Birthdays’ occur just once a year. Bummer…
30th birthdays happen only once in a lifetime. Win!
I wanted to do something amazingly special for my 30th this year. I wanted a perfect Paleo Carrot Cake, a beach, sunny weather, sand, a hot tub and peace and relaxation. I got everything I wanted, except the last two things…who knew kids loved hot tubs so freakin’ much?! Give the adults some quiet time will ya?
We spent four bliss filled days in a beautiful house in the woods. We woke up, soaked in hot tubs, drank BulletProof Coffee, walked ridiculously fast on beaches, WODed on decks and in the sand and anywhere else we could perform movements. We worked out for THE FUN OF IT. We threw logs around, we sprinted in the sand, we did double unders under cedar canopies, we did way too many push ups, we ate a lot of cake, we relaxed, and we had fun. Oh and we nerded it up satellite style with the premiere of Season 3 of Game of Thrones. So sue me…it premiered on my birthday. I LOVE THAT SHIT RIGHT THERE….I’m still reading book two but I don’t care!
But this carrot cake stole my heart for sure. Going Paleo can be difficult for a lot of people. The mere thought of having to give up childhood favourites such as warm buttered bread, rice pudding, cakes, muffins, cupcakes, cous cous, Chinese sweet buns, etc. It’s just too much for people. I thought the same thing when I first heard of Paleo. But then I convinced myslef to try it after hearing nothing but good results from the majority of people. I tried it. And I am telling you right now, I will NEVER go back. The temptation of my most adored sweets have nothing on the feeling I get from NOT eating grains and sugar. I feel like a million bucks every day, I sleep like a baby no matter what, I have so much energy all day, every day that most people can’t keep up with me. Slump in the afternoon? Hardly.
But what’s a girl to do when her favorite dessert is carrot cake but it has to be grain and dairy free?? Get creative in the kitchen.
I wanted this cake to be fluffy, not dense. A lot of Paleo baking, because it contains no gluten, is dense and heavy. Made with coconut flour it is also VERY filling (there’s a lot of fiber in there people) and too much cake is bad news, believe me. But I wanted to not watch my intake this weekend. I strutted around in a bikini for the better part of four days and ate cake the rest of the time.
So for this cake, I experimented with an ingredient I have never used before: arrowroot powder.
What is it?
Arrowroot is a fine, white powder that crunches like snow when compressed. It is made from the underground growing stem (rhizome) of the tropical plant by the same name. The rhizome is high in starch and this is the part of the plant that is extracted and pulverized to make arrowroot flour/starch.
This flour is grain free and gluten free. It is similar to, but not the same as tapioca flour. But you could be forgiven for confusing the two, as they are both starchy white powders and are commonly interchangeable in cooking. To complicate matters further, arrowroot is sometimes used as a generic term for any starch.
Compared to other grain free flours, it is relatively inexpensive. But because the production process is more complex with arrowroot, it is more expensive than potato flour or tapioca flour. Both of these flours are commonly interchangeable with arrowroot in baking. – http://www.grain-free-gluten-free.com
Arrowroot is 100% carbohydrates so it offers little in the form of nutrition but is VERY easy to digest. Too much in a recipe can make the finished goods elastic-y though and should not be mixed with dairy products or watch out for slime-zilla. It does add a nice light, fluffy texture when mixed with other grain and gluten free flours though. This will be my go to combination for all baked goods from now on, unless that dense and thick texture is desired (like in a cornbread).
The frosting is a play on cream cheese frosting, it did have a bit of a tang to it, but it was still coconut-y, like most Paleo frostings. Together they formed one of my best Paleo baking creations to date. Voila! Now get baking.
One year ago: Chocolate Chia Energy Balls
Two years ago: Halibut Cakes
Three years ago: Asparagus Soup
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease two 9" baking pans and line with parchment circles.
- In a large bowl, combine all dry ingredients.
- In a separate large bowl, combine all wet ingredients (except the carrots and fresh ginger, if using).
- Pour the dry into the wet ingredients, mixing well. Then stir in the carrots and ginger (if using).
- Measure batter out equally between pans (I weigh them) and then pop them in the oven for 30-35 minutes.
- Remove from oven and cool on cooling rack in pans for 10-15 minutes. Run a knife along the sides of the pans, then flip them out onto the cooling rack. Peel off the parchment and allow to cool completely.
