Low Carb Carrot Cake

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    While I won't lie and say that I've been 100% perfect about not eating any flour-based or sugar-based products, I've pretty much steered clear of the carbs that used to fill our family's diet.  I literally have not made anything using sugar (even natural forms of sugar like organic maple syrup, honey, or evaporated cane juice sugar) or flour in our home for over three months now. 

    I'm not opposed to the natural, organic sweeteners like maple syrup, molasses, honey, agave, etc.  But they don't work for people who are pre-diabetic or diabetic, or for those who are needing to lose weight.

    Recently, my husband and I had our birthdays coming up.  They're two days apart - FUN! 

    I wanted to make a carrot cake, but it had to contain no sugar, and it had to be low carb.

    How about this one, in the photo?  Only 4 net grams of carbs per serving!  Wow.

    Here's the thing, though.  On the day our lovely daughter, Brittany, made this for us, I have to admit that the cake was a bit dry, and the frosting wasn't quite sweetened enough.  That's my fault; not Brittany's.  I checked the cake at 20 minutes, and it obviously wasn't finished baking...but at 30 minutes, it had baked a bit too long, I think.

    I forgot to check it at 25 minutes.  Yep, I do forget things sometimes.  ☺

    So, here's what I did to help make this cake taste dee-licious!  (And it did.)  I sprinkled about 1 teaspoon of erythritol on the top of the cream cheese icing, since it was too late to add any additional sweetener into the frosting.  I love the look of it - all sparkly and sugary looking.

    Then, I placed foil over the frosted cake and set it in the fridge for TWO days.  Yes, two more days.

    On Day 3, I took the cake over to my parents' house for dessert.  I was just sure it would be so much better this time - and it was! 

    It was moist and delicious, and the erythritol crystals had absorbed into the frosting and made it have that hint of sweetness that we former sugar-a-holics just really enJOY.  ☺  Here's the recipe for low-carb carrot cake.  Just make sure to let it set for 2-3 days in the refrigerator before serving.

Note:  while after three days in the refrigerator, this is decent, it isn't our most favorite no-sugar dessert.  But we'll keep trying to find a really good low carb carrot cake!

Low carb, sugar-free, gluten-free Carrot Cake

3 cups almond meal
1 cup flax meal
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ginger
1/4 tsp. nutmeg (powdered)

1/4 tsp. Stevia Extract Powder
4 tsp. vanilla
4 eggs
3 Tbsp. oil
1/2 cup sour cream
8 oz. shredded carrots
1/4 cup half-n-half
1/2 to 1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)

    Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9" x 13" metal baking pan. Combine and stir together all of the dry ingredients, except nuts. Mix together all of the wet ingredients in a separate bowl. Gently stir together dry and wet ingredients and pour into greased pan. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until just done.  After carrot cake cools, whip up and spread this frosting on top:

Cream Cheese Frosting

12 oz. "1/3-less-fat" cream cheese
1/2 cup extra virgin coconut oil
1/2 cup butter, softened
2-3 Tbsp. cream or half-n-half to thin frosting
1 tsp. vanilla or almond extract
***Stevia Extract Powder to taste (think several sprinkles or shakes)

***If you prefer to combine sweeteners, you may want to add less stevia extract powder and add in some erythritol and/or xylitol.

Beat all ingredients together and spread over top of cooled cake. Sprinkle optional chopped nuts on top, if desired.  Store in refrigerator.

Curious about some of the foods and products I place into my shopping cart each week using Trim Healthy Mama?  Check out my pictorial Trim Healthy Mama Grocery Shopping List!

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