Deliciously Moist Gluten-Free Carrot Cake (no coconut!)
yields: 12 slices, one 6-inch layer cake
Super moist gluten-free carrot cake with toasted walnuts and honey cream cheese frosting. See the adaptations for different gluten-free flours or small-batch!
Ingredients
Gluten-Free Carrot Cake
- 3 tablespoons whole milk, see substitution notes
- ¼ teaspoon white vinegar
- 58 g (½ cup) chestnut flour, see substitution notes
- 105 g (¾ cup + 3.5 tablespoons) gluten-free oat flour
- 121 g (¾ cup) sweet rice flour , also called mochiko; do not substitute white or brown rice flour
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, see substitution notes
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 123 g (½ cup + 2 tablespoons) light brown sugar, see substitution notes
- 26 g (2 tablespoons) granulated sugar
- 6 tablespoons (85 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 6 tablespoons (80 g) refined coconut oil, melted just below room temperature
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoons orange zest, from 1-2 oranges
- 250 g (2 cups) shredded carrots, from about 3-4 medium to large carrots
- ½ cup chopped walnuts or pecans, lightly toasted (optional, but recommended), plus more for decorating
Honey Cream Cheese Frosting
- 16 oz (2 8-ounce blocks) full-fat cream cheese (blocked), room temperature
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ¼ cup honey
- Pinch of kosher salt
INSTRUCTIONS
Gluten-Free Carrot Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and prepare three 6-inch cake pans by lightly rubbing with vegetable oil and lining with a round of parchment paper. Set aside. Alternatively, if halving the recipe, prepare a single 8-inch cake pan or line a muffin tray with 10 cupcake liners.
- Combine the milk and vinegar in a small measuring cup and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the chestnut flour, oat flour, sweet rice flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and spices. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or a mixing bowl with a hand mixer, cream together the sugars and butter until smooth and fluffy, 3-5 minutes. Add coconut oil and beat until smooth and scraping down the sides as needed.
- Add the vanilla and orange zest, mixing until smooth and scraping down the sides as needed. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing until just combined and scraping down the sides as needed.
- Add the carrots and mix well to combine, scraping down the sides as needed.
- Add half of the dry ingredients in two parts alternatively with the milk and mix until just combined, scraping down the sides as needed. Fold in the walnuts.
- Divide between the three prepared baking pans, smoothing the top.
- Bake on the middle rack for 30-35 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean or with just a few crumbs and the center springs back without leaving an indent when gently pressed.
- Let cool for 5 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack twice until upright to cool completely before frosting.
Honey Cream Cheese Frosting
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter over medium speed.
- Add the cream cheese and beat until just smooth and combined.
- Add the powdered sugar, in thirds, mixing on slow speed until just combined. Take care not to overmix the frosting or it will become runny. Fold in the vanilla, honey, and salt until combined. If the cake is still cooling, chill the frosting for up to 30 minutes before frosting.
- When the cake is cool, stack the layers with ⅓ cup frosting spread evenly between each layer. Spread a thin layer of frosting over the entire cake and use an offset spatula or bench scraper to smooth it into thin crumb coat layer and chill for 10 minutes. Spread another layer of frosting all over the cake, smoothing with an offset spatula or bench scraper. If desired, pipe a ring of decorations around the bottom and/or top edge of the cake using your favorite icing tips. Decorate with toasted walnuts. Tip: Chill for 30 minutes to make slicing the cake easier! Store any leftovers in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.
Notes
Small Batch or Cupcakes: Halve the recipe above and bake it in a single 8-inch cake pan or muffin tray lined with 10 liners. For a single 8-inch layer cake, bake for 26-28 minutes, until the center no longer indents and instead, springs back when gently touched. For cupcakes, bake for 22-24 minutes.
Ingredient Substitutions:
- Milk: Sub in 3 tablespoons buttermilk in place of the milk & vinegar
- Light Brown Sugar: Use organic light brown sugar or non-organic dark brown sugar. If using non-organic light brown sugar, add a teaspoon molasses.
- Chestnut Flour: Available online. Sub in by weight: Teff flour, millet flour, or all-purpose gluten-free flour. These options are slightly less moist than the chestnut flour version, so add ½ teaspoon more coconut oil. They're also a bit more sensitive to overbaking, so be sure to pull the cake out promptly.
- Gluten-Free Oat Flour: Available online. Option: grind up gluten-free rolled oats in a food processor or blender, then sift out any big pieces. Sub in by weight: sorghum flour, or all-purpose gluten-free flour.
- Sweet Rice Flour: Available online. Sweet rice flour is the most difficult flour to substitute in gluten-free baking. It’s the magic weapon for gluten-free baking as its stickiness helps to bind the baked good together and it lends to the chewiness of your cake. NOTE: I have not tested the following substitutions, but if you can't eat or get sweet rice flour, here are my recommendations to try. Sub in by weight: All-purpose gluten-free flour, equal parts chestnut flour and oat flour, or tapioca flour. If you sub out sweet rice flour, you may want to add 1 teaspoon xanthan gum.
- Spices: Replace all the spices with an equal amount of pumpkin pie spice, if that's what you have on hand.
