Spice cake that is perfectly moist (but not heavy) and full with flavor and fresh carrots. Since carrot cake isn’t complete without a creamy, tangy icing, I’ve included many alternatives for excellent paleo and non-paleo frostings. Next, try my carrot cake doughnuts.

Let’s talk carrot cake.

Not in the mood for a story? Feel free to skip ahead to the recipe at the end!

I’ve never liked carrot cake, and I’ve never liked cream cheese icing. And the thought of having nuts in my cake has always made me shudder. So, in essence, carrot cake is my nightmare dessert.

I’m sure you’re wondering, “Why on earth are you posting a carrot cake on your blog?” Because I care about you. That is the reason.

But here’s the thing: I don’t despise it so much that I can’t be around it. I can handle it long enough to taste test it before giving it to my husband for his carrot cake-loving assessment. His decision?

I’m a huge fan. I’m a huge fan.

You know who else liked this? The felines. They were purring and surrounding the dish from which Bill was eating because they were so hungry.

It began with a casual sniff of the air, as if to remark, “Wow, what a wonderful scent!” What is generating such a wonderful scent?

It swiftly changed into, Hey, girlfriend! (For the record, we’ve established that this cat is a fantastic homosexual guy stuck within a feline body.)

And it culminates with a not-so-subtle sniffing right up near the plate and attempting to flip the plate on the ground to make it seem to be an accident.

We’re making this a two layer cake

Well, back to the cake.

I had intended to make this into a three-layer cake, but honestly, I never make them because they are just too much for me. It’s too tall for your fork, you have to eat the piece of cake on its side, and it’s simply a lot of food.

Thank you very much, but I don’t want my cake portions to be the size of tiny planets. It’s simpler to slice, serve, consume, and just plain easier. And these days, I’m all about the simpler alternatives.

Ingredients for carrot cake

• three eggs, room temperature
• 1 cup melted coconut oil
• honey or maple syrup
• 1 cup applesauce, unsweetened
• cup light brown sugar or coconut sugar
• cupunsweetened almond milk, or your preferred milk
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
• teaspoonsalt
• 1 teaspoon ginger powder
• 1 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 tsp ground cloves
• 2 cups carrots, grated
• 2 cups paleo baking flour mix
• 1 cup chopped and roasted pecans or walnuts, split (optional, but encouraged)

I may not like carrot cake, but guess what? I have to say, this one is very nice. Not to brag, but I believe I have discovered a carrot cake recipe that even I would eat.

I’m not going to go wild and devour a whole slice, but I wouldn’t say no to stealing a nibble or two.

Grating the carrots

Don’t be concerned with grating the carrots. If you have a food processor with a shredding disc, this will be a breeze that will just take you a minute or two.

If you don’t have one, a box grater can suffice, although it will take some time. I promise it will be worthwhile.

HOWEVER, PLEASE, DO NOT USE PRE-SHREDDED CARROTS. I’m not kidding. The store’s packaged shredded carrots are dry and tasteless.

Spend a few minutes cleaning, peeling, and grating your carrots. I just want you to be cautious with your hands because I love you and don’t want you to be wounded. If you don’t have a grater, acquire one like this (affiliate link) and use the biggest holes.

Why this carrot cake is so good

Let’s have a closer look at this dessert.

As you can probably guess, this isn’t a thick cake. It’s damp but not wet. The nuts in the batter provide a delightful soft crunch to each mouthful, but if you’re not a fan of nuts, just leave them out.

There is no harm, no foul. You may wind up with a bit less height in your final result, but it will never be flat.

Frosting the cake

You’ll also lose out on decorating the icing, which is maybe my favorite part of this cake. It’s the easiest decoration I’ve ever made. Just a coating of icing on top and chopped pecans around the outside border. That’s all.

No piping tips (affiliate link), no fondant, nothing out of the ordinary or difficult. I don’t really go out of my way to cover the full sides, so it’s almost like a cross between a naked cake and a crumb coat.

You may use as little or as much frosting as you want; just keep in mind that the quantity shown in the photographs is the amount I recommend in my recipe below. Two layers of cake, a layer of frosting in the middle, a light coat around the borders, and a good coating on top.

If you’re looking for a new icing spatula, I recommend the Wilton offset icing spatula (affiliate link). It’s lightweight, nice to carry, and works well. Similar to this icing. Isn’t it beautiful?

That’s the only term I can think of to describe it. For these photos, I used whipped cream cheese frosting, but I’ve also included two paleo frosting choices that I like if you’re really trying to stay paleo.