⅓cupbutterfor a very cheese frosting, I would use ⅓ cup, softened
⅓cuppowdered sweetener
Optional: ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Pre-heat the oven to 350F and prepare a 9’’ x 13’’ baking tray with baking paper. Set aside.
Add softened butter and granulated sweetener into a large bowl. Mix until creamy. Then incorporate one egg at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add vanilla extract and combine.
Add two cups of shredded carrots and stir to combine. Then add dry ingredients: almond flour, coconut flour, baking powder, salt, and spices. Stir until well combined.
Then add roughly chopped pecan nuts, stir to incorporate into the batter.
Pour the batter into the prepared baking tray, extend evenly.
Bake the sheet cake for 25 to 30 minutes or until lightly golden in the edges. When inserting a toothpick, this should come out clean.
Let the cake cool for 10-15 minutes before unmolding.
Frosting
Meanwhile, prepare the cream cheese frosting. Add cream cheese and softened butter into a bowl and use an electric mixer to combine them. Once the mixture is very creamy, add powdered sweetener and mix again. Start with ¼ cup and adjust sweetness to taste. *Optional: add ½ teaspoon vanilla extract.
Once the cake has cooled down, spread the frosting on top. Refrigerate for ½ hour before serving. *Optional: add some chopped pecans, pumpkin seeds, and orange zest as a garnish on top of the frosting.
Divide your cake into 15 squares and serve.
Notes
Almond Flour: Blanched or unblanched almond flour will work. Sometimes almond flour is also called almond meal depending on where you live and for this recipe, almond flour and almond meal can be used interchangeably.
Coconut Flour: Coconut flour helps to give the cake more bulk and fibre.
Granulated Sweetener: Its important to use a granulated sweetener that measures like sugar. I love use granulated monkfruit sweetener, however granulated stevia would also work. I wouldn't recommend using liquid sweeteners for this recipe as they would require different ratios.
Spices: The spices used in this low carb carrot cake are combination of ground cinnamon, ground ginger, ground nutmeg, and all spice
Cream Cheese: Its important to use the cream cheese that comes in blocks as opposed to the spreadable cream cheese. I like the creaminess of the full fat cream cheese, but using a low fat or light cream cheese is an option to keep it lower in calories.
Powdered Sweetener: using a powdered sweetener in the cream cheese is better than using a granulated sweetener which may result in a slight grittiness if not mixed properly. Powdered sweeteners are easily available in the supermarket with granulated sweeteners. If all else fails, use a mortar and pestle to grind down granulated sweetener into a fine powder.
Baking Powder: If you haven't used your baking powder in the last 6 months, I'd suggest buying a new one as it looses its effectiveness as a rising agent over time. Using old baking powder may mean your cake doesn't rise.
Nutritional information includes frosting
CARROT CAKE VARIATIONS
Add half a cup of drained, tinned pineapple along with the carrot
Add half a cup of dried blueberries to the batter and stir in by hand
Add ¼ cup peanut butter to the batter and mix in with the carrot
Instead of the lemon cream cheese frosting, try swapping espresso for the lemon juice