Keto Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
This easy keto carrot cake is a moist, spiced sponge made with Groovy Keto Carrot Cake Mix, eggs and butter, with fresh grated carrot and walnuts stirred through and a thick cream cheese frosting on top. Each slice has 3.1g net carbs. It takes 1 hour, plus cooling and chilling.
This keto carrot cake borrows from some proven recipes. William Leigh's easy carrot cake on BBC Food is baked as a single deep 20cm round with walnuts, and its frosting advice is worth following: use full-fat cream cheese, pour off the liquid in the tub, and only frost a completely cold cake. Mary Berry's reduced-sugar carrot cake on BBC Food squeezes the moisture out of the cream cheese so the frosting stays thick, and finishes the top with chopped walnuts. Katrin Nürnberger's carrot cake on Sugar Free Londoner shows how freshly grated carrot and finely chopped walnuts keep a low-carb sponge moist. We've brought those ideas together with our own cake mix and powdered sweetener.
The result is a moist, warmly spiced cake with a thick, tangy topping. A slice of shop-bought iced carrot cake the same size has about 34.6g carbohydrate; a slice of this one has 3.1g net carbs. If you're searching for sugar free carrot cake, this one has no added sugar: the cake mix is sweetened with erythritol and stevia, the frosting with our powdered erythritol sweetener, and the small amount of sugars comes from the carrot, nuts and dairy. To see how carrots fit into a keto diet, read our guide Are carrots keto-friendly?
What we used: Groovy Keto Carrot Cake Mix for the sponge, which already contains carrot powder and spices and only needs eggs, butter and water, and Groovy Keto Powdered Monk Fruit and Erythritol Sweetener for the frosting. The pack's own net carbs figure, 1.7g per slice, is for the plain cake; the fresh carrot, walnuts and frosting take it to 3.1g. For other flavours, see our keto baking mixes.
Groovy Keto Carrot Cake Mix
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Groovy Keto Powdered Monk Fruit and Erythritol Sweetener
View productKeto carrot cake vs ordinary carrot cake
Ordinary carrot cake is made with wheat flour and plenty of sugar, often with raisins, and the icing is mostly icing sugar, so most of its carbohydrate is starch and sugar. This one uses a mix made with almond flour, coconut flour and chicory root fibre, sweetened with erythritol, and erythritol counts as a polyol, which UK labels list within carbohydrate.
| Per slice (about 74g) | Carbohydrate | Sugars | Net carbs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carrot cake with icing, shop-bought | 34.6g | 25.5g | 34.6g |
| This keto carrot cake | 15.1g | 2.1g | 3.1g |
Ordinary carrot cake figures are worked out for a 74g slice, about the weight of one of our slices with frosting, from UK CoFID 2021 data (food code 11-836, "Cake, carrot, iced, retail": 46.8g carbohydrate and 34.5g sugars per 100g) – McCance and Widdowson's composition of foods. Carbohydrate excludes fibre, as on UK labels. Our carbohydrate figure includes 12.0g polyols from the erythritol, which are taken off to give net carbs.
Tips for a moist keto carrot cake
- Grate the carrot fresh. Freshly grated carrot is juicier than the ready-grated kind, and the fine side of the grater gives soft flecks rather than chewy strands.
- Chop the walnuts finely. Small pieces spread through the thick batter evenly, so every slice gets some crunch without big lumps.
- Use room-temperature eggs. Cold eggs can set the melted butter into little lumps. Take them out of the fridge 30 minutes before you start.
- Don't overbake. Take the cake out as soon as a skewer comes out clean. An overbaked keto sponge turns dry.
- Drain the cream cheese. Pour off the liquid in the tub. For an extra-thick frosting, squeeze the cheese in a clean piece of muslin first.
- Wait for a cold cake. Frosting spread on a warm cake melts and slides off. Cool the cake completely first.
Keto Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Prep time20 min
- Bake time35–40 min
- Total time1 hour, plus cooling and chilling
- Serves12 slices
- Net carbs3.1g per slice
Ingredients
For the cake
- 1 pack (260g) Groovy Keto Carrot Cake Mix
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 80g unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
- 1 tablespoon water
- 100g carrot (about 1 large carrot), peeled and finely grated
- 50g walnuts, finely chopped
For the cream cheese frosting
- 180g full-fat cream cheese, at room temperature
- 40g unsalted butter, softened
- 40g Groovy Keto Powdered Monk Fruit and Erythritol Sweetener
- 15g walnuts, roughly chopped, to decorate
You will also need a 20cm round cake tin, baking paper, a box grater, a large bowl, a mixing bowl, a wire rack and a palette knife.
Method
- Heat the oven. Heat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan, gas mark 4). Grease a 20cm round cake tin and line the base and sides with baking paper.
- Grate and chop. Peel the carrot and grate it on the fine side of a box grater, then finely chop the 50g walnuts. Grate the carrot yourself, as ready-grated carrot is coarser and drier.
- Mix the wet ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, melted butter and water together with a fork or balloon whisk until smooth.
- Add the cake mix. Tip in the cake mix and stir with a wooden spoon or spatula until there are no dry pockets left, then fold the grated carrot and chopped walnuts through. The batter will be thick.
- Bake. Spread the batter evenly in the tin and bake on the middle shelf for 35 to 40 minutes, until golden brown and a skewer pushed into the centre comes out clean. The fresh carrot adds moisture, so it needs a little longer than the 30 to 35 minutes on the pack. Start checking at 35 minutes, as ovens vary.
