This gluten-free spiced carrot cake is moist, fragrant, and packed with wholesome ingredients like fresh carrots, apples, tart cranberries, toasted pecans, and warm spices. Made with almond and hazelnut flour instead of wheat, it has a tender crumb and rich, nutty flavor while being naturally lower in carbohydrates than a traditional carrot cake. Serve it plain with a cup of coffee, or top it with a light mascarpone and yogurt cream for an elegant dessert that’s perfect during cranberry season.
A Seasonal Twist on Classic Carrot Cake
Carrot cake is one of those timeless bakes that never goes out of style, but every now and then it’s fun to give a classic recipe a seasonal twist. This version celebrates autumn and winter with tart fresh cranberries, fragrant warming spices, toasted pecans, and the rich flavor of hazelnuts, creating a cake that’s both comforting and vibrant.
Instead of wheat flour and large amounts of sugar, this recipe uses almond and hazelnut flour for a naturally gluten-free cake with a wonderfully moist texture and delicate nutty flavor. You don’t need to buy hazelnut flour; just process the nuts in a food processor until you get a coarse texture.
Fresh carrots and grated apple provide natural sweetness and moisture, while ginger, cinnamon, turmeric, and nutmeg add warmth and spice without overpowering the bright bursts of cranberry.
Fresh cranberries are the ingredient that truly sets this cake apart. Their tartness balances the sweetness beautifully, making each slice feel lighter and more complex than a traditional carrot cake. If fresh cranberries aren’t available, frozen cranberries work just as well, while wild blueberries, black currants, or red currants make excellent seasonal alternatives.
The cake is delicious on its own, making it just as suitable for breakfast or an afternoon coffee as it is for dessert. For special occasions, serve it with a simple cream made from mascarpone and goat yogurt, which adds just enough richness while allowing the flavors of the cake to remain the star. For a dairy-free alternative, you can use coconut yogurt as frosting or serving alongside the cake.
Recipe Notes
- Fresh cranberries should be well-dried before adding them to the batter. Frozen cranberries can be used straight from the freezer. Wild blueberries, black currants, or red currants make excellent substitutes.
- I don’t recommend buying hazelnut flour, as it tends to be very fine and requires different liquid ratios. Just grind hazelnuts in a food processor until you get a coarse flour (the nuts can be raw or toasted, but if you toast them, remove the skins first).
- Pumpkin pie spice or a warming spice blend can replace the individual spices.
- The mascarpone cream is optional but highly recommended; the cake is still delicious served plain, if dairy is a problem. Alternatively, use coconut yogurt as frosting or for serving alongside the cake.
- Baking time will vary depending on the size and shape of your baking pan. Begin checking for doneness after about 30 minutes.
- This cake tastes even better the next day after resting in the refrigerator, when the flavors have had time to develop.
Warming Spice Blend
Try our warming spice blend for all your holiday baking.
More Gluten-Free and Lectin-Free Carrot Cakes
If you love carrot cake as much as I do, you might also enjoy my Gluten-Free Birthday Carrot Cake, perfect for a celebration, or my Nut-Free Gluten-Free Carrot Cake, made without almond flour or other nuts.
*This page contains affiliated links, which means I get a small commission if you choose to purchase something via one of my links, at no extra cost to you.
Print
Gluten-Free Spiced Carrot Cake with Fresh Cranberries
- Prep Time: 35 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 8
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Gluten-Free
Description
This gluten-free spiced carrot cake is moist, fragrant, and packed with wholesome ingredients like fresh carrots, apples, tart cranberries, toasted pecans, and warm spices. Made with almond and hazelnut flour instead of wheat, it has a tender crumb and rich, nutty flavor while being naturally lower in carbohydrates than a traditional carrot cake. Serve it plain with a cup of coffee, or top it with a light mascarpone and yogurt cream for an elegant dessert that’s perfect during cranberry season.
