Your sweet tooth and I have been talking, and together, we came up with this fluffy, scrumptious low carb carrot cake recipe!
You read that right — low carb cake! I don’t mess around when it comes to low carb desserts, so you know this recipe is not only decadently sweet but also firmly on the healthy recipes list.
Like other low carb recipes, almond flour lends its magical heartiness to this cake’s texture, giving you protein without the carbs.
Plus, every piece of this low carb carrot cake recipe is topped with frosting!
Let’s bake!
What I Love About This Low Carb Carrot Cake Recipe
Any time I can indulge in a dessert without feeling weighed down — by carbs or guilt — I am SO there! Which is what I love most about this low carb carrot cake recipe.
Each bite makes my soul and tummy feel great!
- Fluffy low carb magic
- FROSTING!
- A sneaky way to get veggies
- Gluten-free
- Easily switched to be dairy-free too!
Recipe Notes
All these low carb ingredients come together SO quickly and easily to recreate the texture made famous by carbs! Seriously, this recipe is 30 minutes of prep or LESS!
Here’s everything you need to know about baking this low carb carrot cake recipe:
Ingredient Notes
Bonus points: Low carb baking requires a few less common ingredients, but you’ll find I use the SAME ingredients in all my baking recipes. So if you plan to do a lot of low carb baking, invest once, and you’ll be good to go!
Almond Flour – For best texture results, opt for a fine grained almond flour such as Bob’s Red Mill or Trader Joe’s brand!
Erythritol – This sugar alcohol is my favorite low carb sugar substitute because it acts so much like regular sugar. We’ll be using granular in the cake and confectioners in the frosting. This ensures the best texture in both!
Don’t have confectioners erythritol laying around? Toss your granular erythritol in the blender and blend until powdered! (Wait until the dust settles to remove the lid!)
As far as products go, switch between Lakanto and Swerve, both of which I buy in bulk on Amazon.
Xanthan Gum – This ingredient replicates the thickening and binding capabilities of gluten! Even in small amounts, it keeps all our ingredients in place.
Frosting – Cream cheese, butter, sweetener, and vanilla are the staples that bring together this perfected low carb cream cheese frosting!
Tools To Make
The tools you need to make this low carb carrot cake recipe are the same ones you’d use for any other cake!
- 3 8″ round cake pans
- Bowl
- Electric mixer
- Spatula
- Wire cooling rack
That’s it! So easy, right?
Storing Tips
Storing the result of your low carb carrot cake recipe baking adventures couldn’t be simpler! Just toss it in the fridge until you’re ready to eat!
I like to frost my cake immediately before serving — since our cake has carrots in it, their color tends to bleed into the cream cheese frosting if it sits for too long! Giving it a slightly orange tint.
Can You Freeze This?
Yes! With or without frosting, I like to slice this low carb carrot cake into 8 pieces and freeze each slice in a resealable bag.
To thaw, let it sit in the fridge until it reaches your desired temp and texture. I personally love it a little on the frozen side!
Serving Recommendations
This low carb carrot cake recipe goes great with afternoon coffee or tea! It’s obviously a great after dinner dessert too.
My favorite way to really dress up this cake for an indulgent dessert is to drizzle it with my low carb caramel. Okay, fine — “drizzle” is more like “dump a whole bunch,” but what can I say? It’s so yummy!
Recipe Variations
Want to shake things up on the low carb carrot cake front? Let’s have some fun!
- Try a different kind of frosting! Low carb cream cheese frosting is an obvious choice, and with good reason — that tart pop is so delicious with the sweet cake! Another favorite is sugar free whipped cream. This icing keeps it light while still being creamy-dreamy YUM!
- Turn it into muffins. I love making carrot cake muffins and storing them to have on hand when sweet cravings hit! Simply bake the cupcakes for 22-26 minutes. For more ideas, you can check out my low carb banana muffins or these low carb pumpkin muffins for some sweet inspiration!
- Add some fruits. mix in some low carb fruits into your batter before baking! Blueberries, raspberries or strawberries give a delicious burst of flavor and color with every slice! Think of it as carrot cake and low carb blueberry muffins love child, it’s goooood!
