You guys – I am sooo excited to share this recipe with you today. I had some carrots in my refrigerator (not a fan of carrots unless they are roasted or in a cake!) and had been craving carrot cake for months.
I looked up a few recipes, but I wanted something that fit into the Trim Healthy Mama lifestyle as an S as well as something that wasn’t laden with heavy ingredients – like cream cheese frosting.
If you’ve been here long, you know I suspect dairy might be causing my 6+ month weight loss stall – and as a result, I’m trying to reduce dairy.
Speaking as a huge carrot cake and cream cheese frosting fan, I didn’t miss the dairy at all in this recipe! (And I might have eaten this cake for breakfast once or twice …)
And … drum roll please … the recipe!
Dairy Free Coconut Carrot Cake
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 1 c Trim Healthy Mama baking blend
- 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
- 1/2 c Trim Healthy Mama gentle sweet
- 2 c shredded carrot I used about 3 med carrots
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 4 eggs
- 1/2 c coconut oil melted
- 8 oz tomato sauce yes, you read that correctly
- 1/2 c chopped walnuts or pecans optional
For the icing:
- 1 can coconut cream cream only
- 1 1/3 c salted cashew pieces
- 2 tbsp Trim Healthy Mama gentle sweet
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Start by putting the entire unopened can of coconut cream in the refrigerator. It needs to chill while we work.
- In a food processor (or by hand, but this is a pain) grate the carrots. Rinse the food processor bowl and blade well and set aside – you’ll need them again for the icing.
- Combine the baking blend, carrots, gentle sweet, cinnamon and xanthan gum in a medium to large bowl. Stir in the baking soda, and then add the eggs, tomato sauce and coconut oil. Stir until just combined.
- Mix in the nuts, if using.
- Pour the batter into two greased 8 in round cake pans. Keep in mind that the pans will only be about half full. Smooth the top and bake at 350 for 15-20 min or until a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean.
While the cake is baking, it’s time to make the icing.
- In the food processor we used and rinsed earlier, grind the cashews until they are as smooth as you can get them. Open the can of coconut cream and carefully scoop out the hardened cream – leaving the liquid behind. We won’t be using the liquid in this recipe. Process the cashews and cream until well combined and smooth. Add the vanilla and gentle sweet, and process again for a few seconds or until just combined.
- Refrigerate the icing until the cake is out of the oven and entirely cooled.
- Once the cake has cooled, carefully remove it from the pan to a platter or plate. Gently add a thin layer of icing to what will be the middle of the cake, and top with the second cake layer. Add the remaining icing to the top of the cake.
- If desired, sprinkle with remaining walnuts or pecans and a little bit of cinnamon.
Notes
Christian, wife, “hybrid” mama, I run the site All Behind A Smile to help others like me.
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