This moist and flavorful keto carrot cake is made with almond flour. A truly easy recipe, it's a one-layer cake that you quickly mix by hand.
I'm grateful I can enjoy wonderful cakes like keto coconut cake and keto chocolate cake on my low-carb diet. This keto carrot cake is especially good. I knew it was a keeper when my toughest tester, my teenage daughter, reluctantly tried it, finished it all, and said she was "pleasantly surprised." I nearly fainted. This simple cake takes about two hours to make, and the leftovers are just as good as the freshly baked cake.
Ingredients and Variations
The complete list of ingredients and exact measurements can be found in the recipe card below. Here are my comments on some of the ingredients.
- Avocado oil: You can use soft or melted and slightly cooled unsalted butter instead of oil.
- Sweetener: I use stevia. You can use a granulated sweetener instead.
- Almond flour: I use superfine flour and don't recommend using a coarse almond meal.
- For flavor: Ground cinnamon and allspice. You can also add a teaspoon of pure vanilla extract to the batter. It won't make a huge difference, but it will add an extra layer of flavor.
- Fresh carrots: It's best to use finely grated carrots.
- For the frosting: Cream cheese, sweetener, and vanilla.
Instructions
I almost always make simple, one-layer cakes such as keto gingerbread cake, keto fruit cake, almond flour chocolate cake, and keto pound cake. I knew I wanted this cake to be a simple one-layer cake, made in a square 8-inch pan.
I also knew that I wanted to frost this cake. It's delicious without frosting, and when you don't frost it, you can serve it for breakfast. But there's something about carrot cake and cream cheese frosting - it's such a classic combination.
So I settled on a simple and easy cake that you mix in one bowl. The frosting is very simple, too - it's just cream cheese, vanilla, and a sweetener. Scroll down to the recipe card for detailed instructions. Here are the basic steps for making this cake:
Use a hand whisk to whisk the ingredients together in the order listed, starting with the liquid ingredients. Use a rubber spatula to fold in the carrots.
Transfer the mixture to a well-greased pan.
Mix the frosting. You can mix it by hand.
Bake the cake for about 25 minutes in a 325°F oven. Cool it completely, then frost and serve.
Recipe Tip: Frosting the Cake
I use the simplest frosting - cream cheese, vanilla, and stevia. Lacking butter or powdered sugar, the frosting is on the soft side, but it's delicious and sturdy enough that you can keep the frosted cake at room temperature for a couple of hours.
For a sturdier frosting and a milder flavor with less tang from the cream cheese, you can use half cream cheese (4 ounces) and half unsalted butter (4 ounces).
I usually prefer to cut the cake into squares and then frost each square. It makes it easier to remove the cake from the pan. However, you can line the pan with parchment paper that has an overhang, allowing you to easily remove the cake from the pan when it's cool. Then, place it on a platter or cutting board and frost it. Then, you can cut the frosted cake into squares.
Recipe FAQs
No. It would add too much liquid to the batter. You can, however, replace the stevia with any granulated sweetener.
Yes, with a caveat. Ideally, you would grate the carrots very finely by hand or in a food processor. But I'm lazy. So when I want to make this cake, I often buy pre-shredded carrots. I do give them a quick extra chop before using them since they tend to be shredded pretty coarsely.
Keep in mind that coarsely shredded carrots will affect the cake's texture - they cook "al dente" inside the cake. I like this texture. But if you want a softer and more uniform texture, use finely grated carrots.
Unfortunately, you can't. Almond flour and coconut flour behave very differently when baked and are not interchangeable.
Once completely cool, you can keep the leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Remove them from the fridge about 30 minutes before enjoying them. Like any other spice cake, this one improves with time. It's moister and more flavorful the day after you bake it.
You can also freeze this cake, provided it is not frosted. Once frosted, I don't recommend freezing it.
