Best Spiced Keto Carrot Cake {Low Carb}

The BEST recipe for spiced keto carrot cake, packed with cinnamon, spices, pecans, and a hint of orange. Gluten-free and made with almond and coconut flours, topped with sugar-free cream cheese frosting, this may be your next favorite low carb dessert!

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Scroll down to the bottom of the page for the recipe card with ingredient amounts and printable recipe to make it NOW or PIN it here for later!

Carrot cake has always been one of my favorite cakes. I love the moist cake with spices, pecans, and cream cheese frosting! Also, it sort of screams fall to me, which is my favorite season.

In fact, both my husband and I love it so much, carrot cake was one of our wedding cake flavors.

However, since I started a keto way of eating, I tend to avoid carrots and had completely cut them out of my diet. Ergo, that meant the carrot cake was out, sad times.

Then I had several people, family and other readers, ask me for a good carrot cake recipe. If you try my keto spice cake recipe, it’s actually very similar in taste and texture to a carrot cake. So, after some encouragement, I began experimenting with a true carrot cake.

First, I had to overcome my keto fear of carrots. In this recipe, it does include grated carrot, but perhaps not as much as a traditional carrot cake. I’ve tried several variations, and this version seems to provide the best taste and texture paired with the lower carb count I prefer.

Seriously, it’s SO good. My devotion to carrot cake has returned!

Personally, I look at most any cake as a treat for a special occasion, and this keto carrot cake makes a fabulous dessert centerpiece. It’s perfect for birthdays or even the holidays. So do you love carrot cake too?

Let’s get started! What do you need?

🍴Equipment

• large and medium-sized bowls
• whisk
• grater
• a spatula
• measuring cups and spoons
• two 8 or 9-inch round cake pans
• parchment paper
• blender or mixer
• knife or frosting spatula

🥘 Ingredients

• 8 tbsp melted butter
• 1 ⅔ cup sweetener
• 20 oz cream cheese
• 4 large eggs, beaten
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 cups finely ground blanched almond flour
• ½ cup coconut flour
• ½ tsp sea salt
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp allspice
• ½ cup grated carrot
• 1 tbsp orange zest
• 1 cup chopped pecans plus more to decorate (optional)
• 8 tbsp heavy cream

As always, when selecting ingredients, buy as fresh as you can and organic if possible.

Also, don’t forget to read the ingredients even for things like heavy cream. Surprisingly, or maybe rather not surprisingly, different brands can hide sugar, preservatives, and other unwanted items.

Always be on alert and select quality ingredients for anything you make. The recipe includes nutrition facts with what I use. However, if you’re calculating macros and I always advise figuring your own facts with the exact ingredients you use in the recipe.

Now, how exactly do you make a keto carrot cake?

🔪 Instructions

First of all, assemble all the kitchen equipment and ingredients. It makes things easier for more relaxed baking when everything’s close at hand.

Start by preparing two 8″ or 9″ round baking pans. First, cut out 2 circles of parchment paper to line the bottom of the pans.

Usually, I just use a pencil and trace the pan then cut it out a couple of millimeters inside the pencil marks. That way it fits perfectly in the bottom of the pan and there’s no pencil left on the paper.

Next, butter the paper and sides of the pans and preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.

After that, place the butter, sweetener, cream cheese, vanilla, and eggs in a high-powered blender. Blend it all together for about 30-40 seconds or until completely smooth.

I love my Vitamix blender and use it all the time in baking. However, if you don’t have a blender, feel free to mix it all together using a standing or hand mixer.

Now it’s time for the dry ingredients. Take out a separate large bowl, and whisk together the almond flour, coconut flour, baking soda, sea salt, cinnamon, allspice, and ginger in it.

This is a fabulous blend of spices. However, if the allspice can be halved or left out altogether if you wish.

Then pour the wet ingredients into the dry mixture and combine it all with a spatula or mixer. Once everything is completely combined, stir in the grated carrot and orange zest. Then add the nuts if you’re using those.

I LOVE pecans and other nuts, but with a nut allergy in the house, I don’t always feel safe in using them. Feel free to substitute almonds or leave the pecans out completely if necessary.

Stir until everything is evenly dispersed. Next, divide the batter into the two cake pans, and spread it out evenly over the parchment paper.

⏲ Cooking time

Bake the cakes at 325 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Next, set them out on racks to cool for at least 15 minutes. Then, run a knife around the outside of each cake and turn them out onto cooling racks.

Sugar-free cream cheese frosting

When the cakes are almost cooled, it’s a great time to prepare the frosting. First, mix together the cream cheese, heavy cream, and sweetener with a hand mixer for 1-2 minutes or until completely smooth.

💭 Top tip

If the frosting is too thick, add one tablespoon of unsweetened almond milk and mix well. Continue to add until the desired consistency is reached. It should be thin enough to spread easily, but not so thin it won’t stay in place or support the cakes.

👩‍🍳 Assembly

Now, to assemble the cake, place one of the two cooled keto carrot cakes on the serving dish. Then, spread about one-third of the frosting evenly over it.

Next, gently set the second layer on top of the frosting. The frosting should be thick enough it does not get pushed out the sides by the weight of the cake.

Frost the top and sides of the cake with the remaining frosting. Then decorate the top and/or sides with extra nuts if you choose to use them.

Have some friends over and enjoy the spiced keto carrot cake!

🥣 How to store keto carrot cake

If the keto carrot cake is not eaten immediately, it can be kept in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to five days.

Now let’s say, I would like to portion servings of the cake out for myself to have as a snack or dessert. I could eat one piece a day for five days. However, if no one is helping to eat the cake, it’s best to freeze it in individual servings.

Once the cake is chilled, it can be cut in 16 servings as on the nutrition facts, or whatever size you wish.

With cakes, I like to wrap the pieces individually in foil, then place them in an airtight container to freeze. They will keep well in the freezer for about a month.

To thaw, it’s best to unwrap and set out a serving on a plate, lightly covered, at least half an hour before you plan to eat it. If you try to use the microwave, it can be done. However, the frosting will tend to melt in the microwave so I prefer to let it thaw on its own.

Keto dessert recipes

Do you have other desserts you’d like to see with a keto makeover? Are you like me with carrot cake and think it was out of the picture for good?

Send those dessert ideas this way, and we’d love to do some testing to see if a low carb or keto recipe is possible.

Now, let us eat cake!

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🎂 Related recipes

1. Keto Chocolate Mousse Cake
2. Best Ever Keto Spice Cake
3. Lemon Cream Cheese Cake – Keto Pound Cake
4. Low Carb Lemon Blueberry Cream Cake

📖 Printable recipe card

Nutrition Disclaimer

Please be aware I am not a medical specialist or nutritional professional. On this blog, I share recipes and what works for me. Please do not take anything on this blog as medical advice and always consult with your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program.

I use MyFitnessPal.com to calculate nutrition facts as a courtesy to my readers, and I remove erythritol from the final carb count and net carb count because does not affect my own blood glucose levels.  

This is as accurate as possible, but it’s best to independently calculate nutritional information on your own with the specific ingredients you use. I expressly disclaim any and all liability of any kind with respect to any act or omission wholly or in part in reliance on anything contained in this website.