Easy Gluten Free Carrot Cake (Perfectly Moist & Tender)

• servings: 12 servings
• active time: 45 minutes
• total time: 1 hour 20 minutes

Ingredients

320 g light brown soft sugar—high altitude 316 g

200 g sunflower or vegetable oil, room temperature

4 US large/UK medium eggs, room temperature

1 TBS milk (almond milk) or 1 TBS egg white (high altitude only)

½ tsp vanilla bean paste (or 1 tsp vanilla extract)

260 g plain gluten free flour blend-high altitude 277 g =139 g tapioca flour, 69 g buckwheat flour, 69 g millet flour

1 tsp baking powder—high altitude -1/8 tsp

1 tsp baking soda—high altitude -1/8 tsp

½ tsp xanthan gum (Omit if your gluten free flour blend already contains xanthan gum.)

1/2 tsp sea salt

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp ground ginger

¼ tsp ground nutmeg

300 g (about 3 cups) peeled and coarsely grated carrots (about 3-4 medium carrots), closer to room temperature

100 g pecans, roughly chopped (weigh after chopping)

Cream cheese frosting:

170 g (3/4 cup) cream cheese, cool but not cold from the fridge (it won’t cream well if too cold)

175 g (3/4 cup) heavy/double cream, cold from the fridge

93 g powdered/icing sugar, sifted (You can adjust the amount if you want the frosting to be more or less sweet.)

½ tsp vanilla bean paste (or 1 tsp vanilla extract)

1/4 tsp sea salt, scant

10 g pecans, roughly chopped, for decoration

Directions

Gluten free carrot cake:

Adjust the oven rack to the middle position, pre-heat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC) and line a 8-inch springform pan (at least 2 3/4” deep) with parchment/baking paper.Tip: When lining the baking tin, I recommend leaving some parchment/baking paper overhang, as that will help with removing the cake from the tin later on.

In a large bowl, whisk together the light brown sugar, oil, eggs (milk) and vanilla until well combined. (Can use immersion blender whisk for wet ingredients).

Sift the gluten free flour blend, baking powder, baking soda, xanthan gum, salt, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. Sift into the wet ingredients.

Whisk/blend everything together into a smooth batter with no flour clumps using spatula.

Add the coarsely grated carrots and roughly chopped walnuts, and fold them into the batter until they're evenly distributed throughout with spatula.

Transfer the batter into the lined baking tin and smooth out the top.

Bake at 350ºF (180ºC) for about 45 minutes, then cover loosely with foil and cook another 15 to 20 min or until well risen, golden-brown on top and an inserted toothpick/cake tester comes out clean. If the cake starts browning too quickly, cover it with a sheet of aluminium foil (shiny side up) and continue baking until done.

Allow the cake to cool in the baking tin for about 10-15 minutes, then transfer it out of the tin onto a wire rack to cool completely.Tip: It’s important that your cake is cooled completely before you spread the cream cheese frosting on top.

Cream cheese frosting:

You can make the cream cheese frosting with a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, with a hand mixer fitted with the double beaters.

In a large bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer, if using), whisk the cream cheese until it's smooth and looser in texture.

Add the heavy/double cream, powdered/icing sugar and vanilla, and whisk until soft peaks form. The frosting should keep its shape when you swirl it around with a spoon or a rubber spatula – you don't want it too loose or runny, but be careful not to over-whip it as that can make it too stiff and too thick.

Spread the cream cheese frosting on top of the cooled carrot cake all the way to the edges, using a small offset spatula or the back of a spoon to add some decorative swirls and swoops.

Sprinkle on some extra chopped walnuts as decoration, slice and serve.

Storage:

The gluten free carrot cake keeps well in a closed container in the fridge for 3-4 days.

Notes

These are the amounts from the recipe in “Baked to Perfection” cookbook not the online recipe since the online makes a smaller cake. The directions are from the online recipe and the frosting too. The nuts have been reduced and changed from walnuts to pecans and notes are made for high altitude. 2 tablespoons is powdered sugar were added to come to 93 g.

Don’t use coconut whipping cream or silk dairy fee cream. Use Country Crock plant heavy whipping cream or regular whipping cream.