Give Your Carrot Cake A Keto Spin With These Ingredient Swaps

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Carrot cake is downright delicious, and it even hinges on the vegetable in its namesake unlike other desserts that are purely sugars, fats, and carbs. But even with nutritious ingredients like carrots and walnuts, a bite of regular carrot cake is a no-no for those who are on a keto diet. However, that doesn't mean you have to sacrifice a slice of carrot cake on a keto diet. Luckily for your craving, we have you covered with an original keto-friendly carrot pound cake recipe that uses a few simple swaps from the traditional version.

For those on a keto diet, most sugars and carbohydrates are off limits, so this recipe uses easy alternatives that don't sacrifice flavor. To replace white and brown sugars, granulated and brown monk fruit sweeteners are used in the cake batter and again, powdered, in the frosting, which keep your keto diet on track. And instead of go-to all-purpose flour, you'll use almond flour instead to follow those strict keto rules. As for the rest of the carrot pound cake ingredients, it's what you'd expect with flavorful cinnamon and nutmeg, plus unsalted butter and grated carrots (of course).

Despite the alternative ingredients, the process of making this keto-friendly cake isn't incredibly different. The almond flour, granulated monk fruit sweetener, and brown monk fruit sweetener will join the rest of the dry ingredients like baking soda, baking powder, and salt like normal. The rest of the recipe is pretty on par with any other baking. As for the icing, the powdered monk fruit sweetener adds the sugar component to the cream cheese, butter, sour cream, and vanilla.

If you're wondering what monk fruit sweetener is, it's derived from the monk fruit, which has been used for centuries in China, where it was once grown by monks (hence the name). And while the fruit is exceptionally sweet, it doesn't affect blood sugar levels and is even considered to be an anti-inflammatory. It's easy to source online, like this 12-ounce monk fruit Wholesome Yum brand brown variety from Amazon.

If you don't like almond flour, or can't find it, there are some other flour alternatives to use in this carrot cake recipe. Try coconut or chia flours instead and the cake should turn out with similar results. Coconut flour is an especially good choice, because some carrot cake recipes incorporate the fruit in the batter anyway. And in lieu of monk fruit sweeteners, try stevia or Sucralose instead. Just keep in mind the varying levels of sweetness when you swap in any other sugar alternatives. For more desserts that stick to this diet, try our keto chocolate mousse or fudgy keto brownie recipes.