This three layer Keto Carrot Cake is a stunner of a low carb dessert. Frosted with the best sugar-free cream cheese frosting, this cake will wow your friends and family. And it’s remarkably easy to make!
I am absolutely over the moon about this keto carrot cake recipe. Simply and utterly obsessed with it and I want to make it over and over again.
Trust me, this is high praise coming from someone who bakes a lot of keto desserts. And who typically leans hard toward the chocolate variety of anything. But I took one bite of this moist, tender keto carrot cake and I was instantly in love.
And it was high time that I posted something like this. I have many carrot cake flavoured recipes, like my popular keto carrot cake bars. But not a single one of them is a classic layer cake.
Many of you have asked for a classic Keto Carrot Cake and so I thank you for pushing me to this. Because it is beyond delicious!
Keto Cake Cookbook
Confession time! Part of the reason I chose to share this recipe now is that I am working on a new e-cookbook devoted entirely to keto cake recipes.
In case you hadn’t noticed, I love making low carb cakes that rival the conventional wheat-and-sugar variety. I derive so much pleasure out of creating something that no one guess is keto friendly.
I’ve got a classic keto birthday cake, of course, and a rich and delicious keto chocolate cake. But then I have more extravagant creations like Berry Chantilly Cake and Praline Sheet Cake.
I hope to have this book out by May or June, so keep your cake-loving eyes peeled!
Ingredients
For this recipe, I tried to stay true to the classic, with some notable keto substitutions.
The flours
Because carrot cake typically takes chopped pecans, I decided to use pecan flour as the base. It has great flavour and slightly fewer carbs than almond flour. I also added some coconut flour to help the overall consistency of the cake.
The sweeteners
Staying true to conventional carrot cake, I incorporated both a brown sugar replacement and granulated sweetener. Swerve Brown is, by far, the most like real brown sugar, and it deepens the flavor of the cake.
The spices
Carrot cake is really a kind of spice cake, so don’t skimp on the spices. I used plenty of cinnamon and some ground cloves. You can also add in nutmeg and a bit of ginger. But don’t overdo the ginger as it can overpower the rest of the flavors.
The carrots
As most of us are aware, carrots are not the most keto friendly vegetable. But you don’t have to add a lot to the recipe to give it the right taste and texture. Conventional carrot cake usually takes 3 cups of grated carrot. I cut this back to 1 1/2 cups and it was perfect.
How to make keto carrot cake
Making a keto carrot cake is really quite similar to the conventional version. Here are my best tips for getting it right.
- Prep your pans properly: This means both greasing them and lining them with parchment paper. Don’t skip this step!
- Finely grate the carrot: Choose the smallest holes on your box grater or food processor grating blade. This ensures better distribution of the carrot throughout the cake.
- Whisk the dry ingredients: Make sure to break up any lumps in the flours before proceeding.
- Beat the wet ingredients together, then add the dry ingredients all at once and beat to combine.
- Bake the cake layers: Be sure to divide the batter into the pans as evenly as possible. If you have a kitchen scale, that can help!
- Let cool completely: You know I always stress this, as keto cakes are very fragile when they are still warm.
How to make the best keto cream cheese frosting
Classic carrot cake takes cream cheese frosting and this one is no different! A few tips for a truly creamy, smooth frosting:
- Properly soften the cream cheese and butter: Make sure that they are soft enough to beat very easily. If you live in a cooler climate, as I do, room temperature may not be sufficient. I always give mine a few seconds in the microwave before I beat them together.
- Add the sweetener after they are smooth: Don’t try to beat it in right away, as it can cause some clumping. Wait until the cream cheese and butter mixture is nice and smooth first.
- Use room temperature cream: Adding cold cream can also cause the frosting to clump up, so make sure to let the cream sit out for 20 to 30 minutes.
- Crumb coat the cake: For this keto carrot cake recipe, I went with the more naked look. I simply spread enough frosting on the sides of the cake to coat it lightly. It was plenty of frosting in the end, as the cake is wonderfully moist.
Frequently Asked Questions
While carrots aren’t the most keto friendly vegetable, they are fine used in a recipe that serves 12 to 16. I found I could use up to 1 1/2 cups without raising the carb count much.
