This Gluten Free Dairy Free Decadent Carrot Cake is tender and moist, with a fluffy vanilla frosting that literally melts in your mouth.
This recipe is lower in sugar and fat than most carrot cake recipes, but certainly isn’t lacking in flavor. It’s absolutely delicious. My non gluten-free family members love it, and honestly, one would never know it’s gluten free or dairy free unless you specifically told them!
This homemade carrot cake is a great choice to serve at a birthday party, Easter, or… anytime really.
If you’re looking for an excuse to make a cake just because, I’m totally giving you permission to do so! You don’t need an occasion. Just don’t forget the coffee. 😉
A few recipe notes on this Gluten Free Dairy Free Decadent Carrot Cake:
- The recipe is fairly versatile. Feel free to add crushed pineapple (just make sure you drain it first) or raisins if you’d like.
- As for the chopped pecans, if you prefer to use walnuts instead, please use what you like. Or if you are allergic to nuts, simply omit them.
Now seriously… go make yourself some decadent cake!
Other gluten free cake recipes you’ll want to check out:
Gluten-Free Blueberry Lemon Bundt Cake (also dairy-free)
Easy Flourless Gluten-Free Black Forrest Cake from Scratch from Faithfully Gluten Free
Gluten-Free Yellow Cake with Chocolate Fudge Frosting from Flippin’ Delicious
Gluten-Free Vegan Chocolate Sheet Cake (top-8 allergen free) from Allergy Awesomeness
- 1 cup tapioca starch
- 1/2 cup sorghum flour (or millet flour)
- 1/2 cup brown rice flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon xanthan gum
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 cup organic cane sugar
- 1 cup unsweetened apple sauce, at room temperature
- 1/3 cup coconut oil, just melted
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
- 2 1/2 cups grated carrots
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans (or walnuts), plus more for sprinkling on top
- 1/2 cup palm shortening
- 1/4 cup ghee or vegan butter
- 1 lbs organic powdered sugar (this brand is corn starch free)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 3-5 tablespoons canned coconut milk
- Grate the carrots and chop the pecans and set them aside.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F).
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the tapioca starch, sorghum flour, brown rice flour, baking soda, baking powder, ground cinnamon, xanthan gum, ground nutmeg, ground ginger, and sea salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, mix together the organic cane sugar, unsweetened apple sauce, coconut oil, honey, and vanilla extract.
- Whisk in the eggs until well blended.
- Add half of the dry ingredients to the wet and stir until combined.
- Stir in the remaining half of the dry ingredients and stir again until just combined. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl, and stir again, just long enough to incorporate the remaining flour mixture from the sides of the bowl into the batter.
- Stir in the grated carrots and the chopped pecans.
- Place the cake batter into a well greased 9x13” cake pan, or divide the dough evenly between 2 well greased and parchment paper lined 9-inch cake rounds.
- *For the 9x13” cake pan:* bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick, when inserted into the center of the cake, comes out clean.
- *For the 9-inch cake rounds:* bake for 25-32 minutes, or until a toothpick, when inserted into the center of the cake, comes out clean.
- Cool completely before frosting. Sprinkle the top of the cake with chopped pecans.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, mix all of the ingredients on low until just blended.
- Use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl, and then whip on medium-high speed for 2-3 minutes (continue to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed), or until the frosting is light and fluffy.
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It’s not dairy free if you use eggs. SMH….. SMDH
Eggs are not considered dairy. From the Huffinton Post:
“Dairy is a product of the mammary gland of mammals. Basically, it refers to milk and anything made from milk, like cheese, butter and yogurt. And eggs are not made from milk. They don’t even come from a milk-producing animal.”
My favorite answer is “Cows don’t lay eggs!”
Can’t wait to make this! Sounds wonderful. Thank you for all the great recipes. 🙂 ♡
Thank you for helping to clarify that eggs are not dairy. We have had countless problems with this misunderstanding.
Hey Sally,
Here’s your PSA – Eggs aren’t dairy! Maybe you were SMH but we’re all scratching our heads that you somehow missed the fact that eggs aren’t dairy!
Since you are confused, how about you check this out: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/14/eggs-not-dairy-are-they_n_5976814.html
Huh??? Eggs are NOT dairy!!! They come from poultry ?
Eggs are from chickens, no dairy (milk!!) involved!
No. It’s not Vegan if it has eggs. But for people like me who are very allergic to milk (dairy) this cake is perfect. Especially sense I am also allergic to gluten.
Eggs are definitely not dairy lol
sorry, I got a real giggle out of that. Eggs are not dairy…they did not come from a cow 🙂
WRONG.
WOW!! This looks so moist and like a gluten filled cake. We are not GF but I cook some for GF family members. Now we have a GF,DF person. This would be great.
Wow! One of the prettiest carrot cakes I’ve seen! It does not look gluten free!
Lovely cake Megan and yes, eggs aren’t dairy, well not in my world!
This cake looks SO beautiful Megan and I’m sure it tastes just as good 🙂
Thank you so much for supplying this recipe. I made the cake recipe just as you described. I was really happy to see the honey – that is an addition I find makes the cake particularly delicious. The recipe works perfectly and the cake is right now cooling on my baking racks! Thank you!
My son’s 13th birthday is tomorrow, he’s away at a camp – will be surprised to see his favourite cake! He has eosinophilic esophagitis and at least 8 food allergies including wheat. Thanks for the recipe.