- Cool. Leave the cake in the tin for 15 minutes, then turn it out onto a wire rack, peel off the paper and leave it to cool completely, which takes about 1 hour.
- Make the frosting. Pour off any liquid sitting on top of the cream cheese. Beat the softened butter and the powdered sweetener together for 2 minutes until smooth and pale, then add the cream cheese and beat gently, only until it's smooth. Beating hard at this stage makes the frosting runny.
- Frost and slice. Put the cold cake on a plate and spread the frosting over the top in soft swirls with a palette knife. Scatter over the 15g chopped walnuts, chill for 30 minutes so the frosting firms up, then cut into 12 slices.
How to serve keto carrot cake
- With a cup of tea: a slice at room temperature is the classic way, as the frosting softens and the spices come through.
- With cream: add a spoonful of thick double cream or softly whipped cream on the side.
- Slightly warm: if you've kept some of the cake unfrosted, warm a slice for 10 seconds in the microwave and spread a little frosting over it.
- At a party: serve it alongside our keto chocolate cake, or find more ideas in our round-up of keto sweet treats.
Storage and freezing
- Before frosting: keep the cake in an airtight tin in a cool place for up to 2 days.
- Fridge: once frosted, keep it in an airtight box in the fridge for up to 4 days. Let slices sit at room temperature for 20 minutes before serving.
- Freezer: freeze the cake before frosting, whole or in slices, well wrapped, for up to 2 months. Defrost at room temperature for 2 to 3 hours, then frost.
Ways to change it
- Orange carrot cake: stir the finely grated zest of 1 orange into the batter, and a little more into the frosting.
- Pecans: swap the walnuts for the same weight of chopped pecans.
- Toasted nuts: toast the walnuts in a dry frying pan for 3 to 4 minutes before chopping them, for a deeper flavour.
- Cupcakes: bake the batter in 12 paper cases for 18 to 22 minutes and spread a little frosting on each one.
- A different topping: use our 3-ingredient keto cream cheese icing instead.
Any of these changes will alter the nutrition figures, except the cupcakes, which match one slice each.
Nutrition
Per serving (1 slice, one twelfth of the cake, including the frosting and walnuts):
| Nutrient | Per slice |
|---|---|
| Energy | 230 kcal |
| Fat | 20.8g |
| of which saturates | 8.8g |
| Carbohydrate | 15.1g |
| of which sugars | 2.1g |
| of which polyols | 12.0g |
| Net carbs | 3.1g |
| Fibre | 3.6g |
| Protein | 6.0g |
| Salt | 0.39g |
Net carbs are carbohydrate minus polyols. On UK labels, fibre is already listed separately from carbohydrate, so it isn't subtracted again. Figures are calculated from the Groovy Keto Carrot Cake Mix and Powdered Monk Fruit and Erythritol Sweetener pack labels and UK (McCance and Widdowson's CoFID) data for the eggs (12-937), butter (17-661), carrots (13-496), walnuts (14-879) and full-fat cream cheese (12-551), and will vary with the brands you use. Excessive consumption of polyols, such as erythritol, may produce laxative effects.
Allergens: this recipe contains nuts (almonds, walnuts), milk and eggs. The Carrot Cake Mix pack says it contains almonds and milk, and that it is made in a facility where there may be traces of other nuts, cereals, milk and eggs. The Powdered Monk Fruit and Erythritol Sweetener pack says it is packed in a facility where there may be traces of nuts, cereals, milk and eggs. Always check the current pack labels before baking for anyone with an allergy.
FAQ
Are carrots keto?
In small amounts, yes. Raw carrots have about 7.7g carbohydrate per 100g in UK CoFID data, which is more than leafy greens or courgette, so a big bowl of carrots adds up quickly. This cake uses 100g of fresh carrot across 12 slices, which adds about 0.6g carbohydrate to each slice.
How many carbs are in keto carrot cake?
Each slice of this keto carrot cake has 3.1g net carbs, worked out as 15.1g carbohydrate minus 12.0g polyols from the erythritol in the cake mix and frosting. A slice is one twelfth of the cake, including the frosting and walnuts, and also has 230 kcal, 3.6g fibre and 6.0g protein.
How do I keep carrot cake moist without sugar?
Sugar holds on to water in an ordinary cake, so a keto version needs moisture from elsewhere. Use freshly grated carrot, melted butter and room-temperature eggs, take the cake out as soon as a skewer comes out clean, and keep it covered once it's frosted. The frosting also stops the top drying out.
Can you freeze keto carrot cake?
Yes. It freezes best before it's frosted: wrap the cold cake well, or freeze slices with baking paper between them, for up to 2 months. Defrost it at room temperature for 2 to 3 hours, then add the frosting. Frosted slices can be frozen too, although the frosting can turn slightly grainy once thawed.
Why is my cream cheese frosting runny?
It's usually because the cream cheese was a reduced-fat one, the liquid from the tub went in, or it was beaten too hard once the cheese was added. Use full-fat cream cheese, drain it, beat the butter and sweetener first and then mix in the cheese gently. If it's still soft, chill it for 20 minutes.
Can I make keto carrot cake cupcakes?
Yes. Line a 12-hole muffin tin with paper cases, divide the batter between them and bake for 18 to 22 minutes, as the cake mix pack suggests, adding a few minutes if the centres still look wet. Let them cool completely, then spread the frosting on top. The nutrition for each cupcake is the same as for one slice.
