January 25, 2010

Carrot Cake with Coconut Creme Icing Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free & Sugar-Free



Now for the GOOD stuff! Carrot cake with coconut creme icing!

I really don't think I have made any cake that tastes as delicious as this one. The taste and texture is just as I remember carrot cake before my gluten-free days. However, I'm most excited, because it is sugar-free.
I use The Body Ecology's Lakanto which is safe for people on the anti-candida diet. There are many stages to the anti-candida diet, so you will need to know your own body and how the starches affect you. You will never miss the sugar in this cake!

I love this cake! But most important my husband and boys loved it and my selected "taste testers"! Finally a cake that is safe for us that tastes absolutely delicious and that everyone enjoys.

This is not a sugary sweet tasting cake, but with the addition of the coconut creme icing it was a perfect combination. It is a cake that I believe needs to be eaten slowly while enjoying every taste sensation of each bite. Can you tell that I love this!

When I look at these pictures, I just want to go back to the kitchen and make more! Now I keep a can of coconut milk chilling in the fridge just in case I want to make this.


Carrot Cake with Coconut Creme Icing
Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free & Sugar-Free

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Whisk the following dry ingredients together in a mixing bowl.

1 1/3 cups of gluten-free flour mix*
1/4 + 1/8 (or 3/8) cup Lakanto
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp xanthan gum

Add the following wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and beat them together on low speed with a mixer.

2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
4 egg yolks **
1/4 + 1/8 (or 3/8) cup coconut milk, lite
7 drops Sweet Leaf Stevia liquid

Stir in:
1 1/2 cups finely grated peeled organic carrots
3/4 cup chopped pecans***

Place paper baking liners in the cupcake pan or grease with shortening. Divide batter into twelve cupcakes.

Bake for approximately 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. These are best not overcooked.


*The Gluten-Free 'Dish' Flour Mix

1 1/2 cups sorghum flour
1 cup cornstarch
1 cup tapioca flour
1/4 cup millet flour

OR:

*1/3 cup sorghum flour + 1 cup Gluten-Free Flour Mix

Gluten-Free Flour mix:
1 1/2 cups sorghum flour
1 1/2 cups potato starch
1 cup tapioca flour

This flour mix will require longer baking time.

** Due to my son's allergy to egg whites, I use just the yolks. If you try this recipe with whole eggs, please leave comments for me and others who may like to use the whole eggs. I suspect you may substitute 2 whole eggs.
***
An important tip for those needing to avoid molds for candida overgrowth: Pecans should be freshly shelled and frozen until ready to use. I am blessed that my husband likes to shell them for me while watching football.

Coconut Creme Icing

Inspired and adapted from Elana's Pantry

1/2 cup coconut milk, full fat,
cream from the top, refrigerated ahead to chill (I use Thai Kitchen brand)
1 1/2 tablespoons Lakanto
pinch of sea salt
2 1/2 teaspoons arrowroot powder
1/2 tablespoon water
1/2 cup coconut oil (I used Nutiva brand)

In a medium saucepan on low heat combine the coconut milk creme from the top of the can with the Lakanto and salt until the dry ingredients dissolve.

In a small bowl, combine arrowroot and water to form a smooth paste and add to the saucepan.

Using a hand mixer combine the ingredients in the saucepan and bring to a boil for a second (BRIEFLY because this will thicken quickly).

Remove saucepan from the heat and blend in the coconut oil with the hand mixer.

Put the saucepan into the freezer for 20-25 minutes until the icing is solid and turns white (set a timer so you don't forget).

Remove from the freezer and mix again with the hand mixer until fluffy.
Spread on a cooled cake and enjoy. Or better yet, call me!










11 comments:

  1. Looks and sounds phenomenal! XOXO

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  2. Yum :)

    I am going to play with the coconut icing recipe. I am trying to find one that will work for Sophie's birthday cake and doesn't have powdered sugar.

    ReplyDelete
  3. This sounds delicious! We love carrot cake.

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  4. Cool! I use SweetLeaf stevia in chocolate chip cookies, peanut butter cookies, and cranberry orange muffins! I love that it has 0 calores, 0 carbs ,and a 0glycemic index!

    By the way, the cake along with the icing looks gooooood!

    ReplyDelete
  5. This was literally the most excited my girlfriend has been about eating anything since she started her diet.

    I used a few substitutions, and it worked out. Substitutions I made:

    2 whole eggs instead of 4 yolks.

    Organic Zero instead of Lakanto. Both are erythritol-based, but Organic Zero is easier to find in stores. I've never had Lakanto so I can't compare, but it worked well enough :)

    1/4 tsp pure stevia extract powder (NuStevia) instead of the liquid stevia drops.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I need to use stevia instead of lakanto for the coconut creme icing. Do you know how much I should use to substitute for 1.5 tablespoons of lakanto? I have the pure white stevia powder (kal brand), which is stronger than other brands I've tried.
    Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hi Anonymous, I love stevia. I am sorry, but since I have not used your brand I can not even make a good guess for you. My experience with stevia is always try less than you think you need. It is much easier to add more than take away.

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  8. Ohh..wow great I like the icing above.Thank you for sharing this maybe I will include this
    in my meal plan in the future..Thanks
    ~Nancy

    ReplyDelete
  9. I have a nut sensitivity, can I substitute more grated carrots for the chopped pecans?
    Thanks.

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    Replies
    1. Hi Anonymous ~ thanks for your question and visiting with us! I am guessing, but I expect you could leave out the nuts and may not need to add carrots to replace the nuts. Though this is my guess, I would be concerned that adding more carrots would give too much moisture to the recipe which I think might not work. If you test it out, please let us know as I am sure others can benefit from your comments.

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  10. Hi! Thanks for this wonderful recipe. I didn't have Lakanto (any idea where I can get this in the UK?) so I used coconut palm sugar. The cakes turned out perfectly. I had a slight problem with the frosting in that in the freezer my coconut oil seemed to separate from the other ingredients so when I came to blend it all together to fluff it up I was left with whole pieces of coconut oil. I went ahead and iced the cakes anyway any my husband (who really hasn't enjoyed any of my sugar and wheat free goodies in the past) couldn't get enough of them! I found the topping a bit rich because of the whole pieces of coconut oil so I was wondering if this had ever happened to you before? I'd love to make them again with the perfect frosting!! Thanks!!

    ReplyDelete

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