Paleo Sweet Potato Carrot Cake


Paleo Sweet Potato Carrot Cake

Paleo carrot cake made with sweet potatoes instead of flour. 159 calorie gluten free carrot cake. This cake is so delicious you won’t even know it’s healthy! Whipped lemon frosting is also made from sweet potatoes!

Paleo carrot cake made with sweet potatoes instead of flour. 159 calorie gluten free carrot cake. This cake is so delicious you won't even know it's healthy! Whipped lemon frosting is also made from sweet potatoes! #paleo #baking #cake #recipes #dessert

Ohhhhh, all the carrot cake.

You don’t even know what kind of yumminess you are in for.

The light and fluffy carrot cake with pockets of juicy raisins and all that whipped lemon frosting is not only great for celebrations, but it’s a reason to celebrate! ๐Ÿ™‚

It’s no secret that I love baking with sweet potatoes instead of flour.

So, when carrot cake season came around, it was time to make a cake that was not only healthy, but also, you know- really really delicious. ๐Ÿ™‚

I fed this to my non-paleo people and they all went crazy for it, so I think it’s safe to share here?

Paleo carrot cake made with sweet potatoes instead of flour. 159 calorie gluten free carrot cake. This cake is so delicious you won't even know it's healthy! Whipped lemon frosting is also made from sweet potatoes! #paleo #baking #cake #recipes #dessert
The list of paleo carrot cake excuses by kaylie

This week has been jam packed!

Aside from getting back from a family reunion out of state, it just seems like work keeps piling up around me, a.k.a trying to swallow me.

But it won’t!

I just need a few days to get back into the groove of things and GET IT DONE.

All of that is a good excuse for more carrot cake, am I right?

In fact, I’ll pretty much use any excuse for more carrot cake in my life.

I’m just a basic fan of the stuff.

Paleo carrot cake made with sweet potatoes instead of flour. 159 calorie gluten free carrot cake. This cake is so delicious you won't even know it's healthy! Whipped lemon frosting is also made from sweet potatoes! #paleo #baking #cake #recipes #dessert

Was I the only kid who used to despise and shudder at the thought of carrots in my cake?

Like, that was health food; serve it to mom my, because I am here for chocolate.

Before even attempting carrot cake, I would go for all the other cakes laid out on the table when there was a celebration… or just a reason to eat cake.

I would eye the chocolate or vanilla waaaay before the carrot cake.

Desperate times call for desperate measures though, and sometimes there was no other option.

So, I would have to resort to carrot cake, which my seven year old self was less than thrilled about.

The crunchy pecans and the thought of veggies in my cake was just about as appalling to as trying to mix my foods at the dinner table.

I remember trying it once out of sheer necessity for cake…

And I didn’t eat another bite of carrot cake for a very very very long time.

Paleo carrot cake made with sweet potatoes instead of flour. 159 calorie gluten free carrot cake. This cake is so delicious you won't even know it's healthy! Whipped lemon frosting is also made from sweet potatoes! #paleo #baking #cake #recipes #dessert
current carrot cake status:

Flash forward years later, and I’m advocating for carrot cake, because I can’t get enough of this good stuff!

The reasons I hated carrot cake back as an anti-veggie-pecan-cake-lover seven year old are the exact same reasons why I fell in love with it years later.

Come on, the crunchy pecans and veggies in cake, who doesn’t love that???

I might of been crazy then, but now I think I have made up for it.

