Chocolate Carrot Cake is soft and tender with a light and airy coconut cream frosting. It has a rich and decadent chocolate flavor with all the traditional carrot cake spices like ginger, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Enjoy this cake year-round on holidays, birthdays, or whenever you're craving something sweet!
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
Healthy - This delicious Chocolate Carrot Cake is made without refined sugar, vegetable oil, or cream cheese! Instead, I used organic coconut sugar as a sweetener, coconut milk for moisture, and canned full fat coconut milk for the frosting.
Allergy Friendly - This recipe is great for anyone who is gluten-free, dairy-free, or follows a Paleo diet. The base of the cake is made with almond flour instead of all purpose flour which makes it naturally grain-free!
Unique - I love classic carrot cake, but the combination of rich dark chocolate with warming spices is a surprisingly tasty flavor pairing!
Simple - If you're intimidated by gluten-free baking, this is a great cake to try! I promise this recipe is not difficult to make and you just need some basic baking equipment.
You'll need a whisk, spatula, mixing bowls, and a cooling rack. I also suggest using a hand mixer for the coconut cream frosting.
🍴Ingredient Notes
- Grated Carrots - Shred the carrots using a box grater and do not pack them into the measuring cup.
- Eggs - I have not tried using an egg replacement for this recipe.
- Coconut Sugar - Any granulated sugar will work with this recipe. Feel free to swap for Lakanto Golden Monkfruit for a sugar-free option.
- Coconut Milk - Unsweetened coconut milk, almond milk, or any dairy-free milk will work with this recipe.
- Vanilla Extract - Just a splash to balance out the chocolate flavor!
- Almond Flour - I would not recommend subbing almond flour for any other flour. My favorite almond flour brands are Bob’s Red Mill, and Blue Diamond. Both have a finely ground blend that doesn’t come out clumpy!
- Cacao Powder - You can use unsweetened cocoa powder, but I like cacao powder because it’s less processed and more nutrient dense. TerraSoul is one of my favorite brands – great quality and great price!
- Baking Powder + Baking Soda - You'll need both to create a fluffy and soft cake texture.
- Spices - This recipe uses traditional carrot cake spices like ground ginger, ground nutmeg, clove, and cinnamon.
Coconut Cream Frosting
- Full Fat Coconut Milk - The can must be chilled for at least 4 hours. (Preferably 8-24 hours.) Only use the THICK part at the top of the can.
- Powdered Sugar - I use Lakanto powdered sugar because it's sugar free, but any powdered sugar will work. You can also swap for maple syrup.
- Vanilla Extract - This gives the frosting a delicious vanilla flavor!
🍴Step by Step Instructions
Step 1: Dry Ingredients
Start by adding almond flour, cacao powder, spices, and salt into a small bowl. Whisk together until fully combined.
Step 2: Wet Ingredients
Next, add shredded carrots, eggs, coconut sugar, coconut milk, and vanilla extract into a large bowl.
Step 3: Cake Batter
Pour the flour mixture into the wet mixture and stir together until all flour has been absorbed.
Step 4: Baking
Pour the cake batter into a greased 9" round baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. Check with a toothpick - if it comes out clean, the cake is done baking.
Step 5: Cooling
Let the cake cool completely on a wire rack before carefully removing it from the baking pan.
How to make Coconut Cream Frosting
For frosting, add ONLY the thick part of the chilled full fat coconut milk into a mixing bowl with powdered sugar and vanilla extract.
Blend on high with a hand or stand mixer with the whisk attachment until light and airy. (About 2-3 minutes.) Frost the cake with a small spatula or spoon!
Expert Tips
- Do not pack the cacao powder into the measuring cup. Spoon it in and use a knife to scrape off the excess.
- Let the cake cool completely before frosting the cake.
- To easily remove the cooled cake, use parchment paper at the bottom of the baking pan and grease the edges with coconut oil or a non-stick spray.
- If you want to use pre-made dairy-free frosting, I recommend Simple Mills or Miss Jones.
- To make a layer cake, you can double the recipe or use two smaller 6" cake pans.
Recipe Variations
- Add walnuts, pecans, chocolate chips, or shaved dark chocolate on top of the cake for added crunch and flavor.
- Swap the coconut cream frosting for a dairy-free cream cheese frosting using Miyokos cream cheese.
- For all the chocolate lovers, you can top the cake with chocolate ganache in place of the frosting! You can find instructions in my Paleo Chocolate Cake post.
How to store leftovers
The cake with or without frosting stores best in the refrigerator.
After about 5 days I would transfer any leftovers into an airtight glass container in the freezer. To defrost, just place the frozen cake in the refrigerator the night before.
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Recipe Card
Chocolate Carrot Cake Recipe (Gluten-Free)
Equipment
- 1 9" Round Baking Pan
Ingredients
Wet Ingredients
- 2 Cups Shredded Carrots
- 2 Eggs
- ¾ Cup Coconut Sugar
- ½ Cup Coconut Milk Or any dairy-free milk.
- 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Dry Ingredients
- 1+½ Cups Almond Flour
- 1 Cup Cacao Powder
- 2 Teaspoons Cinnamon
- 1+½ Teaspoon Baking Powder
- ½ Teaspoon Baking Soda
- ½ Teaspoon Ground Ginger
- ½ Teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
- ¼ Teaspoon Clove
- ¼ Teaspoon Salt
Coconut Cream Frosting
- 13.5 Ounces Full Fat Coconut Milk It must be chilled. You will only need the THICK part at the top of the can.
- 2 Tablespoons Powdered Sugar You can also use 1 tablespoon of maple syrup.
- 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Instructions
- Start by adding almond flour, cacao powder, spices, and salt into a mixing bowl. Whisk together until fully combined.
- Next, add shredded carrots, eggs, coconut sugar, coconut milk, and vanilla extract into a large bowl.
- Pour the flour mixture into the wet mixture and stir together until all flour has been absorbed.
- Pour the cake batter into a greased 9" round baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. Check with a toothpick - if it comes out clean, the cake is done baking.
- Let the cake cool completely before carefully removing it from the baking pan.
Coconut Cream Frosting
- For frosting, add ONLY the thick part of the full fat coconut milk can into a mixing bowl with powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Blend on high with a hand or stand mixer until thick and creamy. (About 2-3 minutes.)
- Frost the cake with a small spatula or the back of a spoon and top with crushed walnuts!
Notes
Expert Tips
- Do not pack the cacao powder into the measuring cup. Spoon it in and use a knife to scrape off the excess.
- Let the cake cool completely before frosting the cake.
- To easily remove the cooled cake, use parchment paper at the bottom of the baking pan and grease the edges with coconut oil or a non-stick spray.
- If you want to use pre-made dairy-free frosting, I recommend Simple Mills or Miss Jones.
- To make a layer cake, you can double the recipe or use two smaller 6" cake pans.
How To Store Leftovers
The cake with or without frosting stores best in the refrigerator. After about 5 days I would transfer any leftovers into an airtight glass container in the freezer. To defrost, just place the frozen cake in the refrigerator the night before. **See full post for more information and step by step photos.Nutrition
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