Gluten-Free Carrot Cake

Our soft, fluffy Gluten-Free Carrot Cake recipe is made with two beautiful layers and an easy cream cheese frosting that make it feel special for any occasion.

Is there a more classic spring cake recipe than carrot cake? It’s the perfect gluten-free Easter dessert!

Let me tell you, our gluten-free version of this classic recipe has been over a year in the making, since I wanted to get it just right before sharing. After plenty of testing, I can confidently say it’s worth the wait!

This cake is every bit as moist and delicious as the regular version, with a few simple tweaks that make all the difference.

In our gluten-free carrot cake recipe, you’ll get two fluffy layers of carrot cake, made with warm spices, delicious mix-ins, and just enough carrots. Then, there’s the luscious cream cheese frosting to pull it all together. Every single bite is absolutely delicious!

Best of all, the ingredients aren’t fussy at all. Here’s all you need to get started on this yummy gluten-free cake…

Simple INgredients For Gluten-Free Carrot Cake

• Gluten-Free Flour. We highly recommend this gluten-free flour blend from King Arthur for making carrot cake. It’s THE BEST. You can’t substitute coconut flour, almond flour, or any single ingredient flour (rice, tapioca, etc.) for this flour. If you use another blend, be sure it contains xanthan gum, or your cake won’t turn out properly.
• Baking Powder & Baking Soda. These two will give your cake the right softness, puff, and rise. It’s important to use fresh ingredients, so you can use this 30-second trick to check if yours are fresh!
• Kosher Salt. Always a must in any gluten-free cake recipe to balance the flavor of your cake.
• Warm Spices. Carrot cake recipes are known for their blend of warm spices. I’m using cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. I love this combination of flavors!
• Oil & Applesauce. I use a mix of oil and unsweetened applesauce because you get that velvety soft, moist texture without the cake feeling greasy.
• Sugar & Brown Sugar. Using some brown sugar helps add moisture and more layers of flavor to the cake.
• Eggs. You’ll need 4 large eggs to make this gluten-free carrot cake, and every single one is worth it for the texture!
• Vanilla. Adding some vanilla extract plays up the notes in the spices and gives this cake a really well-rounded flavor.
• Freshly Grated Carrots. Don’t use pre-bagged shredded carrots as these are too thick and will give your cake a coarse, chewy texture. Stick to freshly grated carrots. Use a box grater or your food processor to get this job done in a jiffy.
• Toasted Nuts (If You Want). Not everyone loves nuts in carrot cake, so feel free to leave them out, but I love adding some toasted pecans. Toasting takes just a few minutes, but completely transforms the flavor. Don’t skip this step!
• A Quick Cream Cheese Frosting, To Finish. Classic cream cheese frosting is the most popular pairing for a carrot cake! Ours comes together quickly without a lot of fuss with just cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla.

How To Make a Two-Layer Gluten-Free Carrot Cake, Step By Step:

Start With The Cake

1. Preheat Oven & Prep Pans. To start, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 2 (9-inch) round cake pans then line with parchment paper. 
2. Combine Dry Ingredients. In a medium bowl, combine gluten-free flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt. Whisk until well blended, then set aside.
3. Combine Wet Ingredients. In a large mixing bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer), combine oil, brown sugar, sugar, eggs, applesauce, and vanilla extract. Mix until evenly blended.  
4. Add Dry Ingredients to Wet Ingredients and mix until the flour mixture is almost fully combined (just a few floury/dry patches left). 
5. Fold In Carrots & Pecans and mix just until evenly blended throughout the batter. (You don’t want any large clumps of carrots!)
6. Divide Cake Batter evenly between your two prepared pans. 
7. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-32 minutes rotating pans halfway through baking, until the cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. (The cake should just be starting to pull away from the sides of the pan, and if you gently press the center of the cake with your finger, it should spring back fairly quickly)
8. Let Cakes Cool 10 Minutes Then Turn Out onto a wire cooling rack to cool COMPLETELY before frosting. The cakes need to be completely, totally cool or they’ll melt the frosting. Don’t rush this step! (Once completely cooled, the cake layers can be wrapped in plastic wrap and chilled overnight in the fridge.)

