Delicious and nutritious whole grain gluten-free carrot cake that uses buckwheat and oat flour and tastes so much like wheat, your family won’t know the difference.
My friend Chris Giordano, who devised this creative recipe, is well known around town for her delectable carrot cake. It is her baking specialty.
Then, she was diagnosed with Celiac and could no longer consume gluten. So, she got creative and devised this gluten free carrot cake that her family swears tastes exactly the same as her original carrot cake made with wheat flour. The key ingredient is freshly ground buckwheat groats.
Oat flour is also an important ingredient although freshly grinding oat groats is not necessary like it is with the buckwheat (to avoid bitterness).
The taste is so similar, in fact, that her family says they cannot tell the difference between her regular carrot cake and the gluten free carrot cake!
Chris is not just a whiz in the kitchen at home. She is also a homeschooling Mom who teaches traditional cooking classes for children in Tampa, Florida.
Gluten Free Carrot Cake Recipe
Gluten free carrot cake that tastes so much like wheat, your family will never know!
Ingredients
- 2 cups buckwheat flour must be freshly ground, preferably organic
- 1/2 cup oat flour preferably organic
- 2 cups buttermilk preferably organic and grassfed
- 1 cup butter softened, preferably grassfed
- 2 cups sucanat
- 10 oz crushed pineapple
- 3 cups grated carrots
- 4 eggs room temperature, preferably pastured or free range
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 8 oz cream cheese for icing, softened
- 1/2 cup butter for icing, softened and preferably grassfed
- 1 cup sucanat for icing
- 1 tsp vanilla extract for icing
- sprouted walnuts optional
Instructions
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Mix flour with buttermilk. Cover and leave on the counter or other warm place for 12 to 24 hours.
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Cream butter with sucanat. Beat in eggs, one at a time, baking soda, cinnamon, vanilla and salt. Gradually add flour mixture. Fold in pineapple (with juice, drain off a little) and carrots.
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Grease 3 – 9 inch baking pans with butter, coconut oil, or lard. Sprinkle some buckwheat flour on bottom and sides of pans. Bake in 350F degree oven for approximately 35 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool.
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To make the icing for this gluten free carrot cake recipe, blend cream cheese, butter, sucanat, and vanilla until smooth. This can take a few minutes as sucanat is granulated.
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Remove the first cake layer and place carefully on serving platter. Ice the top. Repeat with the second and third layers. Decorate the top and sprinkle the gluten free carrot cake with sprouted or soaked walnuts if desired.
Recipe Notes
*Please note this recipe will not work with buckwheat flour from the store as commercial buckwheat flour tends to be bitter tasting.
You may substitute raw soured milk for the buttermilk as desired. Do not use buttermilk powder.
Is there any way to print off this recipe?
Could you tell me if the buckwheat groats in this recipe should be unhulled or hulled? It doesn’t look like there are black buckwheat hulls in this cake – just checking.
This sounds really good. I’ve been looking for a carrot cake recipe that uses butter instead of butt loads of vegetable oil. Thankfully, I don’t need to be gluten free, so I would use my sprouted flour or whole wheat pastry flour, probably with the oat flour (which would give it a really yummy flavor).
For those who don’t want to use oats: You could sub it for Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-free All-purpose Baking Mix.
As for the sugar: This cake would serve like 12 people. No one person is going to eat the whole damn thing. It’s really not as much sugar as you think it is per serving.
For a nice variation: Substitute the pineapple for peeled, chopped, ripe peaches. I do that ALL the time during our peach season here in Colorado, and it is really delicious. That’s probably my favorite way to make and eat carrot cake. 🙂
Way too much sugar. It will probably work fine with it cut by 1/4 to 1/3. I can’t believe how much sugar people use in recipes! Otherwise, it sounds fabulous, especially made with butter.
I’m confused about the oat flour. Oat have gluten, or so I’ve been told. How is it that the recipe is gluten free? Looks delicious–although I have a problem with all the sugar. I’m a beekeeper’s daughter; can I use honey? at least partially?
What is a good substitute for the oat flour? I can’t tolerate oats at all (certified gf or not), I react to them the same as to wheat. But I would love to try this recipe!
Wondering if the vinegar in coconut milk trick would be suitable substitute for the buttermilk. Ours has to be dairy free too!
🙂 she’s my aunt! I’ve been eating this carrot cake for years and I have to say I love love love the gluten free version better. We still fight for it at family get togethers lol
Omgosh, thank you. Just THANK YOU!!! 🙂 I’ve done banana bread GF, & that turned out really good. This will definitely be on my list for next time. Hubby’s on a temporary GF diet (thank goodness for temporary!) & he’s hating it. So this will make him happy.
This makes me amazingly happy! Can’t wait to get back to the States and try this one! Carrot cake is my favorite!