PALEO CARROT CAKE THAT WILL FOOL YOUR NON-PALEO FRIENDS. GUARANTEED.

By Lisa

Cakes, pastries, muffins, pies, brownies……Nom Nom! I am one of those people that can’t “cook,” but I can bake. I actually kind of like baking and did it a little bit pre-Paleo, but not as much as I do it now. I think that one of the reasons I’ve been able to live a year and a half in the “Paleo World,” with no more than a few non-Paleo cheats AND without ever really feeling deprived, is because I’ve discovered how to re-create my favorite treats in a Paleo-friendly manner. I have just about every Paleo Treat cookbook that was ever written (no lie) and I regularly go online to find new recipes to try. Don’t get me wrong: I don’t think that Paleo Treats are for every day, but I think the key to success in the Paleo lifestyle is to find ways to eat the foods you enjoy – IN MODERTATION. If your diet is all about restriction, you probably won’t live this way forever. I plan to live this way forever. I’ve also never been one for rules so it feels a little “naughty” to enjoy yummy baked creations that don’t give me “Rot Gut.” (Ha – I finally got to use the term “rot gut”).

A few weeks ago, I came across a Carrot Cake receipt on the Nikki’s Coconut Butter site. I had seen Nikki’s Flavored Coconut Butters in a number of Paleo Treat recipes, but never broke down and purchased any….until THE Carrot Cake Recipe. Carrot cake was one of my pre-Paleo favs (No raisins. Raisins should not be in baked goods. Yuck.) and I was so excited to see a Paleo-friendly version of it. I modified the posted recipe just a little bit and it turned out to be one of the most phenomenal cakes I have ever made – Paleo or not. The frosting is the best part; unfortunately, it does have cream cheese in it so it’s not 100% legal – but, don’t worry – I won’t tell on you:) The hardest part of this recipe is preventing yourself from not eating the entire pan in one sitting! No “faileo” here. Make this one and ENJOY!

Paleo Carrot Cake

Cake Ingredients

1 1/2 cups blanched almond flour

1/2 Tsp sea salt

1/2 Tsp baking soda

2 Tsp cinnamon

1/2 Tsp ground nutmeg

1/4 cup of unsweetened shredded coconut

3 large eggs

1/4 cups of Nikki’s Honey Pecan Pie Coconut Butter, warmed

3 Tbs plus 1 Tsp of melted coconut oil

1/4 cup raw honey

1 1/2 cups grated carrots

1/2 cups chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Grease an 8×8 baking pan with coconut oil.
3. In large bowl, combine almond flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and shredded coconut with wire whisk.
4. In a mixer bowl, mix together eggs, coconut oil, Nikki’s Coconut Butter and honey. Mix well.
5. Add carrots into wet ingredients and mix on low.
6. Mix wet ingredients into dry.
7. Spread batter into prepared baking pan and bake for 45 minutes. Start checking at 40 minutes. (Should be springy and soft, but not wet).
8. When cake is cooled, frost and decorate with nuts and a dusting of unsweetened shredded coconut.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients

1 stick of grass-fed butter, softened

1 block of the purest (meaning least amount of chemicals) cream cheese you can find, softened

1/4 cup raw honey

1/4 cup of Nikki’s Vanilla Cake Batter Coconut Butter, warmed

2 Tsp of pure vanilla extract

Directions

1. Mix together all ingredients.
2. Frosting will be velvety and there will be a lot of it.
3. Frost and decorate cooled cake. Refrigerate.
4. Enjoy!