P.S. this is the baking dish I used in this recipe.ย 

Paleo carrot cake made with sweet potatoes instead of flour. 159 calorie gluten free carrot cake. This cake is so delicious you won't even know it's healthy! Whipped lemon frosting is also made from sweet potatoes! #paleo #baking #cake #recipes #dessert
Print Recipe
Paleo Sweet Potato Carrot Cake
Paleo carrot cake made with sweet potatoes instead of flour. 159 calorie gluten free carrot cake. This cake is so delicious you won't even know it's healthy! Whipped lemon frosting is also made from sweet potatoes!
Ingredients
Cake
Frosting
Info
Cook Time 70 minutes
Prep Time 15 minutes
Servings
servings
Course Dessert
Votes: 121
Rating: 3.56
You:
Rate this recipe!
Info
Cook Time 70 minutes
Prep Time 15 minutes
Servings
servings
Course Dessert
Votes: 121
Rating: 3.56
You:
Rate this recipe!
Ingredients
Cake
Frosting
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line the bottom of a 8" square baking dish with parchment paper.
  2. In a food processor, mince sweet potato until it reaches a fine rice-like consistency. Then add rest of ingredients (except raisins and carrot). Blend for about 1 minute until smooth. Then stir in grated carrot and raisins.
  3. Pour batter into 8" square cake pan lined with parchment paper and bake on 350F for about 70 minutes until golden on top. You will know it is finished cooking when a knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
  4. Peel and cut sweet potato for the frosting. Place in a small saucepan with about 1-2" water and cover with a lid. Steam for about 5-10 minutes until soft when poked with a fork.
  5. Add steamed sweet potato and rest of ingredients for frosting to food processor and puree for 3-5 minutes until completely smooth. Optional: after pureed, press frosting through a strainer to remove any lumps of remaining lemon zest flakes for a totally smooth result. Chill frosting in freezer in a large metal bowl for about 15+ minutes or until it reaches buttercream frosting consistency and is cooled down.
  6. Frost cake as desired and top with chopped pecans (optional, but delicious).
Nutrition Facts
Paleo Sweet Potato Carrot Cake
Amount Per Serving
Calories 159 Calories from Fat 72
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 8g 12%
Saturated Fat 6g 30%
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.2g
Monounsaturated Fat 1g
Cholesterol 29mg 10%
Sodium 137mg 6%
Potassium 56mg 2%
Total Carbohydrates 21g 7%
Dietary Fiber 2g 8%
Sugars 13g
Protein 2g 4%
Vitamin A 48%
Vitamin C 3%
Calcium 2%
Iron 3%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Paleo carrot cake made with sweet potatoes instead of flour. 159 calorie gluten free carrot cake. This cake is so delicious you won't even know it's healthy! Whipped lemon frosting is also made from sweet potatoes! #paleo #baking #cake #recipes #dessert

84Comments

Add yours
  1. 5
    Dianna

    Followed the recipe to a โ€œtโ€ and found that the cake was not fully cooked through even through the top was very crispy. Had to put back into the oven for some more time. Next time, will increase heat to 375 F and bake for 70mins and possibly add more flour as it had a very โ€œwetโ€ consistency.
    *great flavour

  2. 8
    M. Ho

    Hi Kaylie Loving the list of ingredients you have for this cake. Yet a little dubious in the selection of a “medium sized sweet potato”. Reason for this is due to personal experience. I live in Australia but have family in Hong Kong & China, as thus have experienced that sizing is relative to the country’s set standards. That is, what’s deemed as small in Australia (ie under 200gm) is interpreted as mini in HK &China. Whereas 200-600gm is average or medium in Australia but not so for my oversea relatives. So about how much weight would you consider a medium sweet potato suited for this recipe?

  3. 10
    Em Ho

    Hi Kaylie Loving the list of ingredients you have for this cake. Yet a little dubious in the selection of a “medium sized sweet potato”. Reason for this is due to personal experience. I live in Australia but have family in Hong Kong & China, as thus have experienced that sizing is relative to the country’s set standards. That is, what’s deemed as small in Australia (ie under 200gm) is interpreted as mini in HK &China. Whereas 200-600gm is average or medium in Australia but not so for my oversea relatives. So about how much weight would you consider a medium sweet potato suited for this recipe?

