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Gluten Free Carrot Cake

This Gluten Free Carrot Cake is the same classic cake you remember, just without gluten and dairy. It’s loaded with carrots, coconut, walnuts, and pineapple and it’s packed with flavor.

Gluten Free Carrot Cake from What The Fork Food Blog

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Gluten Free Carrot Cake

Carrot Cake has always been one of my favorite cakes and this gluten free carrot cake is no exception. This recipe is one that my family has been making for years, i.e. my whole life.

The original recipe was from The Silver Palate Cookbook and it’s one of those loaded carrot cakes – you know the ones with puréed carrots, pineapple, nuts, AND coconut.

Gluten Free Carrot Cake from What The Fork Food Blog

It’s out of this world amazing. All that sweetness, texture, and yum all in one little cake. And when I say little, I don’t really mean it because it’s NOT a little cake like I usually make.

This is a gorgeous 3 layer cake that can easily feed a large Easter crowd and nobody will miss the gluten.

Gluten Free Carrot Cake from What The Fork Food Blog


Carrot Cake Ingredients


Equipment Needed to Make Homemade Carrot Cake

This cake recipe can easily be mixed by hand but you could use a Stand Mixer or Hand Mixer to speed up the mixing process.


Dairy Free Carrot Cake

The carrot cake recipe, as written, is already dairy free.

To make a vegan and dairy free cream cheese frosting, follow my cream cheese frosting recipe but use dairy free cream cheese in place of regular cream cheese. Use 1/4 cup Nutiva Shortening + 1/4 cup vegan butter in place of the regular butter.

I prefer Nutiva shortening over Crisco in terms of taste and texture, especially in recipes like frostings. The combination of shortening and vegan butter also works better than vegan butter alone.


Gluten Free Carrot Cake Cupcakes

This gluten free carrot cake can be made into Gluten Free Carrot Cake Cupcakes. The full cake recipe makes a lot of cupcakes so I halved the recipe, which makes 20 cupcakes.

Gluten Free Carrot Cake from What The Fork Food Blog


How to Make Carrot Cake 

Step 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 3 9-inch cake pans with non-stick spray and line the bottoms with parchment paper.

Step 2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon. Mix in the walnuts to coat them with the flour and set the bowl aside.

Step 3. In a medium bowl, lightly beat the eggs. Whisk in the oil, vanilla, and pureed carrots and mix until well combined.

Step 4. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and gently mix until there isn’t any dry flour. Fold in the coconut and crushed pineapple. Pour the batter evenly between the 3 cake pans.

Step 5. Bake on the center rack for 50 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Let the cakes cool for 15 minutes in the pans before inverting onto wire racks to cool. Cool completely before frosting.

Step 6. Frost the cake and refrigerate until ready to serve. Bring to room temperature for 30 minutes before serving. Keep leftovers wrapped tightly in the refrigerator.


Tips for Making Gluten Free Carrot Cake

  • Measure the flour correctly. Too much flour will make your cake heavy and dense. Get my free guide to measuring flour here.
  • If you use a flour blend that doesn’t contain xanthan gum, add 1/8 teaspoon xanthan gum per cup of flour. So 1/4 teaspoon + 1/8 teaspoon.
    • Xanthan gum can react negatively with pineapple. Using too much xanthan gum with pineapple can result in a rubbery texture.
  • I haven’t tested this recipe without the pineapple or coconut and I haven’t tested it with grated carrots vs. shredded carrots. This recipe turns out best as written. Making changes to the mix-ins will throw off the ratio of wet to dry ingredients and the results won’t be as intended.

Other Gluten Free Easter Dessert Recipes to Try

Lemon Cupcakes

Easter Meringue Nests

Grain Free Hummingbird Cake from Gluten Free Palate

Lemon Squares

Lemon Layer Cake

Coconut Pound Cake

Strawberry Cake


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Gluten Free Carrot Cake

4.93 from 81 ratings
This Gluten Free Carrot Cake is the same classic cake you remember, just without gluten and dairy. It’s loaded with carrots, coconut, walnuts, and pineapple and it’s packed with flavor.
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Print Rate Pin

Ingredients

For the Cake

  • 3 cups Gluten Free Flour with xanthan gum 420g
  • 3 cups granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 1 tablespoon baking soda yes, 1 tablespoon
  • 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 1/2 cups walnuts chopped
  • 4 large eggs room temperature
  • 1 1/2 cups canola oil
  • 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 1/3 cups pureed cooked carrots
  • 1 1/2 cups shredded coconut
  • 1 8 oz. can crushed pineapple drained

For the Frosting:

Instructions

To Make the Cake:

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray 3 9-inch cake pans with non-stick spray.
  • In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon. Mix in the walnuts to coat them with the flour and set the bowl aside.
  • In a medium bowl, lightly beat the eggs. Whisk in the oil, vanilla, and pureed carrots and mix until well combined.
  • Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and gently mix until there isn't any dry flour. Fold in the coconut and crushed pineapple. Pour the batter evenly between the 3 cake pans.
  • Bake on the center rack [see Note 3] for 50 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Let the cakes cool for 15 minutes in the pans before inverting onto wire racks to cool. Cool completely before frosting.

