This gluten-free carrot cake was not only moist and delicious but easy to make! This recipe was developed and prepared for the final assignment in the Therapeutic Diets and Menu Planning course I am taking as a functional nutrition elective in my Ph.D. program.
The assignment required selecting a recipe with negative attributes to modify in order to reduce the total calories, sugar, or sodium by twenty percent without making other nutritional content worse or changing the portion size. I had to incorporate at least two herbs or spices that were not included in the original recipe. I also had to include at least two food groups per serving, one of which was at least 1/4 cup of fruit or vegetable. Click on this link to view the original carrot cake recipe I selected to modify. Not only did I modify the recipe to be gluten-free, but I was also able to decrease the total calories, sugar, sodium, fat, saturated fat, and carbohydrates significantly. Below is a table that compares the nutrition information of 1/16 serving of the original recipe to the modified gluten-free recipe.
As you can see in the table above, I was able to reduce the calories per serving by 43.8%, or by two hundred and eighty-two calories. The amount of sodium per serving was only reduced by 8.7%, but the amount of sugar was cut by a whopping 57.6 percent! The total amount of carbohydrates, fat, and saturated fat were reduced by 29.8%, 40.7%, and 47.6% respectively. The modified recipe was also able to modestly increase the amount of protein, fiber, vitamin B-12, calcium, iron, and potassium per serving. You could further modify this recipe to be vegan or completely added sugar-free with a few minor changes. My four-year-old said the cake was "tasty" and my husband said this cake was the best gluten-free dessert he has ever eaten!
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Ingredients
4 eggs
½ cup olive oil
1 cup applesauce, unsweetened
1 cup monk fruit sweetener
¾ cup packed brown sugar
2 oz. maple syrup
2 tsp vanilla extract
½ cup almond flour
½ cup coconut flour
2 Tsp baking soda
2 Tsp baking powder
¼ Tsp salt, Himalayan pink
2 Tsp cinnamon, ground
1 tsp ginger, ground
½ Tsp nutmeg, ground
¼ Tsp cloves, ground
3 cups grated carrots
1 cup chopped pecans
Icing
8 oz. light cream cheese, softened
4 TBS unsalted butter, softened
1 TBS 2% milk
1 Tsp vanilla extract
2 cups powdered monk fruit
1 cup confectioner's sugar
Toppings
½ cup, whole pecans
Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and prepare your cake pans (1 9x13 or 2 8in. round) with parchment paper or oil and flour. Prepare/shred your carrots unless you bought carrots pre-shredded.
2. In a medium bowl, mix in each flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves.
3. In a large bowl, beat together eggs, oil, applesauce, monk fruit, brown sugar, maple syrup, and 2 Tsp vanilla.
4. Mix carrots and dry ingredients into the large bowl with wet ingredients. Fold in pecans. Pour into prepared pan.
5. Pour into the prepared pans and bake for 20-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool on pan for about 10 minutes and transfer to a wire rack for further cooling.
6. While the cake is baking or cooling, make the icing. In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese, butter, confectioners' sugar, powdered monk fruit, and 1 Tsp vanilla. Beat until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Then add 1 TBS of milk and beat again.
7. Spread icing evenly on cooled cake and serve immediately. Store in refrigerator for up to one week.
Full nutrition information and daily food tracking are available for FREE on the Cronometer website or mobile application. This recipe makes 16 servings. The nutrition facts listed below are for 1/16 of the cake.
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