- Turn this into a loaf of bread. turn this low carb carrot cake recipe into bread, you can simply just pour it into a bread pan and bake it that way. Keep in mind, this recipe won’t rise as much as most bread recipes as it doesn’t contain the same leavening agents (check out my soul bread or my low carb sandwich bread to see what I’m talking about). BUT, if you don’t mind the height, turning this into a sliceable bread is a great way to prepare grab and go treats.
More Low Carb Dessert Recipes
Is your sweet tooth still talking? Let’s satisfy it with some more healthy desserts!
- Low Carb Pumpkin Pie
- Low Carb Pumpkin Bread
- Low Carb Brownies
- Low Carb Cinnamon Rolls
- Low Carb Lemon Bars
Low Carb Carrot Cake
Print Recipe Pin RecipeIngredients
Cake:
- 4 Eggs
- 1 1/4 Cups Mild Tasting Oil (see notes below) I use avocado oil
- 1 1/2 Cups Swerve or Lakanto (see sweetener notes below) Granular
- 2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract
- 2 Cups Almond Flour
- 1/2 Cup Whey Protein Isolate
- 2 Teaspoons Baking Soda
- 2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
- 1 Teaspoon Xanthan Gum
- 1/2 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 4 Teaspoons Apple Cider Vinegar
- 2 Teaspoons Cinnamon ground
- 3 Cups Carrots grated
- 1 Cup Pecans roughly chopped
Frosting:
- 8 Ounces Cream Cheese softened
- 1/2 Cup Unsalted Butter softened
- 1 Cup Powdered Swerve or Lakanto (see sweetener notes below)
- 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 1/8 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
Instructions
Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350 F and grease 3 8" round cake pans with butter or vegetable oil.
- In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat eggs (4), oil (1 1/4 cups ),erythritol (1 1/2 cups), vanilla extract (2 teaspoons), and apple cider vinegar (4 teaspoons) together.
- Add the almond flour (2 cups), whey protein isolate (1/2 cup), baking soda (2 teaspoons), baking powder (2 teaspoons), xanthan gum (1 teaspoon), salt ( 1/2 teaspoon) and ground cinnamon (2 teaspoons). Mix until well incorporated.
- Use a rubber spatula to fold in grated carrots (3 cups) and roughly chopped pecans (1 cup).
- Pour even amounts of batter into each of the prepared pans.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes. You'll know the cake is done once the center is set and the top is golden brown.
- Allow cake to cool in pans for 10 minutes, then remove the cakes from the pan, and allow them to cool on a wire rack completely.
Frosting:
- Combine frosting ingredients in a medium bowl until smooth.
- Once the cake has cooled completely, frost it. Sprinkle pecans on top, and enjoy!
Fans Also Made These Low Carb Recipes:
Lindsey's Tips
- Almond Flour. Using fine-grained almond flour will yield the most "flour-like" results. My favorite brands are Bob's Red Mill, Trader Joe's, or Costco brands.
- Lakanto, Swerve, or Erythritol. I stick to Lakanto and Swerve which are a 1:1 swap with traditional sugar. If using a different brand of Erythritol, keep in mind it's 70% as sweet as sugar, so you may need to add more to taste.
- Mild Tasting Oil. You want an oil with a high smoke point and mild flavor -- think avocado, vegetable, safflower, sunflower, peanut. Skip EVOO, coconut, or sesame oil.
- Xanthan Gum is necessary for binding the ingredients of this recipe together, you CAN'T SKIP OR SUB!
- Powdered Erythritol. Don't have any laying around? Toss your granular erythritol in a food processor and process until powdered. Allow the dust to settle before opening the lid!
Can’t wait to try this recipe. Sounds wonderful.
Going to make cupcakes and freeze them for
a sweet treat. Thanks for the recipe
Thanks Gaylen! Hope you enjoy ?
I want to make this but wondered if you have to put in the powder protein
Hi Deborah! Yes, the protein powder adds “fluff” to the cake (otherwise it would be very dense). You can experiment by swapping it with ground flaxseed or psyllium husk, however, the flavor and amount of fluff will be different. Let me know what you try!