Almond Flour Carrot Cake (Gluten Free)

A gluten free carrot cake with a slice cut out of it next to a bowl of mascarpone cheese.

Almond Flour Carrot Cake (Gluten Free)

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American, Italian

Diet: Gluten Free, Low Lactose

Keyword: almond flour carrot cake, dairy free carrot cake, gluten free carrot cake

Prep Time: 20

Cook Time: 45

Cooling time: 40

Total Time: 1 45

Servings:

Calories: 862kcal

This almond flour carrot cake is gluten free and dairy free. It's an Italian recipe that's moist and delicious, and easy to make in a springform pan.

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Equipment

Ingredients

Almond Flour Carrot Cake

2 ½ cups almond flour
2 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon salt
2 cups shredded carrots
½ cup chopped pistachios divided
½ cup golden raisins
¼ cup rum
½ cup olive oil plus more for pan
¾ cup sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoon lemon juice
zest of one lemon

Mascarpone Cream

8 oz mascarpone cheese
2 tablespoon rum
2 teaspoon powdered sugar

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease the bottom and sides of a 9-inch springform pan with olive oil, cut a parchment circle for the bottom and grease both sides. Set aside.
In a small sauce pan over medium heatn, bring the raisins and rum to a low boil, remove from heat and set aside to cool. Once cool, drain off any remaining rum.
Use a food processor or box grater to shred the carrots. Place them on a dry dish towel and roll it up tightly to absorb the moisture. Leave the carrots wrapped up until ready to add to the cake batter.
Chop the pistachios, reserve 2 tablespoons for the top of the cake.
Add dry ingredients to a mixing bowl and whisk to combine. Be sure all ingredients are completely incorporated. You want the baking powder to be evenly distributed.
Combine the olive oil and sugar in a mixing bowl. Use a hand mixer or stand mixer with the whisk attachment and mix for 2-3 minutes until the color lightens and sugar begins to melt into the oil.
Add the eggs and whisk for another 2-3 minutes until the color turns a pale yellow and the mixture starts to get frothy on top.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet, folding gently with a silicone spatula and making sure there are no bits of dry almond flour. Then fold in the carrots, the raisins (drained of rum) and pistachios. Last, add the lemon juice and zest and stir gently until all ingredients are fully incorporated.
Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and top with the reserved pistachios. Bake for 45 minutes until the top is a deep golden brown, the center is completely set, and the edges are pulling away from the side of the pan. Allow to cool completely on a wire rack before removing from the pan.
While the cake cools, make the mascarpone cream. Allow the mascarpone to soften at room temperature for 10-15 minutes. In a mixing bowl, combine the mascarpone, rum and powdered sugar, stirring until smooth.

Notes

Once you put the cake in the oven, leave it alone! Don't move the oven rack around. Since the cake is made with olive oil, there is a risk that it will fall. I know that 45 minutes sounds like a long time, but trust me, it needs it.
If you prefer not to use the rum, just use water to rehydrate the raisins. Replace the rum in the mascarpone cream with ½ teaspoon of vanilla.
If you can't find golden raisins, substitute with regular raisins.
Pecans or walnuts can be substituted for the pistachios.
Store in the refrigerator. Keeps up to one week.

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Nutrition