Then, Make The Frosting

1. Start With Softened Ingredients. Before you start the frosting, it’s important that the butter and cream cheese have both been softened so they’ll blend well. If they’re cold, you’ll end up with chunks in your frosting, which is NOT what we want! 
2. Combine Butter & Cream Cheese in a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer (which I prefer). Beat butter and cream cheese 2-3 minutes or until fluffy, smooth, and well blended. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. 
3. Add Powdered Sugar 1/2 Cup At A Time, until all of the powdered sugar has been added. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add vanilla then mix on medium speed 1-2 minutes to make sure everything is well incorporated and smooth. 
4. Check The Texture. At this point the frosting should be smooth and soft, but not runny or gooey. If the frosting is very loose (it doesn’t hold it’s shape when you put it on a spatula and rotate the spatula), consider chilling the frosting for 5-10 minutes to help it firm up. (Adding more powdered sugar can give the frosting more structure, but it will also add more sugar, which can get too sweet.)

Assemble & Decorate The Cake

1. Build The Bottom Layer. Place the bottom cake layer flat side up (the side that was on the bottom in the pan should now be facing up on the cake stand). Add about 3/4 cup frosting on top of the cake layer and use an offset spatula to smooth the frosting to the edges of the bottom layer. 
2. Build The Top Layer. Repeat this process with the second layer, adding it flat side up on top of the bottom cake layer. Top with another 3/4 cup or so of frosting and spread to the edges of the top cake layer. 
3. Add A Crumb Coat (Optional). For an extra pretty cake, do a crumb coat. Add another 3/4-1 cup of frosting to the top layer and use an offset spatula to spread the frosting to the edge of the top layer and down sides of the cake. Your goal is to make a very thin layer of frosting to just coat the outer layer of the cake. You’ll be able to see the cake through the crumb coat. Chill the cake in the fridge for about 30 minutes before frosting the rest of the cake. (Pop the frosting back in the fridge during this time so it doesn’t get too warm!) 
4. Finish Frosting & Decorating. After chilling the crumb coat, remove the cake and frosting from the fridge, and use the remaining frosting to coat the outside of the cake. If desired, decorate with chopped pecans, either adding a bottom “skirt” of pecans around the bottom edges of the cake, or adding them in a border around the top of the cake. 
5. Chill cake until ready to serve and store leftover carrot cake covered in the refrigerator 3-4 days. Since cream cheese frosting doesn’t do well at room temperature, cake should be out of the fridge no longer than about 1 hour at a time (less if it’s hot!).  

FAQ + Tips And Tricks For The Best Gluten-Free Carrot Cake

Make-Ahead Tips

You can prep this delicious gluten-free carrot cake recipe in advance a few different ways:

1. Chill Layers Overnight Before Frosting. Bake the cake layers and cool them completely. Wrap each layer in plastic wrap or press ‘n’ seal and chill in the refrigerator up to 1 day in advance. Frost and assemble the cake while the layers are cold for the easiest assembly.
2. Freeze Layers. To make the cake more than 1 day in advance, bake and cool the layers. Wrap each layer individually with plastic wrap, then place the layers in a freezer-safe bag. Cake can be frozen like this up to 3 weeks in advance. Thaw layers in the refrigerator overnight before frosting and assembling the cake.

Measure Carefully

Especially when you’re making cake, it’s important to weigh or measure the ingredients carefully to get the texture just right.

Whenever possible, I recommend using the metric measurements and an inexpensive kitchen scale for the best results, but when that’s not possible, use the scoop and level method for your flour to avoid packing extra into the cake.

🌟 Leave a star rating below when you try our Gluten-Free Carrot Cake recipe! We can’t wait to hear what you think!

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