Gluten-Free Carrot Cake with Cardamom Frosting is nothing short of spectacular. Filled with warming spices, sweet carrots and golden raisins, this is a lovely celebration cake for any occasion, or for any day.
One year, my husband had just two food wishes for his birthday -- Smoky Sweet and Spicy Pork Ribs and carrot cake.
(I love food birthday wishes!)
Since one of our sons can't eat wheat, I created this amazing gluten-free carrot cake, and a very special cardamom frosting to go with it.
I tested this recipe many, many times until it was perfect, and now it's a family favorite.
How to Make the Cake
This gluten-free carrot cake is easy to make. The key is making sure it cools completely before adding the frosting.
(More detailed instructions are in the recipe card below.)
The Cardamom Frosting . . .
This is truly "the icing on the cake!"
Seriously, it's what seals the deal.
Everyone knows that a cream cheese frosting is a classic match for a carrot cake. And for good reason -- the two are lovely together.
I added the cardamom to make it more interesting and to carry the spices all the way through the cake. And it took this gluten-free carrot cake from great to magical.
How far ahead can you make it?
- You can make the entire cake, frosting and all, up to two days before you want to serve it. Keep it refrigerated and take it out about 30 minutes before serving.
- You can make the cake layers up to four days ahead. Let them cool completely and then wrap them tightly in plastic wrap and keep refrigerated. If you only make them one day ahead, it's okay to keep them out at room temperature.
- The frosting can be make up to a week ahead. Wrap tightly and refrigerate. It should be brought to room temperature before you spread it on the cake.
Recipe Tips and Substitutions
- Be sure the cake has completely cooled before you frost it. Ideally, you should bake the cake the night before you want to frost and serve it. (If the cake is too warm, the cardamom frosting will become to soft to spread properly.)
- It's also important that the frosting be at room temperature, so it's soft and spreadable.
- My favorite all-purpose gluten-free flour is Cup4Cup, and I use it in almost all of my gluten-free baked goods.
- Can you substitute the the gluten-free flour with regular? Yes, you can use regular all-purpose flour.
More irresistible gluten-free cake recipes:
Gluten-Free Olive Oil Chocolate Cake
Gluten-Free Banana Chocolate Chip Cake
Gluten-Free Meyer Lemon Olive Oil Cake
I hope you'll try the Gluten-Free Carrot Cake with the scrumptious Cardamom Frosting, or any of the other delicious options.
Enjoy!
Spiced Carrot Cake with Cardamom Frosting
Equipment
Ingredients
For the cake
- ¾ cup plus 1 teaspoon olive oil, divided
- 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar, divided
- 4 large eggs
- 1 large egg yolk
- ½ cup sour cream
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose gluten-free flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons ground cardamom
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2½ cups finely grated carrots
- 1 cup golden raisins
For the frosting
- 12 ounces cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 4 ounces unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1⅓ cup powdered sugar
- ¼ cup milk
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons ground cardamom
Instructions
For the cake
- Set oven and prepare pans. Preheat the oven to 350°F and adjust a rack to the center.Use a pastry brush to coat the bottom and sides of 2 round (9 x 3 inch) cake pans with 1 teaspoon of the olive oil. Then sprinkle each oil-coated pan evenly with about ½ tablespoon of the sugar.
- Make the batter. In a large mixing bowl, combine the remaining ¾ cup of oil with the remaining 1 cup of sugar. Whisk in the eggs and egg yolk and blend until it's smooth. Add the sour cream and vanilla and again, whisk until smooth.In another large mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, cloves and salt. Mix to blend.Use a large rubber spatula mix the dry ingredients into the bowl with the wet ingredients and fold in the carrots and raisins. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pans.
- Bake. Place the cake pans on baking sheets (for easier transportation), and into the preheated 350°F oven. Bake just until they're set and no longer jiggle. The tops will begin to crack a bit and become golden when they're done, about 45 minutes.
- Cool. Let them cool in the cake pans for about 10 minutes, then go along the edges with a dull knife to loosen the cakes. Invert each cake onto a cooling rack and let them cool completely to room temperature -- this could take a couple of hours. (Ideally you should bake the cakes the night before you frost and serve it.)
For the frosting
- Add the cream cheese and butter to a medium-sized mixing bowl and use an electric mixer with the whisk attachment to blend on high until smooth. (If you don't have a whisk attachment, that's okay -- it might just take longer to become smooth.)Add the powdered sugar, about half at a time, and mix to blend. Then add the milk, vanilla and cardamom and mix one last time to blend everything together. (The frosting should be at room temperature when you're ready to use it.)
To assemble the cake
- Invert. Once the cakes are 100% cooled, invert one of them from the cooling rack onto a serving platter.
- Frost the cake. Spread about ⅓ of the frosting on the top of the inverted cake, then very carefully, place the other cake on top. (It will help to use the large, flat spatula.) Add the remaining frosting to the top and sides of the cake, using only gentle pressure. It doesn't have to be perfectly smooth -- as you can see from my pictures above, I like a rustic look.
- Refrigerate briefly. Refrigerate the frosted cake for about 30 minutes before slicing.
Notes
David
Oh, how I wish Markipedia liked carrot cake. I will use have to make this for the office! Love the spice usage, especially the cardamom in the frosting.
valentina
Thanks, David. Cardamom is probably my favorite spice for baking. LOVE it! Enjoy. 🙂
Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche
This looks so moist, you'd never guess you made it gluten-free! I do love a good carrot cake.
valentina
It is! thanks, Becca! 🙂
Emily
Wow this cake looks so moist and delicious!!
valentina
Thank you, Emily!
Bintu - Recipes From A Pantry
Interesting addition of the cardamom cream cheese frosting. Looks a lovely moist cake
valentina
Thank you! I love cardamom! 🙂
John/Kitchen Riffs
A good carrot cake is wonderful stuff. Gotta get the spicing right, though, which can be a bit difficult. Looks like you did a great job with that. And the frosting looks amazing! Thanks so much.
valentina
Thanks so much, John! Yes, it's all about the spice! 🙂
Kate
I made this cake and took it to work.. and it was gone in half an hour. They've requested I make it again, but would it be possible to use this batter for cupcakes instead? If so, do you have a recommendation for how long to bake them? Thanks so much for the awesome recipe. 🙂
valentina
Thanks so much, Kate. I'm so pleased you loved this cake, and great idea to make cupcakes with the batter. You'll have to check them about halfway through the baking time, but I'd guess about 25 minutes, at 350 degrees F. 🙂 Enjoy!
Kate
Cupcake success! About 17 minutes at 350. Thanks, Valentina. 🙂
valentina
Hi Kate, Thank you so much for reporting back to me! I'm so happy it was a success! (And I'm happy to know the 17 minutes for future reference!) 😀