Paleo Carrot Cake Recipe with Maple Syrup Plus 9 of the Best Paleo Carrot Cakes

This is the best Paleo carrot cake recipe! It’s made with maple syrup instead of sugar plus it’s gluten-free and healthy and clean eating. When I was pregnant with my first child, carrot cake was my craving of choice.  I was like a carrot cake junkie! Anywhere I went I just had to have it. I wasn’t on any diet restrictions back then, so I went so far as to buy those little cake squares at 7-11 – it was quite the craving.

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To this day, carrot is my FAVORITE cake. I mean, really, what’s NOT to love? The moistness, the carrots, the raisins, the cinnamon, the thick cream cheese frosting (I’m drooling already!) But guess what? A slice, ok, ok, 3 slices of carrot cake when pregnant is just fine, in my book anyway.  So, what about now?

I can’t dive into a moist delicious, Über fattening piece of carrot cake because although it makes my heart skip a beat, my waist is like “No way LADY! Red Alert! Red Alert!” what’s a gal to do? Well, if you’re anything like me, and your mind works like mine, then that’s super scary and you’ll also have come up with some way to indulge without all that added fat! Right? RIGHT???

I’ve come up with my tried and true recipe for the best Paleo carrot cake you’ll ever indulge in all the while being good to your waistline, and hips, and anywhere else you gain weight. Yes, I love you, too! I came up with this recipe when I wanted my favorite birthday cake (carrot), but I was on the Paleo diet and knew my old recipe just wasn’t going to cut it. I’m glad I tried this because I love it – and I don’t feel bad after eating it. HUGE bonus!

I would love to know what you think of this Paleo carrot cake recipe, especially if you miss the cream cheese frosting that’s in traditional carrot cakes. Please comment below!

You may also like these recipes:

9 of the Best Ever Paleo Easter Recipes from Main Dish to Dessert

9 of the Best Paleo Coconut Flour Cookies Recipes

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Snickerdoodle Paleo cupcakes with Coconut Flour Recipe Plus 9 of our Favorite Paleo Cupcakes

Paleo Carrot Cake Recipe with Maple Syrup

★★★★★

5 from 2 reviews

This Paleo carrot cake with maple syrup *, carrots, raisins, cinnamon, and a thick “cream cheese” frosting is not only delicious, but healthy too!

• Author: Rebecca Baron
• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 35 minutes
• Total Time: 50 minutes
• Yield: 12 1x
• Category: Dessert
• Cuisine: Paleo

Scale 1x2x3x

Ingredients

• 5 medium-sized Carrots (peeled and shredded)
• 3/4 Cup Raisins (optional)
• 1 Cup Pure maple syrup *
• 3/4 Cup Coconut Flour * (sifted once to remove lumps)
• 1 1/2 Tbsp Ground Organic Saigon Cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp Ground nutmeg
• 1 tsp Real Salt *
• 1 tsp Baking Soda
• 10 Eggs (pastured)
• 1 3/4 Cup Pumpkin Puree (one 15 oz. can)
• 1 Tbl Pure Vanilla Extract
• 1 Cup Coconut Oil (melted and cooled)

Cream Cheese Frosting

• 3 1/3 Cup Raw Cashews
• 4–5 Cups Boiling Water
• 1 Cup Coconut Oil (melted and cooled)
• 1 Cup Pure Maple Syrup *
• 3 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
• 2 tsp Lemon Juice
• 1/2 tsp Real Salt *
• Pinch Ground Ginger (optional)

Instructions

1. Stir the shredded carrots and raisins (if using) together with the maple syrup and refrigerate for one hour.
2. Heat the oven to 325. Grease two 9″ cake pans with coconut oil and dust with coconut flour, line the bottoms with circles of parchment paper cut to fit and set aside. If using a Bundt pan, grease and flour as described and set aside.
3. Combine the coconut flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and baking soda.
4. Crack the eggs into a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer until combined.
5. Add the pumpkin puree, vanilla, coconut oil and orange zest (if using) and beat until well combined.
6. Fold in the dry ingredient mixture until just combined.
7. Fold in the maple syrup/carrot mixture until evenly combined.
8. Divide the batter between the cake pans, or pour into the Bundt pan.
9. Bake 35-40 minutes in cake pans, or 1 hr and 20-30 minutes in Bundt pan. Cakes are done when a toothpick stuck in the center comes out clean.
10. Let the cakes cool completely before removing from pans and frosting. Loosen the cakes from the sides of the pan with a knife for easier removal.

