Looking for a sweet spring-inspired treat? This rich and savoury low FODMAP carrot cake will be the star of your dessert table!
I’m a huge fan of carrot cake! So I was super excited to share it with the fam this Easter. But, with everything going on right now, we’ve decided to postpone our family extravaganza to the summer. Just to be safe.
But that didn’t stop my cravings for this classic Easter treat! So I made it anyway, and my mother-in-law and I spent a luxurious week eating it together! 😛
So if you’re bummed you’ll miss out on your favourite Easter treats, my advice is to make them anyway! But maybe not all at once… your tummy will thank you!
Keep it FODMAP friendly
This recipe has a ton of ingredients, but there are only a few things you need to know about. Check out the notes below for tips on keeping this recipe FODMAP friendly.
First, if you’re in the elimination phase of the program, you’ll need to use gluten-free flour. Heads up, not all gluten-free flours are low FODMAP, so you’ll still need to check the label for other high FODMAP ingredients like amaranth flour, almond flour, coconut flour, etc.
For my Canadian peeps, I’m obsessed with PC’s gluten-free flour. I like it because it’s used cup for cup and so far all of my baking projects have come out nice and fluffy!
Remember, unless you have celiac disease, you’re avoiding the FODMAP fructan in wheat, not gluten itself.
We’ll also be using walnuts. According to Monash University, walnuts are low FODMAP in servings of 10 nut halves (30 g) per sitting. Servings of 35 nut halves (135 g) or more are high in the FODMAP fructan.
Our recipe calls for 1 cup of walnuts, which works out to 12.5 g per serving. This is well within Monash’s recommended range.
Side note: Use walnut halves to measure and then crush them with a rolling pin to make sure you have the right measurement. If you only have crushed walnuts on hand, you’ll need to weigh them to make sure you have 125 g total, or you may end up with too many.
Next up, cream cheese. If you’re in the elimination phase, you’ll need to use lactose-free cream cheese. This won’t add anything to your FODMAP load.
Last but not least, lemon juice. According to the Monash app, lemon juice is low FODMAP in servings of 1/2 a cup (125 g) per sitting. Servings of 3/4 of a cup (187 g) or more are high in the FODMAP fructan.
We’re only using 1 tbsp for this recipe. So this won’t add anything notable to your FODMAP load.
FODMAP math
This rich and savoury low FODMAP carrot cake will be a family favourite in no time! Check out the notes below to see how many servings of each FODMAP group are in 1 slice of this carrot cake (1/10 of cake)
Fructose = 0
Lactose = 0
Fructans = 0.3
GOS = 0
Polyol = 0
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Low FODMAP Carrot Cake
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 10 Slices 1x
Description
Looking for a spring-inspired sweet treat? This low FODMAP carrot cake will knock your socks off!
Ingredients
(carrot cake)
- 1 + 1/2 cups light brown sugar
- 3/4 cups vegetable oil
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp nutmeg
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 orange, zested
- 4 eggs
- 2 cups low FODMAP all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 3 lg carrots, peeled and grated
- 1 cup walnuts, crushed
(lemon frosting)
- 8 oz lactose-free cream cheese, room temperature
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 4 cups icing sugar
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Instructions
(carrot cake)
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray two 9″ cake pans with cooking spray.
- Cream the sugar and oil together with an electric mixer on medium speed. Then add the cinnamon, nugmeg, salt, vanilla and orange zest and mix again to combine.
- Mix in your eggs, one at a time, followed by the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and carrots. Mix together with a wooden spoon until there are no more pockets of flour. Then add the walnuts and give it a gentle stir (don’t overmix your batter!).
- Divide the batter evenly between the two pans and smooth out the tops with the back of your spoon or by tapping the trays gently on your counter. Bake your cakes for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with only a few crumbs. Cool the cakes in the pans for 10 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
(lemon frosting)
- Combine the cream cheese and butter together with your electric mixer on medium speed until the mixture becomes light and fluffy (about 2-3 minutes).
- Add the icing sugar and mix on low until it has been fully incorporated into the frosting.
- Add the lemon juice and vanilla and beat until the mixture looks like frosting.
- Place one of the cakes on a cake stand or serving plate and cover with 1/2 the frosting. Spread the icing out to the edge and place the second cake on top and cover the top with the remaining icing. (Heads up -This is a naked cake, so we’re leaving the sides… neked)!
Notes
Recommended low FODMAP serving – 1/10 of cake per sitting
This cake can be made and frosted the day before serving (whaaat!)
- Prep Time: 20
- Cook Time: 30
- Category: dessert
- Method: baking
- Cuisine: american
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/10 of cake
- Calories: 814
- Sugar: 78 g
- Sodium: 493 mg
- Fat: 44 g
- Saturated Fat: 14 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 24 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 100 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 8 g
- Cholesterol: 127 mg
Keywords: low FODMAP carrot cake, gluten-free carrot cake, carrot cake, low FODMAP carrot cake with cream cheese frosting
You might also like one of these:
- Low FODMAP Lemon Cake Looking for a light and fluffy dessert? Made with fresh lemon zest and covered in a light buttercream frosting, this low FODMAP lemon cake will put a bounce in your step this spring!
- Low FODMAP Lemon Poppy Seed Cookies Wake up your tastebuds with these easy low FODMAP lemon poppy seed cookies! Light and fluffy, with a hint of citrus, these cookies are the perfect dessert to celebrate the arrival of spring!
- Low FODMAP Salted Caramel Cupcakes Ready for a dessert that’s dressed to impressed? With the perfect blend of sweet and salty, these easy low FODMAP salted caramel cupcakes will rock your socks!
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