- Drain the cashews.
- In a blender or food processor, blend the soaked cashews until as smooth as possible.
- Add the remaining ingredients and process until smooth and completely blended.
- Set aside until needed.
Notes
Note: If you can’t find palm oil shortening, just increase the butter by 1/4 cup.
Delicious recipes from other fabulous food blogs:
Paleo Chocolate Cake from the Unrefined Kitchen
Pumpkin Blueberry Blondies from Civilized Caveman Cooking Creations
Red Velvet Cupcakes from Clean Eating with a Dirty Mind
Sunbutter Frosting from Primal Palate
Paleo Breakfast Bread from Elana’s Pantry
What kind of butter do you use? Did we can use any kind of butter such as orchid butter? Thanks.
The kind of butter does not matter at all to the finished product, but I always use organic/grass fed.
I would like to try your recipe, including the frosting. Two of us in the family have reactions to cashews, but are fine with tree nuts. Do you know if it is possible to make a substitution for the cashews in the frosting recipe?
Replacing the cashews with macadamia nuts might work, but most other nuts wouldn’t have the right texture and I have never soaked macadamia nuts, so I’m not sure that would work.
This looks awesome – I’m a sucker for a good carrot cake!
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That looks amazing! Stupid question, but does the frosting take on the vanilla flavouring, or does it still taste really coconut-y?
Both!
Mmm. I love carrot cake. To make a paleo carrot cake, well, that’s just impressive.
Oh, and I can’t think of a better birthday than GoT, a beach, the sun, cake and random outside working out. It sounds like a crazy combo, but I totally hear you on this one!
Great recipe Liz! We loved it… So yummy. Thanks again!
what is arrowroot flour? CARROT CAKE IS MY FAV!! I cant wait to try this.
Arrowroot flour is also called arrowroot powder and is made from the rhizomes of several kinds of plants, sometimes cassava but mainly arrowroot. It’s almost 100% carbohydrates. It is a crucial part of my baking as it lightens up the otherwise heavy and dense cakes that result from using coconut flour.
Yum!! beautiful pics! Pinned for later
I really want to make this for my husband!! Can I use tapioca flour in substitue for arrowroot? or will it not come out the same?
Yes! Arrowroot is sometimes made from tapioca, so go ahead and use that instead!
Hi, just recently got into Paleo baking after some inquiries from friends and associates. Your recipe looks amazing! Was wondering if coconut/arrowroot flour is available in Whole Foods/Trader Joes/Wegman’s? I have an organic market near me as well that I can check. Also, when you call for pastured butter in the frosting, what if us city folk don’t have access to it? Can we use some sort of organic stick butter (or as close to organic as possible without having to resort to the butter in the package)?
Tx
Hi Maria,
Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods will carry coconut flour and arrowroot flour for sure. They should also have pastured butter. It won’t say pastured, but organic butter is as close to grass fed as I can get here in Canada. In the USA you can buy KerryGold butter, which is 100% grass fed from Ireland so I would buy that if I could.
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Your recipe is perfect, I would like to try it for myself.
After trying a paleo carrot recipe from another site which turned out to be an epic failure, I was scared to try this recipe but it turned out delicious and the texture was very much like regular carrot cake. I increased the cinnamon to 1 tbsp. and I used 1/2 C of honey for my sweetener. Thanks for the great recipe!
Alright, that makes me happy for sure!
This looks awesome. I’ve been dreaming of making a paleo carrot cake recipe and its really the frosting that i’m stuck on. Can’t wait to try.
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This looks like a great recipe. You mentioned that it can be frozen, does this include the frosting or not? Thanks
Hi Sylvie, no the frosting should be made right before you plan on assembling the cake. Alternatively, you can make it in advance and refrigerate it, but you will have to take it out of the fridge at least 2-3 hours in advance and beat it to get it fluffier again. Hope that helps!
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Why is it that you make a gluten free cake it sways fluffed, when take it out of the oven then it fall flat
That shouldn’t happen here Mae, THIS CAKE DOES NOT DEFLATE.
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Looks like a great recipe! I’m a carrot cake lover and want to make this for a friends birthday. Would it be ok to ad raisins, shredded coconut, chopped pecans to the batter. Will it still bake ok with these added.
Thanks!
I think you could although I’ve never tried. Let me know if you do.