  4. 12
    Anja

    This recipe looks amazing and exactly what i was looking for! But when i see the ingredients listed like this – ‘medium size sweet potatoe’, half a cup of anything etc, i feel so exasperated. I know that these measurements might produce just about any consistency, just about any taste… meaning, i have to do the cake once to figure out what is wrong that i am doing so that i can correct it for the next time. It would sooooo good of you if there were any scale measurements provided… thanks in andvance!

  5. 14
    Alicia

    Is there anything I could use instead of the white sweet potato as the base of the frosting? I live in a rural area where white sweet potatoes are never to be found!

  6. 22
    Abby

    This recipe looks great!! However, Iโ€™m allergic to eggs so I was wondering if you had any recommendations for a good substitute. Thank you!!

    • 24
      Dina

      Hey Kaylie! Looks so delicious. Thank you for your inspiration and generous recipes. I’m so excited at the possibility. Did you try it without eggs by chance? I’m in the same boat as Abby and wondered if you had any feedback about it by chance? Also can this be frozen for a later date? Or if you have a different recipe to recommend that I could use flax eggs for perhaps?
      Thank you so much!!

  7. 26
    Sarah Williams

    Just finished baking! So so good! I subbed arrowroot flour for tapioca flour and it turned out perfect. I didnโ€™t make the frosting because I couldnโ€™t find white sweet potatoes. I just topped it with whipped coconut cream instead. Although my 5 year old and I like it just fine without any frosting at all! It does have a great โ€œspicyโ€ hint from the ginger. Next time I may cut back just a touch on the ginger to tone it down.

  8. 29
    Cindy

    Completely hit it out of the park! I just made the cake last night and served it at my kidsโ€™ birthday party this afternoon, and all 6 adults and 6 kids LOVED it and wanted seconds. I made it with half the sweeteners (2 tbsp honey in the cake and 2 tbsp maple syrup in the icing), and it was spot-on perfect! This will be made MANY more times! Thank you so much! -Cindy

  9. 34
    Jo

    Could I use a different flour to coconut flour ? I was thinking maybe almond flour and reduce the amount of liquid ..thank you x

  10. 38
    Jess

    This was a huge hit even with the โ€œfat kid Fridayโ€ crew at work who are always skeptical of my creations. Omitted the vanilla and subbed unsweetened applesauce for the oil in the cake, and subbed unsweetened shredded coconut for the oil and regular sweet potato for the white in the frosting and it was phenomenal. Thanks so much for the recipe!

  11. 40
    Georgia K

    I cannot believe how good this cake turned out!!!!! I followed the recipe exactly as given. I had to bake it a bit more than 70 minutes. You can’t even tell it’s so clean, tastes like regular carrot cake. Thank you so much!

  12. 42
    Gail Kirkland

    My son and I made this on Christmas Day. I was skeptical this would be a winner, especially with the sweet potato topping, but WOW!! Did you prove me wrong!
    It was definitely one of the best cakes weโ€™ve made, and eaten.. So moist and just enough sweetness. Thanks for the recipe.

  13. 50
    Mary Ann Parrish

    OMG!!! My daughter made this cake for the family….it s beyond delicious!!!! My mother was from the South, so the tradition of baking sweet potato pies was instilled. But this cake is better than the buns from Cinnabon and now my daughter has to make one every week…LoL!!!!

  14. 52
    Kim

    Hi! I noticed you said to steam your potatoes IN the water. Where we live, we call this cooking method boiling whereas steaming would not have the potato immersed in water. It does change the consistency of the potato to boil vs. steam. With the increased water content in a boiled potato, I’m wondering if it matters for this recipe. Do we immerse the potato in the water or steam it above the water? Could you clarify this for me? Thank you so much!

    • 53
      Kaylie

      Hi Kim, I steam them- you can do this two ways… by steaming them above or putting just a little bit of liquid in the pot with the potatoes (the water doesn’t cover the potatoes this way). ๐Ÿ™‚ Hope that helps!

