Gluten-Free Carrot Cake

Lovely and classic gluten-free carrot cake with coconut, iced with lemon cream cheese frosting.

Using a gluten-free pancake and baking mix simplifies this recipe for an old fashioned favorite. Carrot cake!

You'll note that this recipe has no added leavening because it is using a leavened baking and pancake mix (I used Pamela's Gluten-Free Ultimate Baking and Pancake Mix). If you substitute your own GF flour blend without leavening, add baking powder and baking soda (see notes below).

Karina's Gluten-Free Carrot Cake Recipe with Coconut and Cream Cheese Icing Recipe

Once in a blue moon I get a hankering for this old school classic. Lucky for me it translates well to gluten free. This recipe is based on one of my own [pre-gluten free] standbys. I changed it very little, except for the flour.

Ingredients:

3 large organic free-range eggs

1/2 cup light vegetable oil, coconut oil, or Spectrum Organic Shortening

1 cup organic light brown sugar, packed

1/3 cup plain yogurt or coconut yogurt

2 teaspoons bourbon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon honey or agave (for added moisture)

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon Pumpkin Pie Spice, or Apple Pie Spice [or a mix of nutmeg, clove, ginger, allspice]

2 cups Pamela's Gluten-Free Ultimate Baking and Pancake Mix *see notes

3/4 cup flaked sweetened coconut

1 1/2 cups processed or finely grated carrots (about 4 medium carrots)

1/2 cup golden raisins or currants

1/2 cup toasted chopped walnuts or pecans

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Grease a 9-inch Springform cake pan. In other words, a deeper cake pan rather than a shallow one.

In a mixing bowl beat the eggs; add the oil and beat; add the brown sugar and beat till smooth. Beat in the yogurt, vanilla, honey, cinnamon and spice. Add in the baking mix and beat till combined. The batter should be a bit thicker than wheat flour batter. Add in the coconut, carrots, raisins and nuts; stir with a wooden spoon to combine.

Spread the batter evenly in the cake pan; and place the pan in the center of a preheated oven. Bake until the cake is firm, and a wooden pick inserted into the center emerges clean, about 40 to 45 minutes or longer if necessary - I baked mine at high altitude. Cool on a wire rack.

Frost with your favorite cream cheese icing and sprinkle with coconut, if desired.

Cream Cheese Icing

Ingredients:

4 oz. softened cream cheese
2 tablespoons softened unsalted butter
1-2 teaspoons vanilla extract, to taste
3 cups powdered cane sugar- or more, if needed

A squeeze or two of fresh citrus, to taste- lemon, lime or orange

Instructions:

In a mixing bowl beat the cream cheese and butter until fluffy. Add the vanilla. Add in the powdered sugar a cup at a time; squeeze a little lemon or other citrus juice into the frosting and beat till smooth. Taste test. Add more sugar, if needed, to thicken; add more juice to thin.

Frost the cake.

Makes one nine inch cake.

Recipe Source: glutenfreegoddess.net

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Karina's Notes:

For adding leavening to a flour blend, use:

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

For replacing Pamela's Baking Mix, I used to say just try another leavened GF baking mix or GF pancake mix- but I no longer believe all GF mixes/GF flour blends behave the same way. You'll need to experiment.

Gluten free cakes tend to dry out quickly. If you are not serving this cake the day you bake it, I'd advise chilling it to firm up the icing; wrap well and chill. For more than a day ahead, I would wrap and freeze it; thaw the day of serving (remove the wrap so the icing doesn't stick!) and served slightly chilled.