Creme Cheese Frosting

1. Place the cashews in a heat-safe container and cover with boiling water. Let stand 20 – 30 minutes, then drain and rinse with cold water. Drain again to remove as much water as possible.
2. Transfer the cashews to a food processor and process until they’re broken down into a paste. Add the remaining frosting ingredients one at a time, processing well after each addition. Continue to process until the mixture is very smooth. Add a tablespoon or two of your favorite paleo milk if the mixture is too thick.
3. Transfer the frosting to a freezer-safe bowl and freeze about 30 minutes.
4. Remove from freezer and beat with an electric mixer until the frosting begins to thicken.
5. Return the frosting to the freezer for another 30 minutes. Remove and beat until thick. At this point, the frosting should thicken quickly. If it’s too thick to spread easily, let it sit out at room temperature until it softens slightly.
6. Refrigerate until ready to use.
7. Frost the cooled cake as you like. Use plenty of frosting between the layers for a tall, beautiful cake.

Keywords: coconut flour, carrots, pumpkin, eggs, cashews, Paleo carrot cake

Paleo Carrot Cake Recipes

After I changed to a Paleo diet I really missed carrot cake so I went in search of good Paleo carrot cakes and I found 9 of the Best. I did that because I LOVE carrot cake but when I started eating Paleo I thought I would never be able to eat it again. I thought there was no way to replace the cream cheese frosting that makes carrot cake what it is.

Well, I was wrong again. I found some really good paleo carrot cake recipes and several have great “cream cheese” frosting recipes included. Most of the cream cheese frosting’s are made with cashews or coconut cream, I love my cashews too, so I can’t go wrong.

I didn’t include any raw carrot cakes recipes because I think they are just weird. There is no way they can even be close to the same except that they have carrots. Whoopty Doo, that doesn’t impress me. It has to have some flour of some sort in it, in my opinion, to be called a cake. Plus it has to have a frosting of some sort. I may be old fashioned, but that’s just how I feel.

The thing that isn’t my favorite part are the raisins, pineapple, and coconut that are in some recipes. I know some of these recipes call for pineapple, raisins, and coconut and that’s okay because I know other people like them. I’m just telling you what I like. You know, it’s a really good thing we are all different and have different likes and dislikes or life would be really boring. Everything would be the same. Yuck

What do you like in your carrot cake? What do you not like in it? I hope you enjoy these.

1. Paleo Carrot Cake with Maple Syrup – See Above

2. Carrot Cake with Whipped Coconut Frosting – Heartbeet Kitchen

Tigernut Flour – Arrowroot Starch – Coconut Flour – Baking Soda – Cinnamon – Ginger  – Cloves – Real Salt – Lemon Juice – Coconut Milk – Applesauce – Maple Syrup – Coconut Oil – Carrots – Raisins – Coconut Flakes

This is AIP compliant besides being Paleo. That’s why it calls for gelatin eggs instead of eggs. It could be fun to give them a try. It is topped with toasted coconut flakes and a whipped coconut milk frosting. If you’ve never tried Tigernut flour, you really should. You can learn all about it in this post. Paleo Tigernut Flour Recipes Index, Pros, Cons and Best Prices.

3. Carrot Cake with Maple Pecan Glaze – Flavour and Savour

Coconut Flour  – Cinnamon – Ginger – Nutmeg – Baking Soda – Real Salt – Maple Syrup – Coconut Oil  – Eggs – Lemon Juice – Carrots – Pineapple – Raisins – Pecans

This is a traditional carrot cake made with coconut flour and maple syrup. It has added golden raisins and pineapple which helps moisten it up. It has a maple pecan glaze on top with chopped walnuts. If you don’t like “cream cheese ” frosting, this is for you.

