Gluten Free Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Icing

Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese is always such a winner! The carrot cake on it's own is great, but cover it in thick cream cheese icing and it is elevated to a whole new level of deliciousness! 

meg-made: Gluten Free Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting/Icing

I've always loved carrot cakes but it wasn't until this past weekend that I decided to try making a gluten free one, because I've always been a bit iffy on the GF flours. Until finding this recipe from Delicious Everyday that solved that problem but not using any! 

I've made my Orange & Almond cake so many times and love the consistency and flavour of this, and so when I found this carrot cake recipe, I thought it sounded similar, so I gave it a go. 

Ingredients

350g of carrots, peeled and tops removed (approx 5)

½ cup of pecans (I used walnuts)

5 large eggs

1 heaped teaspoon of baking powder

½ teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda

250g (8.8 ounces) of ground almonds (almond meal)

220g (1/2 pound or 7.75 ounces) of brown sugar

1 tsp of ground cinnamon

¼ tsp of ground nutmeg

1 tsp of ground ginger

Cream Cheese Icing

250g (1/2 pound) of cream cheese, at room temperature

50g (1¾ ounces) of butter, at room temperature

100g (3.5 ounces) of icing sugar, sifted

zest and juice of half a lemon, or to taste

Instructions:

1. Grease two 20 cm (8-Inch) nonstick springform cake tins and preheat the oven to 180C/ 350F.

2. Grate the carrots and chop the nuts and set aside. I squeezed out a little of the water just to make sure my cake wasn't too wet. 

3. In a food processor, combine the almond meal, sugar, eggs, vanilla and apices and process to combine. 

4. Finally add the carrot and pecans and pulse to combine with the cake batter.

5. Divide the batter between the prepared springform pans and bake for 15 to 25 minutes. Mine took more like 35-40 minutes to cook, so be sure to test yours and if it still needs more, return it to the oven in 5 minute segments.

6. Remove from the oven and let the cake cool completely in the tin before removing.

To make the frosting combine the butter and cream cheese in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and beat until smooth and creamy. Add the icing sugar and lemon juice and zest and beat for another 5 minutes, or until pale and fluffy. Spread the frosting between the cake layers and over the top of the cooled cake.

PMI

Plus = Delicious, moist, no floury taste, cream cheese icing is divine!

Minus = A lot of sugar!

Interesting = It's not a light and fluffy cake, but more like a mud cake



Psst!! If you are looking for a little more meg-made, I'd LOVE for you to follow along!