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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Absolutely stunning!!!! I follow you and have made lots of your recipes they are all fabulous and help keep me and my wife excited about Keto xxx Thankyou so much Donnna and Lisa
Great to hear!
Need to know carb count. Looking for diabetic friendly, not necessarily keto
The carb count is right in the recipe. And as a diabetic myself, I can tell you that it’s diabetic friendly.
I just commented but did not realize my name would be published. Could you please eliminate my last name?
done!
This cake is amazing. You will not go wrong. Thank you, Carolyn!
Must have done something wrong because mine came out very crumbly. I followed the recipe except I realized I used 9 inch pans (so the layers were thinner and a bit uneven). And I added 1/2 tsp of xanthan gum to help it in binding. But it still came out very crumbly.
Was the batter very thick and dry before adding it to the pans? If so, you may have over-measured your flours. But baking it in thinner layers also means you may have over-baked it.
It was delicious and easy too. I had 6″ cake pans so it was 4 layers. Thank you for sharing the way you do.
I definitely wanted to be a part of this challenge and made the cake for Easter, like many others have. First and foremost, it was a great recipe, and the finished product was received with high praise because it was beautiful! I made the error of not using both pecan and almond flour; that being said – it was still absolutely delicious. In fact, my mom has requested that I make it for our Passover Seder because it’s flourless (I will make with pecan flour next time)! Thanks Carolyn!!!
I made this for Easter and it was wonderful. Half pecan flour and half almond with a whipped cream/cream cheese icing. Cake was light and moist. Thank you for this recipe!!!
This cake is amazingly delicious!! The pecan flour is perfect in this recipe. I did half and half with the almond flour and it has a wonderful texture. The frosting is a little too sweet for me, so I’m glad I went with the smaller amount of frosting, rather than upping it to frost the entire cake.
No one knows this deliciousness is sugar free and keto
Made this carrot cake yesterday, absolutely gorgeous, so moist and light. One of the best carrot cakes ever! Came out perfectly. Thank you for the recipe!!
Great recipe. Fast, easy, relatively inexpensive if your pantry is already keto stocked. Most people do not even realize it’s a keto recipe. Each slice is pretty rich though, which is not normally the case with other carrot cakes so if you have a smaller crowd i think it would be worth making these in cupcake form so you could freeze some for later. Could even cut in half and toast for a breakfast treat!
I love carrot cake. I quit eating all related foods long ago. So when i saw Carolyn’s
recipe it was go time. There was minimal prep, such as the carrots. Standard
ingredients most low carb followers stock. We like that. Right? 😃 It came out great.
My wife took some to work and her friend said it was great. Said it was like
store bought. Being a master baker i expect that. 😲😬 Outstanding recipe.
…………………… 😎👍👍
Thanks so much!
Oh my goodness! Lush and delicious! Easter in my mouth. ❤️
Super yummy! I made it just like the recipe, except I had to sub out the coconut flour for 1 cup almond flour, as I have an allergy at work (where this will be taken). I know everyone will love it! Thank you again for your wonderful recipes!
I made it for the monthly March Amazon giveaway.
I am over the moon in love with this very moist Keto Carrot Cake. I did add a small amount of nutmeg and thought this took the cake to another level. Because it is just the 2 of us I have frozen the cake in small portions so we can enjoy later.
OMG, this is such a good carrot cake recipe. It is moist and not too sweet. I did make them into cupcakes because i din’t have 3 cake pans. I did have to make a couple adjustments because i thought I had all the ingredients and realized I didn’t have swerve. I ended up substituting with xylitol, I made my own “brown sugar” and I forgot to buy cream, so my frosting was made without it. They still turned out fantastically. I baked them 350 for 30 mins.
The recipe was super easy and moist. I posted my pictures on instagram. The frosting was perfect for this cake. A great cake to slice and freeze. Will definitely be making this again as the hubs and teenager loved it.
Kathy
Everyone needs a good carrot cake recipe but this one is a keeper since it’s Keto! Moist & oh so good!! I don’t even feel guilty diving into it to go with my breakfast.
If you’re short on time you can skip the frosting & just put the batter in 1 cake pan. Super easy!
Thanks Carolyn for another delicious keto recipe.
Great tips!
This is a fabulous recipe, makes a really good carrot cake. As always your instructions and quantities are spot on.
I have made it in 2layers rather than 3 as I only had 2 pans. Meant there was a thicker layer of frosting for the sides. Took 25 mins in my oven.
Really delicious, moist cake which I have now made twice. My son and I both love it.
Made this carrot cake for my husband’s birthday. It was very delicious.