Recipe Card
Easy One-Layer Keto Carrot Cake
Video
Ingredients
- ½ tablespoon butter - for pan
- 4 large eggs
- ½ cup avocado oil
- 1 ½ teaspoon stevia glycerite - equals ½ cup of sugar
- 1½ cup superfine almond flour - 6 ounces; please measure by weight
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon allspice
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder - fresh; gluten-free if needed
- 1 ½ cup carrots - finely grated, loosely packed; 6 ounces
Cream cheese frosting:
- 8 ounces cream cheese - cubed, softened
- 1 ½ teaspoon stevia glycerite - equals ½ cup of powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F. Generously butter a square 8-inch pan. Or line it with parchment with an overhang and grease the parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, oil, and stevia until combined.
- Mix in the almond flour using a rubber spatula and then a hand whisk. Whisk until completely smooth.
- Whisk in the cinnamon, allspice, kosher salt, and baking powder.
- Fold in the grated carrots.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared pan, smoothing it out with a rubber spatula. Bake the cake until puffed and fragrant and a toothpick inserted in its center comes out clean, about 25 minutes.
- Cool the cake in the pan on a cooling rack until completely cool, about 1 hour.
- When the cake is completely cool, make the frosting: whisk the soft cream cheese, stevia, and vanilla with a hand whisk until smooth and fluffy.
- Run a knife around the edges of the pan to loosen the cake. Cut the cake into nine squares. To remove each square from the pan, firmly slide a cake server underneath each slice and lift it out.
- Using a soup spoon, divide the frosting evenly between the cake slices. Use a small spatula to spread the frosting evenly on top of each slice (just like you would frost a cupcake).
Notes
- A granulated sweetener in the frosting will feel grainy, so please use a powdered sweetener. If using a powdered sweetener in the frosting instead of stevia, it's possible that you would need to add a bit more heavy cream to get the right consistency.
- Ideally, you would grate the carrots finely by hand or in a food processor. But I often buy pre-shredded carrots. I give them a quick extra chop before using them since they tend to be shredded pretty coarsely.
- Keep in mind that coarsely shredded carrots will affect the cake's texture - they cook "al dente" inside the cake. I like this texture. But if you want a softer and more uniform texture, use finely grated carrots.
- Once completely cool, you can keep the leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Remove them from the fridge about 30 minutes before enjoying them. Like any other spice cake, this one improves with time. It's moister and more flavorful the day after you bake it.
- You can also freeze this cake, provided it is not frosted. Once frosted, I don't recommend freezing it.
Nutrition per Serving
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Disclaimers
Most recipes are low-carb and gluten-free, but some are not. Recommended and linked products are not guaranteed to be gluten-free. Nutrition info is approximate. Please verify it independently. The carb count excludes non-nutritive sweeteners. Please read these Terms of Use before using any of my recipes.
Jenn H. says
Can you make this cake as a sheet cake and what would the ingredient components be if I were to do this? Would the bake time change? Thinking like an 8 1/2x11 sheet cake.
Vered DeLeeuw says
Hi Jenn,
You would need to increase the ingredients by about 50%. For example, use 6 eggs instead of 4.
The baking time should be about the same, but please check with a toothpick to ensure the batter is cooked through.
This would be an experiment - I haven't tried a pan of this size.
Kitty says
hi
I miss baking since being diagnosed with diabetics.
I am new to low carb baking. 11/2 teaspoon stevia glycerite is this liquid or powder.
Is there another sweetener substitute for it.
thanks
Vered DeLeeuw says
Hi Kitty,
That's a liquid product. It's very sweet so it's used in small quantities.
You can replace it with any sugar-free granulated or powdered sweetener that equals 1/2 cup of sugar.
Fonz Fernandez says
Easy great taste and delicious.
Vered DeLeeuw says
I'm glad you enjoyed this cake, Fonz! Thank you for the comment.
Matt says
Hi Vered,
Nice cake, thanks.
I'll use just 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and grate the carrots more coarsely next time.
xx
Vered DeLeeuw says
Glad you liked it, Matt! Thanks for the feedback.