Apr

14

By Heather ·  Print This Post

My gluten-free carrot cake turned out great again this year for Easter. Rave reviews from the whole family. I use Pamela’s Ultimate Baking and Pancake Mix, found online at Glutenfree.com and Amazon.com. I use Pamela’s recipe for carrot cake with slight variations to double the recipe.  The cake is moist even after being refrigerated overnight. I don’t use Pamela’s frosting recipe, but instead use a classic cream cheese frosting recipe (below) that is fabulous. Serves 16-20.

My Best Gluten-Free Carrot Cake & Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:

1 Cup oil
1-1/2 Cups sugar
3 Cups grated carrots
4-1/2 Cups Pamela’s Baking Mix
1 TBSP cinnamon
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp allspice, ground
1 tsp salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl, beat oil, eggs, and sugar together. Then mix in remaining ingredients. Batter will be thick.
3. Pour equal amounts of the batter into two greased 9-inch round cake pans. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30-35 minutes (switching pans halfway through baking). Cake is done when toothpick comes out clean.
4. Frost with cream cheese icing (recipe below).

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Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:

16 oz. cream cheese
1/2 Cup unsalted butter
2 Cups confectioners’ (powdered) sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Set out cream cheese and butter and let them soften at room temperature — about an hour.
2. In a medium bowl, beat together cream cheese and butter until creamy smooth. Then add the vanilla and beat until thoroughly combined.
3. Gradually mix in the sugar — about a 1/3 cup at a time — until it is creamy smooth.
4. Frost cake and store in the refrigerator.

Additional Notes:

• Reserve about 1/2 cup to a full cup of frosting for decorations. Place in the refrigerator until ready to decorate.
• Frost the top of one layer of cake, then place the other cake on top. Continue to frost the cake by covering the sides and top, so the cake no longer shows through the frosting.
• Take out the reserved frosting and add another cup of powdered sugar to it. This should make it thick enough to add decorations the cake.
• For carrot decorations: Take a small amount of frosting (less than 1/4 cup) and add food coloring to make it orange. If using liquid drops, try one red drop and four yellow drops for orange. Mix it until it no longer has streaks. Using a frosting bag and simple round tip (or a zip-style plastic bag with a cut corner), fill it with orange frosting and begin making carrots on the top of cake. I usually put 16 on it so it’s easy to arrange evenly.
• For green carrot tops and cake bottom edge: I usually use a frosting bag and leaf tip for making the leaves, and even decorating the bottom edge of the cake.
• Place the cake in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
• I usually bake and frost the cake the night before an event. It’s always moist for eating the next evening.

Notable Links:

• Celiac Family’s Chocolate Eggs in a Cookie Basket also make great dessert treats for the kids.
• Try Celiac Family’s carrot recipes for groups and small gatherings.
• For more carrot recipes from some gluten-free friends, visit The W.H.O.L.E. Gang for this week’s Friday Foodie Fix.