To Assemble:

  • Make the cream cheese frosting as directed (see notes).
  • To frost the cakes, place one cake layer on a cake stand or flat plate. Add a layer of frosting and spread it evenly over the cake. Add a second layer of cake and repeat the frosting step. Add the third layer and evenly spread the frosting over the top and around the sides of the cake.
  • Refrigerate the cake until ready to serve. Bring the cake to room temperature before serving.

Notes

1. Dairy Free option for the cream cheese frosting can be found here.
2. If you can only fit two cake pans on your center rack, bake the 3rd pan on the bottom rack. If it needs to bake a few minutes longer than the other two cakes, move it to the center rack to finish baking when the other two cakes are removed.
3. This frosting recipe makes enough frosting to have a very thin layer of frosting between each layer of cake and on the top and sides. If you want a thick layer of frosting and enough to decorate, make 1 1/2 batches or double the frosting recipe.
4. Leftovers should be wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and stored in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. You can also freeze individually wrapped slices for up to 3 months.
Recipe adapted from The Silver Palate Cookbook

Disclaimers

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Nutrition Facts are estimated and aren't always accurate. Please consult a doctor or nutritionist if you have special dietary needs.

Did you make this?Mention @whattheforkfoodblog or leave a comment rating below!

Gluten Free Carrot Cake from What The Fork Food Blog | whattheforkfoodblog.com

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Sincerely,
Shay

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Recipe Rating




  1. Lia says:

    Hi Shay,

    Do you have instructions for making the pureed carrots? Do they get pureed without added liquid? Thanks, Lia.

    • Hi Lia, I just add my carrots to a saucepan with about an inch of water. Then bring them to a boil and simmer until soft (about 20 minutes). You can speed up the cooking process by cutting the carrots smaller. I use an immersion blender to puree the carrots right in the pan I cooked them in with the cooking liquid.

  2. Cathy says:

    Thank you for the freezing info! One other question. Can you make as a two layer like the original or are you doing three layers because gluten free?

    • Shay says:

      I did 3 layers because it was really too much batter for 2 layers. My mom makes it in 2 layers and then has leftover batter to make a small 6-inch cake or cupcakes/muffins.

  3. Cathy says:

    Can I make week before and freeze layers separately? Then thaw out day of and frost?

    • Shay says:

      Yes you can! I often freeze my cake layers before frosting. Just be sure to wrap each layer really well in a couple layers of plastic wrap and then store them in a freezer-safe bag. They do best if frozen flat on a sheet pan so that they don’t get misshapen in the freezer. You can frost the cake while the layers are still frozen or partially frozen (it makes frosting easier!). Just be sure the cake is thawed before serving.

  4. Laurie says:

    Carrot cake is my favorite! This looks wonderful!

    Thank for sharing your recipe at the homestead Blog Hop 389

    Laurie
    Ridge Haven Homestead

  5. Pam says:

    Oh, this looks amazing! I’ll be featuring it tomorrow at the TFT party. Thanks for sharing it with us. 🙂

  6. JJ says:

    Hello!
    My children are allergic to nuts.
    Would this cake still work substituting raisins for the walnuts?

  7. Amanda Feinstein says:

    I have made your carrot cake cupcakes twice and they were beyond amazing. I’m planning to make the carrot cake next week and wondered if I can make the safe dairy (regular cream cheese) frosting for the cake? I loved that frosting and don’t want to change it a bit 🙂 Are all the other ingredients the same as you have listed below? Thanks!

  8. Debbie Judt says:

    Thanks for another great recipe… I have my carrots cooking right now. Going to cook up what is left in my fridge, measure out and have ready to go in freezer.
    QUESTION?
    Do you drain the carrots of the 1/4 cup water before pureeing.
    thanks
    Deb

  9. Audrey Turman says:

    I have vegan free butter and cream cheese can I just put 1/2 cup of vegan free butter in place of shortening ?

