Dairy Free,  Dessert,  Gluten Free,  Recipe,  Vegan,  Vegetarian

Naked Carrot Cake with Coconut Cream Frosting (Vegan+GF)

Blogging this past year has made me realize a lot of things about myself that I never knew.

One of which is the fact that I might be obsessed with cake. I wouldn’t have thought so but recently I’ve just wanted to bake cakes.

So you know how I was talking about fads the other day? Yeah, well, the “naked” cake look is another one of those that is really in right now and I’ve been on the fence about how I feel about it. For a while I thought I’d never do a cake like that because cake decorating is basically in my blood. Both my mother and my grandmother have been known for making beautiful, not to mention delicious, cakes and my grandma worked at Disneyland for years in cakes. She decorated so many cakes, sometimes even for famous people. Anyway, leaving a cake in such a plain, raw state seemed like something that would never happen.

I have to admit that the look has grown on me though. Not only is it rusticly elegant, but it saves time and makes cake decorating more approachable for those who fear the pastry bag. I’m sure that I’ll choose to decorate more often than not, but this was something that I think I’ll definitely do again.

How do you all feel about carrot cake? I remember thinking it was a weird and kind of gross dessert that only old people liked. How crazy I was when I was little. Carrot cake is basically a party in a cake form. There are so many things going on in there with the coconut and nuts, and pineapple, and spices, and yum!

If I didn’t make it myself I’d say it was the best carrot cake ever made in history. Okay, fine I’ll say it anyway. It was ultra moist and perfectly complemented by the coconut cream cheese frosting. Plus, I added plenty of coconut to the cake too because that just had to happen.

Bottom line, you just have to make this for Easter. It’s the perfect way to say hello to Spring, or, like me, hello to Autumn. You’ve gotta make it!

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Naked Carrot Cake with Coconut Cream Frosting (Vegan+GF)

Time for celebrating Springtime! Carrot cake is just the thing to get ready for all the warmth and sunshine of the season.
Prep Time 35 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Cooling Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings 1 cake (18-24 servings)

Ingredients

Cake:

  • 4 flax "eggs" 1/4 cup ground flaxseed + 3/4 cup water
  • 2 cups full-fat coconut milk
  • 2 cups coconut palm sugar or raw turbinado sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon each of: cloves allspice ginger and nutmeg
  • 2 2/3 cups gluten free oat flour
  • 2 1/2 cups grated carrots
  • 1 1/4 cups chopped walnuts
  • 1 cup 100% crushed pineapple
  • 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut flakes

Coconut Cream Frosting:

  • 1/4 cup coconut cream
  • 1/2 cup coconut oil
  • 4 - 4 1/2 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions

Cake:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 C) and grease 3 (8 or 9 inch) round cake pans. Mix together the flax and water and allow it to sit for at least 15 minutes until thickened.
  2. Stir together the coconut milk and sugar in a large mixing bowl until smooth. Mix in flax "eggs" and add salt, vanilla, baking powder, spices, and oat flour then stir until combined. Add carrots, walnuts, pineapple, and coconut shreds then mix well.
  3. Divide batter among the pans and place in oven to bake for 35 - 40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
  4. Remove from oven and cool completely before frosting.

Coconut Cream Frosting:

  1. Warm coconut cream and coconut oil together until smooth. Add to the bowl of a stand mixer and add the lemon vanilla, salt, and powdered sugar one cup at a time. Slowly add remaining powdered sugar and whip until light and fluffy.

Assemble:

  1. Remove cakes from pans and trim tops if necessary. Frost in between each layer and decorate as desired. I used fresh flowers for mine.

Recipe Notes

If you have trouble finding coconut cream at your local grocery store it's completely fine to use full-fat coconut milk and scrape the cream off of the top. Just be sure that it's cold enough to separate.

 


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