I haven’t tried making this recipe without nut meals as yet. But you could try replacing the pecan flour with sunflower seed flour. You will need to add 2 tablespoons of lemon juice to offset the green reaction.
Then simply leave out the added nuts in the cake and the garnish.
The cake will probably turn out with other sweeteners but I do warn you that allulose causes baked goods to darken very quickly and look almost burnt. For the frosting, you need a good confectioner’s style (powdered) sweetener.
Protein powder is a critical ingredient as it helps baked goods rise and hold their shape properly. You will find that my keto cake recipes are lighter and fluffier than many others. You can skip it, but please understand that your cake will be more dense and more fragile.
You can use whey protein, egg white protein, or some plant-based proteins. But don’t use collagen protein as it will make the cake gummy and hard to cook through.
You can make 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 times the frosting recipe to make a fully frosted cake.
Storage Information
Store the keto carrot cake in the fridge, with any cut edges covered with plastic wrap. I like it best served at room temperature so I recommend cutting slices when it’s cold and letting them sit out for a few minutes. The cake should last for up to a week in the fridge.
You can also freeze this cake, tightly wrapped up, for up to 2 months.
Want more keto layer cakes?
- Lemon Cream Cake
- Keto Margarita Cake
- Keto Marble Cake
- Cookies & Cream Cake
- Butter Pecan Cake
- Sugar Free Spice Cake
Keto Carrot Cake Recipe
Ingredients
Carrot Cake
- 2 cups pecan flour/almond flour, See Notes
- ⅓ cup coconut flour
- ⅓ cup unflavoured whey protein powder, or egg white protein powder
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp ground cloves
- 4 large eggs
- ½ cup avocado oil, or another neutral oil
- ½ cup Swerve Brown
- ½ cup Swerve Granular
- 1½ cups finely grated carrot, lightly packed
- 1½ tsp vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup chopped pecans
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 3/4 cup powdered Swerve Sweetener
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream, room temperature
Garnish
- ¼ cup chopped pecans
- 1 tbsp finely grated carrot
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF and grease 3 8-inch round cake pans. Line the bottoms with parchment paper and grease the paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the pecan flour, coconut flour, protein powder, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and cloves.
- In a large bowl, beat the eggs and oil with the sweeteners until well combined and the sweeteners are mostly dissolved. Beat in the carrots and vanilla extract.
- Add the dry ingredients and beat on low until combined. Stir in the chopped pecans.
- Divide the batter evenly among the baking pans and spread to the edges. Bake 18 to 25 minutes, or until golden brown and the tops are firm to the touch.
- Remove and let cool completely in the pans, then run a sharp knife around the inside of the pans and flip out onto a wire rack.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter together until very smooth. Beat in the sweetener and vanilla extract until well combined.
- Slowly beat in the heavy whipping cream until a spreadable consistency is achieved.
To assemble
- Place one layer of cake on a cake stand or plate. Spread the top with one quarter of the frosting. Repeat with the remaining layers.
- Use the final quarter of frosting to lightly crumb coat the sides, so that the cake peeks through.
- Sprinkle the chopped pecans and shredded carrot around the outside of the top of the cake. Refrigerate 1 hour before cutting and serving.
Notes
Nutrition
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Hi Carolyn!
I’ve been following your videos for some time now and had a couple questions:
I’m not Keto but wanting to be more sugar free. Do you know if the different sugar substitutes work with non Keto recipes?
Also, do your cookbooks have an expert tips section on that?
Thank you 😊
I don’t make conventional recipes with flour, so I honestly can’t say. I think you will need to experiment!
Do you have a recipe to make a nut free recipe for Carrot Cake? I have a friend that is allergic to most nuts, maybe all. She’s developed several allergies with age, including to soy. One of her favorite memories from her childhood is her mom making Carrot Cake…Can you help? Sunflower seed flour maybe?
You can try sunflower seed flour in place of almond flour but you need to also add a tablespoon of lemon juice to offset the green reaction.
I have made your slow cooker, carrot cake and slow cooker chocolate cake many times… both are amazing! I see the chocolate version but did you remove the slow cooker carrot cake from the site? I cannot find it!
Do you think this recipe used as cupcakes?
Absolutely! Check the comments, I bet someone has done it already.