  15. 56
    Erin

    Hi! Do you peel the orange sweet potato before mincing it? And what blade do you use? I was thinking of just using the grater, but then noticed you specifically said to grate the carrots. The S blade? If that one, do you just cut into chunks first? Thanks!
    Also, has anyone subbed for the eggs before? Thank you!

  16. 58
    Aleksandra

    Hi, Iโ€™m about to make my first carrot cake and Iโ€™m thinking between this one and a vegan gluten free option. Can the batter be divided to to round 8โ€ so you have it as a layered cake or?
    Also does adding a bit of rice flour will make the cake more like real cake It will be my frat time backing with sweet potato and Iโ€™m firing that the cake will be wet and will not have sponge consistency.

    Thanks

  17. 60
    Nancy

    Made and it was a big hit. I used chopped dates instead of raisins since thatโ€™s what I had. I changed the icing a bit. I didnโ€™t have a lemon but added coconut cream and raw cashews. Youโ€™d never know youโ€™re eating sweet potatoes.

  18. 62
    Stephanie

    Hi! This looks so delicious. I’m about to make it, but am planning to double the cake recipe. If I do that, how long should I bake it for and at what temperature?

    • 63
      Kaylie

      Hi Stephanie, I’m not sure on the cooking time, because I haven’t tried it myself, but you can just keep an eye on it and pull it out once a knife when inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean- that’s when it’s done. ๐Ÿ™‚

  19. 64
    Megan

    Hi Kaylie! This recipe books totally awesome and the comments seem to back it up too! I was thinking about making this for my daughter’s 1st birthday smash cake! And was wondering if you know any good substitutes for the honey & maple syrup. Also if I can replace both flours with all-purpose flour? I’m not trying to make it Paleo per say but rather healthy and low sugar.

  20. 68
    Courtney L

    I made this earlier this week for a dinner party and it turned out great! I made it exactly to recipe and doubled it to make a 6โ€ double layer cake (Cooked at 350 for 70mins) and it was perfectly cooked. Cake was super moist and flavorful. I wasnโ€™t sure how the lemon frosting would pair with the cake but it was awesome! I found the white sweet potatoes at Winco.

  21. 71
    Danielle

    An AMAZING frosting!! I’ve been looking for a dairy free/healthy version butter cream frosting like this for awhile. It’s perfect and delicious!

  22. 73
    Usha

    I love sweet potatoes so when I saw this recipe I couldn’t wait to make this cake. It was easy to make and turned out to be very soft and delicious! The raisins in the cake were plump and juicy and I also added one fourth cup of chopped walnuts. I did cut back on the ginger after I read one of the comments. Love this recipe and will be making it again!

  23. 75
    Nicoke

    Hi! Do you think 2 flax eggs would be a sufficient replacement for the eggs? Also maple syrup for honey? (Looking to make a vegan rendition of this recipe ๐Ÿ˜Š) Canโ€™t waits to give it a try!

    • 76
      Kaylie

      Hi Nicoke, maple syrup will be a great sub, however, I’m not sure about the flax egg, because the I don’t know if will be enough to hold the sweet potato together…

  24. 77
    Annette

    So the sweet potato in the cake is raw or cooked? Canโ€™t wait to make this for Easter. Meets all my food sensitivity issues.

  25. 79
    Tony

    I made this tonight and it was an instant hit with the family. The frosting recipe will be in heavy rotation for all of my other clean recipes. I’ve looked for a long time for a frosting recipe like this. The cake is SO good. Thank you!!!

  26. 81
    Denise Oxborrow

    Just wondering if this tasted better made the day of or the next day? I know some cakes (usually carrot) taste better the next day when they have had time for all the flavors to come together. Thanks!

  27. 83
    Chris

    I just made this and it is unbelievable. I took it out of the oven after 60 minutes though because it looked quite dark. Tastes amazing! Will be making this again asap

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