This Paleo And Keto Carrot Cake (Or Cupcakes) is the real deal! It's soft, tender, has a great spice flavor, and is topped with silky keto cream cheese frosting! It is also gluten-free, grain-free, and can be made dairy-free too so everyone in your life can enjoy it.
These keto carrot cake cupcakes are the real deal! They're soft, tender, have a great spice flavor, and topped with cream cheese frosting! And even though many people think 'carrots aren't keto' they work fine in this recipe!
Yes, carrots are higher in carbs, but in small amounts, you can still incorporate them into your diet without ruining it.
Watch the YouTube video!
See how easy this recipe is to make on my YouTube channel! Watch the full video here: Carrot Cake YouTube Video
Keto Carrot Cake Cupcakes are fairly easy, but let's run through it together!
Toasting the pecans
Start by toasting the pecans to get a rich, deep flavor. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees and toast the pecans for 7 to 8 minutes, or until fragrant. Then, set aside to cool.
Grating the carrots
To grate the carrots, I recommend using the grating attachment on your food processor and then briefly pulsing them in your food processor for finer shreds of carrot.
The picture above shows the carrots grated before pulsing in the food processor. While they're nicely grated and they can certainly be used like this, they're still just a bit too big.
Be careful not to overdo it, though, or you'll have carrot juice! If you don't have a food processor, you can use a hand grater to grate them.
Don't be tempted to save time by using pre-shredded carrots at the store, please grate your own!
The pre-shredded carrots are often hard and dry. When you grate the carrots at home you'll notice how wet they are. This is needed moisture so don't skip it!
For the sweetener
I use either Swerve Brown Granulated Sweetener or Lakanto Golden Granulated Sweetener.
The brown sugar versions add a nice deep flavor that the white versions don't impart. However, the white variety will still work, as well as sifted coconut palm sugar if you follow more of a Paleo diet.
Instructions
After you have the carrots and nuts to toasted, whisk together some almond flour, sugar of choice, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and a pinch or two of cloves.
For the spices, I use the traditional cinnamon and nutmeg, but I also add a small amount of cloves and ginger. The cloves and ginger add a nice flavor without being too overpowering.
In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together some eggs, avocado oil, and vanilla.
Stir the wet ingredients into the dry and, using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, mix until just combined.
Fold in the shredded carrots and pecans.
🧁 For cupcakes
For Keto Carrot Cake Cupcakes: Line a muffin tin with 18 cupcake liners and evenly distribute the batter. Use your fingers or the back of a spoon the smooth out the tops.
Or you can cut the recipe in half and make 9 or 10 cupcakes.
Bake at 350 degrees for 18-23 minutes, or until the tops are a deep, golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the tops come out clean. If they start to brown too early, cover with aluminum foil.
Allow to cool in the pan 10 to 15 minutes, then remove to a cooling rack to cool completely.
🍰 For cake
For a gorgeous 2-layer keto carrot cake: Bake in 2 greased and parchment-lined 8-inch baking pans for 20 to 25 minutes.
Be sure not to skip the parchment paper or the cakes may stick! Also, I don't recommend using a larger pan. There just simply isn't enough batter.
Keto cream cheese frosting
For the cream cheese frosting, you will beat together 8 oz. of full-fat cream cheese and ½ cup of room temperature butter. Be sure that you use a block of cream cheese and not cream cheese spread or the frosting will turn out runny.
For the butter, I highly recommend using organic and grass-fed. Not only does it taste 1000 times better, but it packs a nutritional punch that regular butter just doesn't have.
It's also important that the butter is softened to room temperature. If you don't have all day to let the butter set on your counter, though, check out this tutorial on How To Soften Butter Quickly from Sally's Baking Addiction.
After you beat together the butter and cream cheese, slowly add in keto powdered sweetener, a tsp. of pure vanilla, and a pinch of sea salt. Beat until thickened and smooth.
Note-If you are dairy-free, feel free to use non-dairy butter and non-dairy cream cheese. Just make sure that you like the taste of both as they will determine what the frosting tastes like! You can also check out my other Paleo & Dairy Free Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe that doesn't use a cream cheese sub.
The best sweetener for keto frostings
When sweetening frostings, I prefer to use powdered monk fruit with allulose. It tastes just like powdered sugar and results in a super-smooth texture!