Hi Carolyn, What happened to your mini carrot cake? When I go to the swerve site I can’t find the recipe. Just curious, as I wanted to make it but could not find it any longer!
I need this for my BIL’s birthday! Thanks for sharing!!!
In case someone doesn’t want to mess with a layered cake, I just made this in a 9 x 13 greased non-stick USA pan and it was perfect. Baked 25 minutes.
This is the first time I have had a “less than stellar” result from one of your recipes. You know I’m your biggest fan!
The cake batter wasn’t nearly enough to distribute among 3 pans so I used 3 and increased the cooking time slightly (until it tested done).
The cakes barely rose, and I don’t think I can attribute this to the larger amount per pan. The batter was VERY thick and I suspect I should have squeezed some of the moisture out of the carrots before adding to the batter.
Normally I separate the eggs in keto cakes (including your recipes) and beat the whites until stiff and fold those in last. I skipped that this time, it might have helped with the rise. My baking powder is fresh…maybe I’ll add more next time.
Hi Sara, I am sorry that happened. But you can see from other comments that this one turns out well for people. From your description of thick batter, it sounds like you didn’t have enough liquid. It obviously shouldn’t be like that. I can’t say what went wrong but the flour often makes a huge difference. What were you using? Did you have pecan flour? What brands?
Also… absolutely no need to squeeze carrots to release moisture. Especially if your batter was that thick as it was, it wouldn’t have helped.
I made this for my birthday today. It is delicious! My husband agreed. I didn’t have 3 round pans so I used 2 square ones. Worked just fine.
These are aMAZING! I made 2 cake layers and 6 fluffy muffins/cupcakes (and a couple of small tweaks); one of my new fave keto desserts ❤️ … I haven’t even frosted them yet!
My husbands favorite cake is Carrot Cake so I made this for him for his birthday! Oh my lands! This was sooooo delicious and moist and EASY to make! No one could believe it was Keto! I didn’t have pecan flour so I ground up Pecans in the food processor and it worked perfectly. Thank you for this delicious recipe!
Hi Carolyn,
I tried this recipe and it is a little crumbly and not moist as I had expected. I used half pecan flour and half almond flour. I wonder if using 2 cups of almond flour and no pecan flour would give a moister result? Thank you!
If it’s crumbly, then you likely over-baked it. Take it out of the oven the very second that the top feels firm to the touch.
I followed the recipe to the T. I just came out of the oven and smells yummy my. But it only made 2- 8in pans. It did not raise like a regular cake and is denser.
recipe said “2 cup pecan/ almond flour, see note”
I use 1 cup almond flour and 1 cup of pecan flour as I assumed the recipe said. Was it supposed to be 2 cups of each?
No… it was 1 cup of each. And it should rise some… not as much as conventional cake but it does rise. I think if you had spread it in 3 layers you would have gotten 3 layers.
Felt like it needed a lil extra frosting. Very delicious! Worth the effort and the flavor is insane. Hubby loved it.👍
Can you use flavored whey protein powder? I have vanilla flavored. I don’t have any unflavored.
Sure, that works!
will this recipe turn out well if I cut it in half to make less layers, or MN maybe just a sheet cake? thank you!
I am sure it will but I can’t guide you as to baking time.
I need gluten free cake recipe more than a “no sugar/low carb” one, so if I used regular sugar, would I use the same quantity, as shown in recipe? thank you again for your input, very appreciated!!
I am sorry, I don’t bake with sugar so I really can’t guide you.
Hello! This looks amazing and want to try for Easter! Wondering if I could either A) make this in 2 layers (only have 2 cake pans at the moment), or B) could I make it into cupcakes? I am worried there would be way too much batter for just 12 cupcakes. Would the amounts need reduced at all? I appreciate any advice you may have!
It will be fine but the 2 layers will take longer to bake than 3 layers, since the batter will be deeper.
I made mine into cupcakes for Easter feast! Yum I also added your dried cranberries chopped up! So good. Thank you for all the fantastic recipes. I lived using pecan flour in this!!!
can this recipe be cut in half with success?
Probably. You will need to experiment!
Will all almond flour work ??
Pecan flour is not something I have.
Thx
Patty
Yes, you can use all almond flour.