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This Gluten-Free Carrot Cake with lightened-up cream cheese frosting is a delicious and healthy alternative for your next birthday cake or party.
When I started this blog I never anticipated that my boyfriend would play any role in it. He didn’t know about it for the first two months after all…I’ll be honest, I judged people who spent their entire blog talking about their significant others and now I’ve officially become that person. Much to C’s dismay.
In all seriousness, I feel incredibly lucky to have found such a kind, giving and genetically blessed man. Even though he only reads my blog when I remind him to, he is my #1 supporter and best friend. Without a doubt I am his stalker and I am certifiably obsessed with him. Since today is the boy’s 24th birthday (yes he’s younger than me!) I thought I would spend this post thanking him for being without a doubt the most awesome human that has ever walked the planet!
Thank you for being equally as goofy as I am and reminding me that dance parties can happen anytime and anywhere.
Thank you for teaching me to dream big. One day on the ranch…
Thank you for saying things like “public spaces are so important” and “I think it’s a reality that one day I will go to space”…amazing.
Thank you for giving the best hugs.
Thank you for not being a picky eater and eating everything I make.
Thank you for being up for every adventure, no matter where it takes us.
Thank you for not judging me when I’m watching the Kardashians while you’re reading Plato.
Thank you for putting up with me taking an excessive number of pictures of you eating food.
Thank you for the pillow fight we just had cause you wouldn’t leave the room while I was writing this…Truce.
Thank you for reminding me to look up.
Thank you for your patience and especially when it comes to cold, partially-eaten food.
Thank you for forgiving me (in advance) for making your birthday cake gluten-free and healthy. I promise it’s good!
Thank you for showing me that you can only find true love if you take the risk.
Now it wouldn’t be a birthday without cake! Of course I had to make C’s favourite, carrot cake. But since I am selfish I made it Gluten-Free Carrot Cake so I could enjoy it too. I celebrated early by eating a piece of it and it has taken every ounce of me not to eat the entire thing. Instead it is sitting safely in the back of the fridge in preparation for tonight’s festivities. That is unless C actually reads my blog today and discovers it before then…
Gluten-Free Carrot Cake
This Gluten-Free Carrot Cake with lightened-up cream cheese frosting is a delicious and healthy alternative for your next birthday cake or party.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Yield: 12 pieces 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Bake
- Diet: Gluten Free
Ingredients
For The Cake:
- 1 cup gluten-free all-purpose flour*
- 1 cup gluten-free oat flour (1 1/4 cup of rolled oats ground into flour)
- 3/4 cup coconut palm sugar**
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
- 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups finely grated carrot
- 1/4 cup unsweetened, shredded coconut
- 1/4 cup raisins
For The Lightened-Up Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 8 oz light cream cheese
- 1/2 cup 0% greek yogurt
- 1 cup icing sugar
- Optional: 1 cup of chopped, toasted walnuts.
Instructions
For The Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Combine flours, coconut palm sugar, baking powder, baking soda, spices and salt in a large bowl.
- In a separate bowl combine coconut oil, applesauce, eggs and vanilla extract.
- Add wet ingredients to dry and stir until just combined.
- Add in grated carrot, shredded coconut and raisins.
- Grease two 9 inch round cake pans with coconut oil and place a piece of circular parchment paper on the bottom of each (I just cut the parchment paper).
- Divide batter evenly between two pans.
- Bake for 25-30 mins (mine took 28). Cake is done when a toothpick through the center comes out clean.
- Let cool for 20 mins before removing from pans then cool completely on a wire rack.
For The Lightened-Up Cream Cheese Frosting:
- Using an electric mixer or stand mixer cream together cream cheese and greek yogurt.
- Add in icing sugar and mix until well combined.
- Place icing in refrigerator for 30 mins to thicken.
To Assemble The Cake:
- Place one cake down and coat with frosting. Sprinkle with walnuts if using.
- Place second cake on top and coat with frosting.
- Use remainder of frosting to coat the sides.
- Sprinkle walnuts on top if using.
- Store in refrigerator for several days.
*I recommend namaste perfect flour blend.
**or brown sugar.
Happy birthday to the most wonderful man I know. May 24 bring you only the best and a year full of happy memories and new adventures. Can’t wait to watch it unfold. Love you, darling!
happy birthday to C. you two are both adorable!!!
awwww i love this! food is love! and he is so lucky to have you. And vice versa. Happy bday C!
Awww – such a sweet post! Happy Birthday to your C!!! Yall are adorable together!
You have incredible self control – I would have eaten that cake and gotten rid of all evidence!
Very sweet. You (plural) are lucky to have found someone with whom you seem to mush so seamlessly. Enjoy the festivities. And, the cake. I know you’ve never met me, but my bday is in about 3 weeks. Jes saying that if you should need to come to the DC area, I’m amrnable to partially eaten cakes.
What a sweet post! I laughed at the picture of his half-eaten food because I do that to Riley all the time. It drives him nuts to pull out a leftover slice of pizza from the fridge and find I took a bite out of it. Good thing they love us! 😉
Aw, Happy Birthday to C- have the best time celebrating with this cake! I would totally eat it ahead of time, like take little bites from the center and refill them with frosting so no one would notice. My favorite birthday cake will forever be chocolate fudge cake – either yellow cake or chocolate cake. So long as fudge filling and frosting is involved, I am happy.
This post is so sweet! I love the J man for many of the reasons you stated above – mainly that we can just be really silly and immature and that he makes me wet myself laughing. I hope C-dawwwg enjoys that buff looking carrot cake and you two have loads of fun celebrating!! C-Dawg!? Who am I? It just rolled off the tongue there haha!
Happy Birtdhay C!!
What a wonderful post. You are a good girlfriend. Even with a glutenfree and healthy cake.
You two are adorable!!!
Happy Birthday to C or – in case he’s reading and because it feels weird transmitting birthday wishes via others: Happy Birthday, Curt!
Feel free to gush about him as much as you want because love’s a beautiful thing and not meant to be hidden. Just like good carrot cake’s not meant to be hidden. Thanks for making me sit in an office far from my kitchen and even without that leftover bit of cream cheese frosting from some recent baking experiments. You better believe that’s going to be my after work snack. Maybe I can at least find a carrot to go along ;).
OH davs, thanks for showing the world you have a soul 😉 You do have your merits.
Man, I nearly dropped my barbell at the gym today when you sent me that picture. It looks even more epic online.
Happy Birthday C. the second man in D’s life.
You will always be my number one <3