While powdered erythritol or erythritol-based sweeteners can be used, there might be a slight cooling-like aftertaste and it doesn't dissolve as well as other sweeteners so it may make the frosting a bit grainy.
For more information on the pros and cons of the different keto sweeteners, you may want to check out this Ultimate Guide To Keto Sweeteners!
*Note- As a special gift to my readers, I’ve teamed up with Besti Sweeteners to give you guys 10% off! Simply use the code “CRAVEABLE” at checkout.
💭 Top tips
- To grate the carrots, I recommend using the grating attachment on your food processor and then briefly pulsing them in your food processor for fine shreds of carrot. If you just grate them, they seem a bit too big. Be careful not to overdo it, though, or you'll have carrot juice! If you don't have a food processor, you can use a hand grater to grate them.
- Feel free to leave out the nuts if you prefer a smoother cupcake.
- Don't be tempted to save time using pre-shredded carrots from the store. Please grate your own! The pre-shredded carrots are often hard and dry. When you grate the carrots at home you'll notice how wet they are. This is needed moisture so don't skip it!
- To sweeten the cake I use either Brown Swerve granulated sweetener or Brown Lakanto granulated sweetener. The brown sugar versions add a nice deep flavor that the white versions don't impart. However, the white variety will still work, as well as sifted coconut palm sugar if you follow more of a Paleo diet.
- To sweeten the frosting, I prefer to use powdered monk fruit with allulose. It tastes just like powdered sugar and results in a super-smooth texture! While powdered erythritol or erythritol-based sweeteners can be used, there might be a slight cooling-like aftertaste and it doesn't dissolve as well as other sweeteners so it may make the frosting a bit grainy.
- For the frosting, be sure to use a block of cream cheese and not a cream cheese spread, or the frosting will turn out runny.
- If you are Paleo & Dairy Free, you may also like my Paleo Carrot Cake Cupcakes With "Cream Cheese" Frosting recipe. That recipe is sweetened with honey and doesn't require the use of dairy-free cream cheese or butter if you are dairy-free.
Looking for more Keto recipes?
Or these Keto Muffins from My PCOS Kitchen look amazing too!!
Have you tried this recipe? If you’ve tried these Keto Carrot Cake Cupcakes or any other recipe on the blog please let me know in the comments below!
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📖 Recipe
Keto Carrot Cake Or Cupcakes With Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
- 4 Cups Blanched Almond Flour - finely ground
- 1 tsp. Baking Soda
- 1 tsp. Baking Powder
- ½ tsp. Sea Salt
- 1 Cup Brown Erythritol-Based Granulated Sweetener - see notes below
- 1 ½ tsp. Ground Cinnamon
- 1 tsp. Ground Nutmeg
- ⅛ tsp. Ground Cloves
- ¼ tsp. Ground Ginger
- 6 Large Eggs
- ¼ Cup Avocado Oil
- 2 Cups Finely Grated Carrots - approximately 4 large carrots
- ⅔ Cup Finely Chopped Pecans
- 2 tsp. Pure Vanilla
Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 12 oz Full-Fat Cream Cheese - can use non-dairy if needed (1 ½ blocks)
- ¾ Cup Softened Butter - can use non-dairy if needed (1 ½ sticks)
- 1 ½ Cup Powdered Monk Fruit/Allulose Blend - + more as needed, see notes below
- 2 tsp Pure Vanilla
- 1 Pinch Sea Salt - if too sweet
- Non-Dairy Milk - as needed
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment or a Silpat baking mat. Place the pecans on the baking sheet and toast for 7 to 8 minutes, or until fragrant. Then, set aside to cool.
- Turn the oven up to 350 degrees and line 2 8-inch cake pans with parchment paper and coat with oil. Be sure not to skip the parchment paper or the cakes may stick! Also, I don't recommend a larger pan simply because there's not enough batter. For cupcakes, line a muffin tin with 18 cupcake liners (or you can cut the recipe in half and make 9 cupcakes).
- Use the grating attachment on your food processor to grate the carrots. Then, very briefly pulse them in your food processor for finer shreds of carrot. If you do not have a food processor, grate by hand.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the almond flour, sweetener, baking soda, baking powder, sea salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground ginger, and cloves.
- In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, avocado oil, and pure vanilla.
- Stir the wet ingredients into the dry and, using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, mix until just combined. Then stir in the grated carrots and toasted pecans.
