Unlike the American version, Italian carrot cake is light and fluffy. It’s made with a mix of wheat and almond flour – which gives it a beautiful moist crumb – and is lightly flavored with orange zest. This delicious cake needs no more than a light dusting of powdered sugar on top to complete its perfection!
On the Ingredients
- Carrots are a type of root vegetable that was cultivated from the wild carrots of Europe and Southwestern Asia. They’re usually bright orange, but heirloom varieties may be red, purple, black, white, or yellow. Carrots are known for being high in beta carotene, which gives them their color and has excellent health benefits. But other pigment compounds are found in carrots like alpha-carotene, lutein (great for eyes), lycopene (antioxidant), polyacetylenes (may have anti-cancer properties), and anthocyanins (antioxidant). On top of that, carrots are a high-water-content vegetable that is low on the glycemic index, low in calories, and high in fiber. (Read more about carrots.)
Recipe Notes and Substitutions
You can replace the all-purpose flour with a 1:1 ratio of gluten-free flour mix from Bob’s Red Mill.
Italian Orange & Carrot Cake
8
servings30
minutes1
hour30
minutes2
hoursUnlike the American version, Italian carrot cake is light and fluffy. It's made with a mix of wheat and almond flour - which gives it a beautiful moist crumb - and is lightly flavored with orange zest. This delicious cake needs no more than a light dusting of powdered sugar on top to complete its perfection!
Ingredients
3 cups grated carrots (about 5-7 small carrots or 4-5 large)
2 cups almond flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup brown sugar OR monk fruit sweetener
4 eggs (room temperature)
1/3 cup neutral oil
zest and juice of 1 orange
1 tsp vanilla extract
powdered sugar OR powdered Swerve for dusting
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease an 8" or similarly sized springform pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.
- Whisk together the almond flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt.
- In another bowl, beat the egg and sugar for 2 minutes. Slowly add the oil while beating and beat for another minute. Add the zest, juice, and vanilla extract.
- Fold in the dry ingredients until lumpy (don't over mix) then fold in the grated carrots until just incorporated.
- Pour the batter into the springform pan. Bake for 80-90 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven and cool for 10 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of the cake, then remove the springform. Let the cake cool completely and dust with powdered sugar. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- Nutritional Info Per serving (approx. 8 serving)
Unmodified recipe:
410 Calories
10g Protein
25g Total Fat
38g Carbs
Recipe with sugar substitute:
358 Calories
10g Protein
25g Total Fat
24g Carbs