  10. Sarah says:

    Just wanted to say thank you. I also grew up with the Silver Palate carrot cake. It’s the best. I was going to give it a go with gluten free flour, and hope for the best, but it’s really nice to know in advance that it won’t be a flop! I was concerned there might be too much oil for gluten free flour to manage. I also use the Bob’s blend. I mixed my own for years but have always had good results with Bob’s 1 to 1 blend. Thanks again!

  11. Melanie says:

    This carrot cake is out of this world! I made it for Easter and everyone loved it. I did use shredded carrots bc I didn’t see that the recipe called for purée until I went to add it to the batter, but I came out perfect! I used two 12 inch pans to bake it in. Thanks for another great recipe!

  12. Judith Anderson says:

    5 stars
    I made your cake for a friends Birthday, it was amazing, everyone was shocked it was GF, thank you gor the recipe. It will be my go to from now on.

  13. claire says:

    5 stars
    This looks AMAZING! has anyone used this recipe for cupcakes?

  14. Amber says:

    I made this carrot cake for my Friendsgiving dinner party and it was absolutely fabulous. Everyone was going nuts about it.

  15. Dina says:

    What can I sub the eggs with for the Gluten Free Carrot Cake

    • Sharon says:

      Hi Dina, I have not tried an egg replacement in this recipe but you could try flax eggs or the Bob’s Red Mill egg replacer. Let me know how it works out for you!

  16. Yum, yum, yum! Haven’t had carrot cake in forever. Thank you for sharing with us at Funtastic Friday!

  17. Omg this carrot cake looks so heavenly and gorgeous!! <3

  18. GiGi Eats says:

    Oh my word this looks insanely delicious!

  19. plasterers bristol says:

    Yum, love carrot cake. never made it myself though, Thanks for posting sounds delcious. Simon

  20. Lara says:

    I would love to try this recipe but I’m not big on pineapple, can I just leave it out or would I need to add something in to replace it?

    • Sharon says:

      Hi Lara, I wouldn’t just leave it out because it would affect the cake in a negative way. If you absolutely can’t do pineapple, you could try replacing it with an equal amount of shredded carrot. I have not tried this though so I can not guarantee good results.

  21. Ruth S says:

    Recipe looks amazing!! Can I just use grated raw
    carrots in the recipe or should I stick to the recipe and cook and puree them?

    • Sharon says:

      Hi Ruth! I would stick with the pureed carrot, I have never used grated carrot in place of the carrot puree. If you don’t want to make your own puree, I know a lot of people use baby food for a shortcut 😉

  22. lauren says:

    I feel stupid for asking this but where is the actual recipe?

  23. Rissi says:

    This sure looks yummy!

    I did have two questions: if I wanted to make this a two layer cake, by what amount would you suggest decreasing the ingredients. Secondly, would this still bake/turn out if I omitted the coconut?

    • Sharon says:

      I would use 2/3 of all ingredients (but you could keep the frosting the same and have a little thicker layer) and you can omit the coconut if necessary. It doesn’t give the cake a coconut flavor but it gives it a nice texture.

  24. Looks so moist and flavorful, I need a slice!

  25. Carrot cake has my heart! This one looks divine!

  26. Brianna H says:

    I love the pineapple and coconut in the carrot cake! So much texture.

  27. can I have this fore breakfast ? 🙂 YUM

  28. Gorgeous cake Sharon! You nailed it gluten-free. It’s chock full of goodness and pass me a fork!

  29. This is one of the most scrumptious carrot cake ever

  30. This cake is beautiful on the inside and the outside!!! I cannot wait to make this for Easter! 😀

  31. Megan says:

    Love the cute little carrot pic on top!

  32. Erica D. says:

    This looks great! I actually had no idea how to make a carrot cake before this!

  33. I’d love a slice right now! This cake looks so delicious!

  34. What a beautiful cake! I’ve never used cooked carrots in my carrot cake, what a neat idea. I’m looking forward to making your version soon!

  35. I love carrot cakes with all the fixins! The more to it, the better. This looks amazing.

    Chrystal

  36. Raia says:

    If my hubby saw this, there’d be drool all over my keyboard. Carrot cake is his fav! I’m gonna have to save this and make it for him. 🙂

  37. Catherine says:

    What a beautiful cake! Perfect for Easter…Carrot cake is one of my favorites. xo, Catherine

  38. I can’t get past the cuteness that is that little carrot on top! Also, I can’t believe this is GF! Looks great!

  39. I just saw this on Facebook and my mouth dropped to the floor… it’s freakin’ fabulous!!!

  40. Carrot cake is my life right now!! I have a new one with Bob’s coming up next week 😉