happy you liked it, Marla!
Nanette
Can I replace carrot with zucchini?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Hi Nanette, I haven’t tried but you probably can. Squeeze it to drain well first because it has more moisture than carrots.
Christine Mayfield
This cake is amazing!!! It is moist and flavorful. It is so hard to eat just one piece. Next time I’ll make sure I have parchment paper :D. Thank you for sharing this recipe. It helps me to #KetoOn
Maya | Wholesome Yum
I am so happy you enjoyed the cake, Christine! Have a great day!
Jacky
Can I replace the blackstrap molasses with Sukrin Gold?? Thanks I really want to try this cake!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Hi Jacky, You can, though the result will be a little different. Blackstrap molasses is very concentrated in flavor, whereas Sukrin Gold is mostly a sweetener with a more mild flavor. I think it would be good either way!
Karyn M.
This is AMAZING!! If there was an option to give it 100 stars I would! I was expecting the usual dry, bland sugar-free cake but this is so good! It’s very, very tasty and moist- plus the frosting is out of this world!
Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to eat just one slice. LOL
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Thank you so much, Karyn! That means a lot and I’m glad you liked it so much. Sometimes two slices is necessary 😉
Mari
Can I use a 13×9 pan for this recipe?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Hi Mari, Yes, you can! I think you can just put all the batter in a single layer instead of two 9-inch pans. The baking time may be a little longer. When done, just cut it in half and you can stack the two pieces just like you would round cakes.
Cheryl
I am wondering if I can do this in a 9×13 or cupcakes? Would there be any adjustment?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Hi Cheryl, Yes, definitely! The only adjustments would be baking time. The muffins would definitely take less time, and the 9×13 pan would probably take more time. You can use a toothpick to check for doneness.
Anni Mclaughlin
I just finished mixing the batter for this yummy sounding cake for our “family night” tonight. I followed the recipe (except substituting walnuts for the pecans) the batter was very thick, more like cookie dough than a typical cake. It that the way yours was too? My family will be thrilled with it no matter what…just checking in.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Hi Anni, The batter is fairly thick, but not quite as thick as cookie dough. Did you shred the carrots yourself? They provide some of the moisture in the batter, so if using pre-shredded carrots, it may be too dry. I hope the cake still turned out delicious for you!
Debi
Hey Maya,
This recipe looks awesome and I just love carrot cake. Can you just the Splenda baking blend sugar in place of the powdered erythritol? Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Hi Debi, I haven’t tried it but it would probably work. It would not be low carb, sugar-free, or natural, though, because Splenda Baking Blend is 1/2 sugar and sucralose is artificial.
Anetta
Sounds delicious! Can I leave out the walnuts? I’m not a big fan of them in baking! Or do you need them for flavour?
Thanks you!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Hi Anetta! Yes, you can leave out the walnuts. I think it tastes great with or without them. Have a great day!
Diana Cox
Cannot wait to try this…the picture made my mouth water and sounds really easy. I’m wondering if it can be baked in a bundt pan. Thank you.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Thank you, Diana! Yes, you can make it in a bundt pan. It may affect the baking time, though, and I couldn’t tell you exactly since I haven’t tested it. I hope you get the chance to try and let us know how it goes!
Jane
Hi, I cannot find the list of ingredients for the carrot cake? No ingredients with amounts? Just method? Not sure if I’m missing something? Looks amazing and am super keen to try it out Thank you and many thanks, Jane
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Hi Jane, The ingredients are right on the recipe card. If you see the instructions (method), just scroll up and the ingredients are above that.
Maria O Padron
It sounds and looks good. The carb count for me is to high at 8.5. I follow the total 20 carbs a day. Not much room unless I ate 1/2 of the recommended piece portion.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
Thank you, Maria! Are you eating 20g net carbs or total carbs per day? Many people following keto do net carbs, not counting fiber in the carb count. A piece has 5.5g net carbs. I hope you get the chance to try it!
Maria O Padron
Dear Maya: 5.5gnet carbs sounds better. Yes it’s net carbs. I loved carrot cake before I started the Keto LCHF Woe. Now I don’t have to miss it. Thanks!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
I am so happy you like it, Maria! Have a great day!