Gluten Free Carrot Coffee Cake
Carrot cake meets coffee cake in this delicious gluten free carrot cake recipe. Soft carrot cake, warming spices, and a crunchy crumb topping make this the ultimate spring brunch bake. Plus, it's fully dairy free and refined sugar free!
Servings 9 servings
Ingredients
Crumb Topping
- ½ cup 1:1 gluten free flour
- ½ cup tigernut flour* or almond flour
- 3 tablespoon coconut sugar
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 tablespoon maple syrup
- 3 tablespoon melted coconut oil or butter
Carrot Cake
- 1 ½ cups 1:1 gluten free flour
- ½ cup tigernut flour or almond flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup coconut sugar
- ⅓ cup olive oil**
- ½ cup applesauce
- 2 tablespoon orange juice*** or dairy free milk
- ¼ teaspoon orange zest optional (will provide an obvious orange flavor)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups shredded carrots
- ½-1 cup Optional add ins (raisins, nuts, pineapple)
Cinnamon Sugar Swirl (Optional)
- 2 tablespoon coconut sugar
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
Glaze (optional)
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2+ teaspoon dairy free milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F and line an 8x8 inch baking dish with parchment paper.
- Mix all the ingredients for the crumble together until it has a wet sand texture and holds together. Set aside
- Whisk together the dry ingredients for the carrot cake in a medium bowl.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat together the wet ingredients, except the carrots.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix until just combined and a few streaks of flour remain. Fold in the carrots and any add ins.
- If adding the cinnamon-sugar swirl, pour half the batter into the prepared baking dish then sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over top. Evenly spread the remaining batter over top then use a knife to gently swirl in the cinnamon-sugar. Alternatively, spread all of the batter evenly into the prepared baking dish.
- Evenly crumble the streusel topping over the cake.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out with a few crumbs and the top is golden brown.
- Cool on a wire rack before icing.
- If icing, mix together the powdered sugar with milk until you have a smooth icing. Add more milk as needed.
Notes
*See variations in post above for details, but you can sub out the tigernut/almond flour for nuts.
**Melted butter or coconut oil works, but results in a denser cake.
***The orange juice and zest bring zing and enhanced flavor to this cake, but do provide an obvious orange flavor. Leave out and use milk instead if you don't want orange.