And normally, I’d not comment but I see the post above said, “SDM” which means “shaking my head”. So: yes, indeed – eggs are from chickens. eggs and chicken are NOT dairy. Dairy foods are foods produced from the milk of mammals, particularly cows. Last time I looked, chickens were birds and chickens do not have mammary glands that produce milk. So, yes, I’m now shaking my head at anyone who would think an Egg is Dairy.
Just wanted to confirmed- this recipe is SUPERB! Thank you again for sharing it. I followed recipe as I said above – to the letter – turned out perfectly. The texture is very moist. I think this recipe will become a birthday cake staple. 🙂
Yay!!! You are SO welcome, Eliza! Thank you for taking the time to come back and leave me a comment with your review. I’m so happy you enjoyed it! 😉
Can flax meal with water replace the eggs?
Hi Dee,
No, I’m sorry, but 4 eggs is too many to try to replace in this recipe. You might want to looks for a gluten-free vegan recipe instead. Best of luck!
Yum! This cake looks perfect!!
I just want to reach through my screen and grab a piece! It looks amazing! Thanks o !such for sharing it with u at Allergy Free Thursdays, Megan! I’m going to be featuring it at this week’s party. Hope to see you there! 🙂
Carrot cake is my favorite and I’ve missed this so much!
Im also a country girl and to SMH:
Cows go moooooo and they have calves (veal) you can object to eating veal (baby calves)
Chickens lay eggs…..pretty much everyday. They go bwaaaak bwaaaak.
Wonder if they covered that in “Everything I needed to know, I learned in Kindergarten “? ?
I’m allergic to egg whites. Can I use an Egg Replacer? The white stuff in the box that you get from the Health Store.
Hi Nancy,
No, I don’t recommend using egg replacer in this recipe, as there are too many eggs to replace. I would suggest searching for a vegan (will not contain eggs) carrot cake recipe instead.
Is there a suitable substitute for the coconut oil?
You could try olive oil, I’m sure it would be fine, but just know I haven’t tried it myself. 😉
Could I substitute a flour mix for your tapioca starch, and the two flours?
This is beautiful!
Do I need to refrigerate it if I make it the night before serving it?
I would! 😉
Thank you so much! It turned out amazing.
I was going to make it again as Cupcakes- Do you see any issues with that?
Hi Kristen,
That’s a GREAT question… it’s been a while since I’ve made this recipe. BUT, from what I remember, I think you’ll be fine (granted, I haven’t made these into cupcakes). Please come back and let us know how they turn out!
I made this cake today and substituted bananas for the carrots. It turned out delicious!! I had 3 frozen bananas (thawed/pored the excess water into the sink) and one non-frozen ripe one. I blended them in the food processor. I ended up not adding 1/4 of the pureed banana because I thought it would be too much. I added the puree in with the wet ingredients. Other than that I did not change thing. I love every recipe of yours that I have made, Megan! I make your hamburger buns every time we make burgers. Thanks for sharing.
Michelle, what an awesome and flattering compliment! Thank you so much! I’m so happy to hear everything you’ve tried has been a success. 🙂 Thank you for letting me (and all of us) know your substitutions. It always helps many when you do that!
An absolutely amazing recipe! A keeper for sure!! The cake is so delicious, even without the frosting!!
Thank you so much! 🙂 I’m very happy you like it!
This is not 100% dairy free if you use the icing recipe.
The recipe says to use (1/4 cup ghee or vegan butter)………..
Ghee Is Clarified Butter….
Which last time i checked is dairy.
the butter comes from solidifying milk fat , the ghee comes from removing milk solids
and water .
what is left is clarified butter oil ..(Ghee).
That’s also why the recipe states, “or vegan butter.” 😉
I’m really excited about making this cake, Megan! I’m planning on serving it for Christmas. I’m planning to make a “Cream Cheese” Frosting by making corn-free, gluten-free, soy-free Marshmallows and adding Daiya Cream Cheese. Thanks for all you do. I LOVE your website! Marry Christmas <3
Annie, your frosting sounds so good! Thank you so much for your sweet compliments! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Hey I love this recipe! I’ve made it twice now but today I’m out of brown rice flour:( Do you think it would be ok to sub white rice flour? Otherwise I have some blended flour from Bob’s Red Food Mill. I’m thinking because it’s just a half a cup it would be ok. Probably not as good as the original! Thanks for the excellent recipe!!
Hi Ang, Yes, I think white rice flour will work just fine. 😉 And you’re totally welcome!
Hi I am new to this gluten free. I do not have millet or sorghum flour. Can i sub for gluten free all purpose baking flour? I do have the rice flour and coconut flour as well as the xanthan gum. Thnx.
Hi Carem, you could try an all purpose mix, but I haven’t tested the recipe using one, so you might have to experiment!
Hi Megan,
Can you substitute arrowroot starch for tapioca starch?
Thanks!
Elise
Hi Elise, While I haven’t tried that sub specifically in this recipe, it should work just fine!
Thank you! I ended up using tapioca starch. THIS CAKE IS FANTASTIC! I made it for my boyfriend’s birthday (carrot cake is his favorite). He is not GF or DF, but he’s a supporter of my restrictions. Anyway, HE ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT! Thank you so much for creating this recipe Megan, I’m making it for Thanksgiving and I believe, every birthday of my boyfriend’s going forward <3
You are very welcome! I’m so happy you both enjoyed it! 😉 And thanks for coming back and leaving me a comment. It made my day!