This blogpost contains affiliate links. Read more about what affiliate links are and why I use them.
Low FODMAP Carrot cake with cream cheese frosting
I wanted to create a carrot cake recipe that is easy to take with you. The recipe for carrot cake layer cake that you already can find on my blog is a large layer cake with 3 layers and with frosting all around.
And even though such a cake looks stunning and is perfect for a birthday party, it is not easy to take somewhere. This gluten-free carrot cake loaf cake with cream cheese frosting is!
This cake can be easily moved in a cake tin or cake carrier. Great for when you want to gift this cake to somebody, have baked it for a birthday party somewhere else or want to share it with your colleagues at work.
The carrot cake is spicy and moist with a fresh cream cheese frosting. If you ask me, carrot cake is one of the best cakes there is!
Every time I bake it, the entire cake is gone in no-time. Everybody loves it, also people who don’t have to eat low FODMAP or gluten-free.
Frequently asked questions
How long can you store this low FODMAP carrot cake?
The carrot cake with frosting will stay good in the fridge for 4-5 days.
Can you freeze this carrot cake?
Yes, you can freeze the carrot cake, but I would recommend freezing it without frosting. So freeze the cake before you apply any frosting.
Wrap the cake airtight, then it will stay good for about 3 months in the freezer.
How does carrot cake taste?
Carrot cake is a spiced cake, the added cinnamon and nutmeg gives the cake a yummy spiced flavour. The carrot and sugar make the cake sweet.
So you can best describe carrot cake as a sweet spiced cake. The cream cheese frosting gives the cake a fresh touch.
How do you know when the carrot cake is done?
You can test if the carrot cake is done with a tooth pick. Stick the tooth pick into the cake a few minutes before the end of the baking time. If the tooth pick comes out clean, the cake is done.
The baking time of the cake can differ per oven. Some ovens bake quicker than others. Therefore it is good to keep an eye on your carrot cake while it is baking and check now and then how it is going.
Can I replace the gluten-free flour mix used in this recipe with another kind of gluten-free flour?
I advise to only replace the gluten-free flour mix with a flour mix that contains similar ingredients. I use Schär Mix It Universal and this mix mainly consists of rice flour and potato starch.
A mix with similar ingredients is for example Doves Farm plain white flour. You can also make a similar mix yourself.
You can’t use flour with very different ingredients or flour that has different properties. Such as almond flour and coconut flour.
Those kind of flours can sometimes be used as an add-in to a recipe, but can not replace the main flour in the recipe.
If you want to make a cake with a base of almond flour or coconut flour, you will have to create a completely different recipe to make it work.
What is a low FODMAP serving of this cake?
Sugar and fat are IBS triggers. That means that you can get symptoms if you eat a large amount of sugar or fat.
Because this low FODMAP carrot cake contains quite some sugar and fat, I advise to eat a maximum of 1 slice per serving. One slice is a low FODMAP serving.
If you add raisins to the cake, keep in mind that raisins are low FODMAP up to 13 gram per serving. If you stick to the serving size of 1 slice per serving, you will stay within the safe amount of raisins.
Is this carrot cake lactose-free?
This recipe contains butter and therefore the carrot cake is not completely lactose-free. But because of the production process, butter hardly contains any lactose.
Therefore most people with a lactose intolerance should be able to tolerate a little bit of butter. For that reason, Monash University has tested butter to be FODMAP friendly.
This carrot cake also contains cream cheese, but I have used a lactose-free cream cheese. This carrot cake is therefore low in lactose, but not 100% lactose-free.
If you want to make the carrot cake lactose-free, you can replace the butter with margarine. Make sure you pick a low FODMAP margarine.
More carrot cake?
Do you love carrot cake as much as I do? Then also give these recipes with carrot cake “flavour” a try!
Low FODMAP Carrot Cake with cream cheese frosting
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 min
- Servings: 10 1x
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
A delicious low FODMAP carrot cake with cream cheese. A thick layer of frosting with a spicy cake. Gluten-free and with lactose-free option
Ingredients
For the cake
- 175 g (1 cup) light brown Sugar
- 175 ml (3/4 cup) sunflower oil
- 3 eggs
- 140 g (1 3/4 cups) grated carrots
- 175 g (1 1/3 cup) gluten-free flour (I use Mix It Universal from Schär)
- 10 g (2 tsp) baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- A pinch of salt
- Optional: 50 g (1/2 cup) chopped walnuts or pecans
- Optional: 75 g raisins (1/2 cup) (put 10 min into warm water, drain
For the topping
- 200 g (7 oz) lactose-free cream cheese
- 250 g (2 cups) icing sugar
- 70 g (1/3 cup) butter or margarine
- Optional: chopped walnuts or pecans for decoration
- A 25 cm cake loaf tin (10 inch)
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350F). Line a 25 cm (10 inch) loaf tin with baking parchment and grease the sides.