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 1 cup (packed) blanched almond flour
- 1 cup coarse hazelnut flour
- 2 tablespoons coconut flour
- 2 tablespoons tapioca flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
Wet Ingredients
- 2 pasture-raised eggs
- 2/3 cup full-fat coconut milk
- 1/3 cup avocado oil or extra virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons granulated monk fruit sweetener or granulated Swerve
- Zest of 1 organic lemon or orange (or a combination of both)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Add-ins (not optional)
- 1 heaping cup grated carrots
- 1 heaping tablespoon freshly grated ginger
- 1 grated apple
- 1 cup fresh cranberries, washed and thoroughly dried
- 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- 1/2 cup toasted pecans, roughly chopped
Optional Mascarpone Cream
- 3 parts mascarpone
- 1 part goat yogurt
- Sweetener to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
- Line an 8 x 6-inch (20 x 15 cm) baking dish, or a similar-sized pan, with parchment paper. This recipe also works in a round cake pan or as muffins; baking time will vary accordingly.
- Wash and thoroughly dry the cranberries.
- Toast the pecans for about 8 minutes, then roughly chop.
- If using whole hazelnuts to make flour, pulse them in a food processor until you have a coarse flour. A slightly uneven texture adds character to the finished cake.
- In a large bowl, whisk together all the dry ingredients.
- Grate the carrots, apple, and fresh ginger.
- In a food processor or mixing bowl, combine all the wet ingredients.
- Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined.
- Fold in the grated carrots, apple, ginger, shredded coconut, cranberries, and toasted pecans.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and bake for about 35 minutes, or longer if using a deeper or round pan. The cake is ready when the center is set, and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out mostly clean. It should also feel lightly firm when gently pressed.
- Let the cake cool completely before removing it from the pan. For the best flavor and texture, refrigerate for a few hours before serving.
- To prepare the optional cream, simply stir together the mascarpone and goat yogurt until smooth. Sweeten to taste, if desired, and serve alongside the cake.
Notes
Fresh cranberries should be well-dried before adding them to the batter. Frozen cranberries can be used straight from the freezer. Wild blueberries, black currants, or red currants make excellent substitutes.
I don’t recommend buying hazelnut flour, as it tends to be very fine and requires different liquid ratios. Just grind hazelnuts in a food processor until you get a coarse flour (the nuts can be raw or toasted, but if you toast them, remove the skins first).
Pumpkin pie spice or a warming spice blend can replace the individual spices.
The mascarpone cream is optional but highly recommended; the cake is still delicious served plain, if dairy is a problem. Alternatively, use coconut yogurt as frosting or for serving alongside the cake.
Baking time will vary depending on the size and shape of your baking pan. Begin checking for doneness after about 30 minutes.
This cake tastes even better the next day after resting in the refrigerator, when the flavors have had time to develop.
6 Comments
June
March 29, 2025 at 6:04 pmI’m allergic to hazelnuts. Is there a substitute flour I can use? I really want to make this cake. 😩 I love your recipes❤️
Claudia
March 30, 2025 at 7:24 amHi June! What about almond? Or walnut flour? If these are not options, sorghum works well in cakes, as well as cassava. Let me know if this helps. xx -Claudia
Emily
February 12, 2021 at 6:44 amThis was amazing! I made 4 mini loaves and baked about 25=30 mins
Just perfect! Definitely be sure to pack your almond flour.
Didn’t even need the marscapone topping, but I added a few dark chocolate chips on top.
I also doubled the ginger and used fresh grated turmeric root (doubled or tripled)
Super yummy cake. Thanks!
Claudia
February 12, 2021 at 8:00 amHi Emily, so happy you loved it. Thanks for the tips xx
Jessica
October 19, 2019 at 2:58 pmI tried this recipe but the cake was super uncooked and wet at 35 min and I left it in for another 25 min and still was wet… I gave up after that unfortunately. Not sure what happened
Claudia
November 8, 2019 at 8:23 amHi Jessica. This tends to happen when there is not enough almond flour. Did you pack the cup? Like press down until no more air left?