4. Carrot Cake – A Clean Bake

Almond Flour – Coconut Flour – Tapioca Flour – Cinnamon – Nutmeg – Ground Cloves – Baking Soda – Monk Fruit Sweetener – Carrots – Walnuts – Pineapple – Raisins – Eggs – Vanilla Extract – Apple Cider Vinegar

What is a carrot cake all about anyway? It’s about a basic cake with an array of spices and textures and of course flavors. Look at all of the different spices in this recipe. Then look at all the textures with nuts, raisins, pineapple, and carrots. Maybe your taste buds will explode with all these different ingredients in here. For frosting try making this whipped coconut cream.

5. Coconut Flour Carrot Bundt Cake – I Heart Eating

Coconut Flour – Cinnamon – Ginger – Nutmeg – Agave Nectar – Coconut Oil – Pineapple Juice – Almond Milk – Eggs – Vanilla Extract – Carrots – Pineapple

Coconut flour can give baked foods a different texture than other flours. This has a really fluffy light texture. It’s kind of like a cross between a sponge cake and a regular carrot cake. It is a light alternative for say an Easter dessert. It is lower in carbs because coconut flour isn’t carby but is high in fiber. Plus it has a lot less oil than a traditional cake.

6. Carrot Cake – The Roasted Root

Eggs – Maple Syrup – Grapeseed Oil – Lemon Juice – Vanilla Extract – Almond Flour – Tapioca Flour – Shredded Coconut – Walnuts – Raisins – Carrots – Cashews – Almond Milk  Real Salt

There as so many positive aspects to this recipe. Besides the facts that it’s gluten-free, dairy-free and Paleo. It is packed with protein, it’s healthy and best of all, it’s mixed in the blender. Something that I find interesting about carrot cake is that some have raisins, pineapple and shredded coconut added to them. Others don’t, so it seems to me that you can pretty much make a carrot cake what you want it to be.

7. Carrot Cake – Apples and Cotton

Eggs – Honey – Grapeseed Oil – Carrots – Dates – Walnuts  – Almond Flour – Cinnamon – Nutmeg – Real Salt – Baking Soda – Butter – Vanilla – Powdered Sugar – Coconut Milk

Now, you won’t find any raisins, pineapple or shredded coconut in here. What you will find is a lot of walnuts. The best part about this is that it is sandwiched and topped with coconut cream. You could use pecans if you’d like. Either one would be delicious. I like the crunch the nuts add and the creaminess of the frosting. Two completely different textures.

8. Carrot Cake with Coconut “Cream Cheese” Frosting – Paleo Running Momma

Eggs – Maple Syrup – Coconut Oil – Almond Milk – Vanilla Extract – Almond Flour – Coconut Flour – Tapioca Flour – Carrots – Raisins  – Nuts – Ground Cinnamon – Ground Ginger – Nutmeg – Cashews – Coconut Cream – Lemon Juice – Raw Honey

So what do you like in your carrot cake? Do you like it with raisins and pineapple and coconut? I’ll tell you right now what I love about carrot cake, and it’s everything EXCEPT the pineapple, coconut, and raisins. I think they ruin it. What I miss the most about the traditional kind is the real cream cheese frosting. I think that’s why I liked carrot cake. But whipped coconut cream or cashew cream is good too.

9. Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting – Fed and Fit

Coconut Flour – Arrowroot Starch – Baking Soda – Allspice – Cinnamon – Real Salt – Almond Butter – Carrots – Eggs – Palm Shortening – Honey – Cashews – Apple Cider Vinegar – Lemon Juice – Walnuts

My carrot cake story is that my mother never heard of it until she got married and her sister in law made it. My mom instantly fell in love with it and has never stopped loving it since. How could my Grandma have never made a carrot cake, I don’t but she didn’t. Now everyone in our family loves it. Several of my siblings ask for it for their birthday. We get to choose what kind of cake we have for our birthday party.