White Chocolate Carrot Cake (Gluten-Free)

How does White Chocolate Carrot Cake sound to you? Easy to make and totally delicious, this is the perfect dessert for Easter Sunday or any time of the year! 

With Easter coming up I wanted to find a really fun treat, a dessert to make your whole family drool at the sight! Today’s White Chocolate Carrot Cake totally fits the bill and I love the humor in serving a carrot cake for your Easter Bunny supper.

I made ours in a 9×13-inch pan (so much easier to transport to family dinner) but for a more dramatic presentation you can make this in two round cake pans. Carrot layer cakes are served with frosting between the round layers and on the top, but leave the sides uncovered. Set on a pedestal, this beauty is a joy to behold. If you are making a layer cake, use two 9-inch round pans lined with parchment. I would double the frosting ingredients to be sure you have enough.

You could also use a very well buttered large bundt pan for an easy sculpted dessert. If you have leftover batter, you can bake a small additional cake in a separate well buttered au gratin dish or small round cake pan. Watch the timing, smaller dishes cook more quickly!

I love that this recipe uses vegetable oil and applesauce to replace the traditional butter in the recipe. This makes for a very moist and tender cake and is a great trick if you are trying to reduce your saturated fat intake. The shredded carrots also add moisture, so get ready for one awesome cake!

And speaking of carrots, this is the time to break out the food processor and shredding disc if you have one. Trim the carrots and peel, then cut them in half crosswise. This gives you pieces you can stand up in the tube of your processor, making it even faster. Press down on the pusher while you hold down the pulse button and your carrots will be shredded in seconds!

I made changes to the original recipe to convert it to gluten-free and added white chocolate – who doesn’t love discovering bites of luscious white chocolate in every bite of their dessert! Subbing brown sugar for part of the granulated sugar adds beautiful caramel overtones, and using mascarpone for a portion of the cream cheese in the frosting lightens it and makes it The Artist’s favorite frosting.

Another thing The Artist is passionate about is cardamom, so finding ways to include it in my sweet and savory recipes always tickles him. This may seem like a ton of changes, but you can see how easy it can be to take a great recipe and make it your own!

I hope you enjoy this White Chocolate Carrot Cake and consider making it for your Easter celebrations. Happy Chocolate Monday everyone! 

If you try this recipe, let me know! Leave a star rating in the recipe card, comment and don’t forget to snap a pic and tag it @theheritagecook on Instagram! Seeing your creations makes my day. I love hearing from you!

Key Ingredients for White Chocolate Carrot Cake:

• Flour, ground nuts, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger,
• Cardamom, mace, sugar, brown sugar, eggs, oil,
• Applesauce, White chocolate chips, carrots, coconut (if using)
• mascarpone cheese, cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla

 

PRO Tip:

Because of the moisture and amount of sugar in the batter, this cake stuck pretty badly to my pan even with butter and a nonstick surface! This time I lined the pan with parchment and buttered that to help as well. It released much more easily.

 

PRO Tip:

Practice baking is always a good idea if you are making something for the first time to serve at a party or holiday meal. Work out the kinks first and then you can relax on the big day! This cake can be made a day ahead, but wait to frost it until the day you are serving it. It will save you time and hassle on party day.

 

How to make White Chocolate Carrot Cake:

1. Whisk the dry ingredients together
2. Mix the sugars, eggs, oil, and applesauce; slowly add the dry ingredients, mixing until just combined
3. Stir in the white chocolate, carrots, and coconut (if using). Scrape the bowl and beater
4. Bake in preheated 350°F (177°C) oven for 45 to 60 minutes; cool completely
5. Beat the mascarpone and cream cheese until smooth; slowly add the powdered sugar then the vanilla, beating until light and fluffy
6. Frost the cooled cake, refrigerate about 20 minutes to firm up the frosting a bit, cut and serve

 

PRO Tip:

If you want to include coconut but have people in your crowd that don’t care for it, you can pulse it in a food processor to break up the strips into little bits that are not as chewy. You’ll get the flavor without annoying others.

 

PRO Tip:

Have you heard of mascarpone (mass-car-poh-nay)? It is Italian cream cheese. It is naturally softer and milder than traditional cream cheese and I think it lightens the frosting in a very pleasing way.

 

PRO Tip:

If you aren’t using vanilla paste, look for it – it is one of my secret weapons in baking (King Arthur Flour sells it online). It is vanilla and the seeds of a vanilla bean (caviar) suspended in a sweetened gel. It is thicker than regular vanilla extract with a stronger flavor. I love the little specks of black visible in the frosting, a sign of deliciousness!

 

Recommended Tools (affiliate links; no extra cost to you):

• Kitchen scale
• Food processor or box grater (for the carrots)
• Chef’s knife or food processor (for the nuts)
• Stand mixer or hand mixer
• Off-set spatula

 

Gluten-Free Tips:

*You can adjust any baking recipe to gluten-free by using 120 grams per cup of my favorite gluten-free flour blend. If you are using another brand of gluten-free flour, whisk the mix, spoon it lightly into a measuring cup until mounded, level off the top with the back of a knife, and weigh the flour left in the cup. Use that weight as your standard per cup of that specific flour. Do this for each flour blend you use. Commercial blends such as Pamela’s All-Purpose Artisan Blend, Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1, or King Arthur Measure for Measure are all good choices.

Optionally, if it is safe for your friends and family, using almond or hazelnut meal or other ground nuts for a portion of the total flour amount (usually 1/2 to 1 cup) will give you more flavor and texture that is a little reminiscent of wheat flour. It is a secret weapon in gluten-free baking!

If your gluten-free flour blend already contains xanthan or guar gum, do not add the xanthan in the recipe.

All recommended ingredients are gluten-free as of the writing of this article. Always check to be sure the products haven’t changed and are still safe to consume.

 

 

 

Create a New Tradition Today!

 

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Welcome! The suggestions here are not intended as dietary advice or as a substitute for consulting a dietician, physician, or other medical professional. Please see the Disclaimers/Privacy Policy page for additional details. Unauthorized use, distribution, and/or duplication of proprietary material from The Heritage Cook without prior approval is prohibited. If you have any questions or would like permission, please contact me. We participate in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. As an Amazon Associate, I earn a small amount from qualifying purchases without any additional cost to you. This page may contain affiliate links. This post was first shared in March 2016. The article was updated in 2024.