- Evenly distribute the batter between the prepared pans or muffin cups and use your fingers or the back of a spoon the smooth out the tops.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the tops are set and no longer look "doughy". For cupcakes, bake 18-23 minutes, or until the tops are a deep, golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the tops come out clean. If they start to brown too early, cover with aluminum foil.
- Allow to cool in the pans 10 to 15 minutes, then remove to a cooling rack (remove parchment paper) to cool completely before frosting.
Keto Cream Cheese Frosting:
- Add the room temperature butter and cream cheese to a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer until combined, about 2 minutes.
- Slowly beat in the powdered sweetener until thick and creamy, scraping down the bowl as necessary. Add more sweetener to thicken or non-dairy milk to thin, as needed.
- Beat in the vanilla until incorporated and a pinch of sea salt if it's too sweet.
Video
Notes
- See how easy this recipe is to make on my YouTube channel! Watch the full video here: Carrot Cake YouTube Video!
- In the YouTube video, I halved the cake recipe to only make 9 cupcakes and reduced the cream cheese frosting amounts.
- For grain-free baking powder, combine 1 part baking soda with 2 parts cream of tartar and 2 parts starch (such as arrowroot, tapioca, or potato)
- To grate the carrots, I recommend using the grating attachment on your food processor and then briefly pulsing them in your food processor for fine shreds of carrot. If you just grate them, they seem a bit too big. Be careful not to overdo it, though, or you'll have carrot juice! If you don't have a food processor, you can use a hand grater to grate them.
- Feel free to leave out the nuts if you prefer a smoother cupcake.
- Don't be tempted to save time using pre-shredded carrots from the store. Please grate your own! The pre-shredded carrots are often hard and dry. When you grate the carrots at home you'll notice how wet they are. This is needed moisture so don't skip it!
- To sweeten the cake I use either Brown Swerve granulated sweetener or Brown Lakanto (use code "CRAVEABLE" for 20%off!) granulated sweetener. The brown sugar versions add a nice deep flavor that the white versions don't impart. However, the white variety of any erythritol-based granulated sweetener will still work, as well as sifted coconut palm sugar if you follow more of a Paleo diet.
- To sweeten the frosting, I prefer to use powdered monk fruit with allulose or pure powdered allulose. It tastes just like powdered sugar and results in a super-smooth texture. I don't recommend erythritol or erythritol blends for frostings because there might be a slight cooling-like aftertaste and they don't completely dissolve.
- If using pure allulose, keep in mind that it's only 70% as sweet as other sweeteners. Because of this, you'll need to add an extra ⅓ cup.
- As a special gift to my readers, I've teamed up with BESTI to give you guys 10% off! Simply use the code "CRAVEABLE" at checkout.
- I use the traditional cinnamon and nutmeg, but I also add a small amount of cloves and ginger. The cloves and ginger add a nice flavor without being too overpowering.
- For the frosting, be sure to use a block of cream cheese and not a cream cheese spread, or the frosting will turn out runny.
- If you are Paleo & Dairy Free, you may also like my Paleo "Cream Cheese" Frosting recipe. That recipe is sweetened with honey and doesn't require the use of dairy-free cream cheese or butter if you are dairy-free.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is approximate and may vary.
Looking for more information on the keto diet? Check out these resources:
These cupcakes came out so moist! However, I'd add a little more carrot next time, but that's just personal preference. Excellent recipe. My fiance's favorite dessert is carrot cake and it's something he's missed since going keto. This scratches the itch!
I'm so happy you and your fiance liked them!!! Thanks for taking the time to let me know 🙂
-Cassidy
I doubled the recipe and made carrot cake lined 2 8inch round with parchment paper and greased pans well with grass fed butter turned out amazing
Oh YAY I'm so happy this recipe worked as a double-layer cake! Thanks so much for letting me know, I'm so excited it turned out for you 🙂
-Cassidy
How many carbs are in just the frosting?
Hi Anna, sorry I didn't back with you sooner!
For 1/10 of the frosting, there are 106 calories, 2 carbs, no fiber, 4 protein, and 9 fat.
I hope that helps!!!
-Cassidy
Turned out GREAT!!! Is the nutrition information for a cupcake with frosting?
Oh YAY Tessa M, thank you!!! And yes, the nutrition info includes the frosting 🙂
I'm so happy you liked them - thanks for taking the time to leave a review!
-Cassidy