- Put the sugar into a bowl together with the 3 eggs and the oil and mix them together.
- Stir in the grated carrots and the raisins
- Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, the spices and the salt and mix until well combined. It should be a fairly runny mixture.
- Pour the mixture into the tin and bake for about 55 minutes until the cake is firm and springs back when you press it. If the cake gets dark too quickly while baking, you can cover it with some aluminium foil. Check the cake regularly while baking. The cake is done when a toothpick comes out clean.
- Leave the cake to cool in the tin for a while and then remove the tin. Make sure the cake has completely cooled down before you apply the icing.
- To make the icing mix the butter and the cream cheese together. Then add the icing sugar little by little and mix it until you have a fluffy frosting.
- Spread the frosting over the top of the cake with the back of a spoon or spatula and decorate the top with walnut or pecan halves.
- Put the cake in the fridge for the frosting to set.
Notes
Sugar is an IBS trigger. Because this cake contains quite some sugar, I advise to eat a maximum of one slice of cake (1/10th of the cake per serving).
Raisins are limited low FODMAP: 13 gram per serving is low FODMAP. If you stick to the recommended serving size of 1 slice (1/10th) of the cake per serving, you stay within the safe limits for raisins.
- Prep Time: 15 min
- Cook Time: 55 min
- Category: Cake
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Together we go for a calm belly!
Subscribe to the Karlijn's Kitchen e-mail newsletter for more tips and recipes and receive the ebook 10 things I wish I had known when I started the FODMAP diet for free!
Will you let me know if you have made this recipe? I would love it if you would let me know what you think about the recipe by leaving a comment and rating below. You can also share your creations with me by tagging me on Instagram @karlijnskitchen or by using the hashtag #karlijnskitchen
19 Comments
Easy to follow recipe and great-tasting cake – absolutely love it!
I am happy to hear that 🙂
Made this cake today and wow !! Absolutely phenomenal. I only had to bake for half an hour as my oven seems to be extreme in temp but it is genuinely the most moist and flavourful carrot cake I’ve ever had. can not wait to make this many times in the future
So happy to hear that! 🙂
I used coconut oil (instead of sunflower oil) and almond flour (instead of gluten free flour) and it was waaaaay too oily. So if your substituting just be aware. I would have put in maybe 1/4 cup oil or less. But it tasted great!
Unfortunately, you cannot just substitute gluten-free flour for almond flour. Almond flour contains a lot of fat (because it is made of almonds) and therefore it reacts different than normal flour. It makes the cake a lot more oily. But I am glad it tasted good anyway!
What are other oil substitutes if I do not have sunflower oil?
You could use canola oil or olive oil.
I made this cake yesterday (June 2020) It was easy to make and turned out perfectly. My son and daughter-in-law and 2 children ate the lot …and loved it. A perfect recipe and I ( who have IBS) ate one slice and wondered about the raisins ..but seem OK.
FANTASTIC. Thankyou for all the lovely recipes. ?
Good to hear that! 🙂 13 g raisins per serving are low FODMAP
I love this recipe and will use this often, but I did have a severe bloating attack after eating it. My partner was happy eating the rest of the cake. I baked a new one without raisins and that was fine. I guess I am super sensitive to dried fruits.
Was it sweet enough without raisins?
Hi,
does is ask for plain flour or self-raising flour?
Thank you!
If it is self-raising flour I always mention that, so I use plain flour here 🙂
is it possible to use oat flour instead of the one you listed?
This might change the structure of the bake a bit. But you could give it a try. I haven’t tested it though
Loved the cake so so much!! What is the shelf life of the cake without frosting? Ps. I made the cake with 20% less sugar and is still sweet and perfect!
That is great to hear! You can store it for about 3-4 days. The cake also freezes well.
Any idea how long it would take to bake if I made them into muffins instead?