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Gluten-Free Carrot Cake for Two makes two tender little individual carrot cakes studded with walnuts and raisins, and topped with a creamy and tangy Greek yogurt cream cheese frosting. This gluten-free carrot cake recipe makes just enough to share, but only if you are willing to part with one of these delicious spring desserts. It is one of the best gluten-free desserts for two!
Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Dixie Crystals. All opinions are my own.
I think we all have certain flavors and sweet treats that we love to eat at different times of the year.
In the summer, desserts often center around berries and peaches, like Gluten Free No-Bake Peach Cheesecake Bars.
Autumn makes us crave apples and warm spices, and for me, especially my Individual Crustless Pumpkin Pies.
Christmastime brings visions of peppermint and eggnog desserts, while red velvet just says Valentine’s Day.
St. Patrick’s Day is often equated with Irish cream-infused sweets, which I’m happy to drown in Five-Minute Bailey’s Fudge Sauce. Then when spring arrives, it’s lemon and strawberries.
And for me… carrot cake!
Can we just talk for a moment about my baby shower at work before I had my first son? They had it in the morning, so somehow thought carrot cake was the most appropriate thing.
Except after sharing the cake with my coworkers that morning, I literally proceeded to pick at the remainder of the cake over the whole day such that my entire calorie consumption consisted of carrot cake and allllll the cream cheese frosting! Let’s just say that baby was kicking up a storm that night.
Alas, no more bakery carrot cake for me, due to my gluten allergy, so I’ve been dying to make a gluten free carrot cake. One problem. Well, two, actually.
How did I end up making Gluten-Free Carrot Cake for Two?
The first is that carrot cake isn’t the most popular flavor in my house, but clearly there’s a good chance I’d end up eating the entire thing. So I figured I’d make cupcakes based on this Flourless Carrot Cake from Diethood. At least then I could portion it out a little at a time, instead of sitting down with the whole cake.
The second problem was that while this recipe makes a fabulous cake, it’s probably not meant for baking in cupcake liners because it pulled away from the liners and sank and just looked very un-cupcake-ish. Delicious, but the crumbled cupcakes ended up in these Carrot Cake Cheesecake Parfaits.
Then I thought about the Deep Dish Hot Fudge Brownies for Two and Deep Dish Chocolate Chip Cookies for Two that I had made, and I knew what I had to do. A little math, a little mixing (plus the addition of raisins and walnuts because I like “stuff” in my carrot cake), and voila – two little gluten free carrot cakes!
Also, is it even a carrot cake if it doesn’t have cream cheese frosting? A simple blend of cream cheese, Greek yogurt, vanilla, and sugar makes a creamy and tangy topping for those lovely little cakes that isn’t as super sweet as some other cream cheese frosting recipes.
Carrots + Greek yogurt = LUNCH! Am I right?
How to Make Gluten-Free Carrot Cake Recipe
These little gluten-free carrot cakes are really quite easy to make, though there are several steps.
- You’ll have to beat together the sugar and egg yolks, fold in some carrots, almond meal, and a few other ingredients to give it that distinctive carrot cake flavor.
- The egg whites get whipped and folded in.
- Then you can add raisins and nuts if you like.
- While it bakes and cools, just whip up a simple cream cheese frosting made with Greek yogurt so it isn’t too sweet.
- Dollop it on top, and you have your own individual carrot cake, plus another one to share or save for another day!
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Here are some more gluten-free desserts for spring…
- Strawberry Tiramisu Cheesecake Cups
- Gluten-Free Pineapple Upside Down Cakes for Two
- Tropical Sunrise Fruit Salad
- Creamsicle Jello Mold
This Flourless Coconut Cake from The View From Great Island looks moist and decadent. La Bete Noir from That Skinny Chick Can Bake proves chocolate is always in season. And The Cookie Rookie has amazing Gluten-Free Lemon Bars.
Gluten-Free Carrot Cake Recipe for Two
Gluten-Free Carrot Cake for Two
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 1 egg separated
- 1 pinch of cream of tartar
- 1/4 cup plus 1/2 Tbsp sugar, divided
- 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup finely grated carrot
- 1/4 cup plus 3 Tbsp almond flour
- 2 Tablespoons raisins optional
- 2 Tablespoons chopped walnuts or pecans or optional
For the Greek yogurt cream cheese topping:
- 1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1 ounce cream cheese, I used light
- 2 Tablespoons powdered sugar, sifted
- 1/2 teaspooon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
For the cake:
- Preheat oven to 325°F and place two 6-ounce ramekins on a baking sheet (just in case).
- In a very clean small bowl combine egg white and cream of tartar and whisk vigorously to form soft peaks.
- Add 1/2 tbsp sugar and continue to beat until stiff peaks form; set aside.
- In another bowl, combine 1/4 c sugar, egg yolk, cinnamon, salt and vanilla, and which vigorously until combined and lightened in color, about 2 to 3 minutes.
- Using a spatula, fold grated carrots and a third of the egg white mixture into the egg mixture until combined.
- Gently fold in the remaining egg whites and almond flour until just barely incorporated (there may stil be streaks of egg whites.
- Gently fold in the raisins and nuts, if using.
- Divide batter between the two ramekins.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown and the cake starts to pull away from the sides.
- Transfer to a rack and cool completely.
- Prepare Greek yogurt cream cheese topping, and when cakes are completely cooled, divide the topping between the two cakes and spread to cover.
For the Greek yogurt cream cheese topping:
- Combine the ingredients in a bowl and using your hand mixed or the whisk attachment for your hand mixer (if you have one), whip until combined and fluffy.
Notes
Enjoy!
Do you need to spray the ramekins before you put the batter in?
Hi Sara. Spraying the ramekins before adding the batter is never a bad idea. 🙂
Hi Brianne – I loved reading how you arrived at his recipe and it looks fabulous! Thank you so much for sharing at Best of the Weekend and pinning! Hope you’re having a wonderful week!
Thanks! Sometimes you never know where ideas will come from.
Since I like gluten, can I use regular ol’ AP flour? I don’t know how to sub out flours!
In another recipe I know someone who made a direct substitution, but I am not sure it would work exactly the same here. I think you might need a bit more AP flour, but it may need some trial and error to get it just right.
Mu husband and my daughter, who is gluten-free, will love you for this recipe! Can’t wait to surprise them with these little goodies. Thanks for sharing on Create Link Inspire.
Oh good! Enjoy!
The cakes have carrots and greek yogurt, it’s absolutely a legitimate lunch! I love these small cakes you make! So much more manageable to hand and you don’t have to worry about pawning off leftovers to everyone for days on end. 🙂
Yes, I get to KEEP and EAT my entire recipe 🙂
Pinned this one too – yummy! Thanks!
After you mentioned it, I tried to make that cake into cupcakes, and mine were also a bit of a fail! BUUUUUT! It was a delicious fail. We ate ’em! 😀
Now I need to go and make myself your delicious carrot cake for two and eat both of those all by myself!
I turned my crumbly cupcakes into amazing parfaits that I’ll post soon! So I LOVE the recipe, but something about the cupcakes liners.
I’ve been going gluten free for a while and can’t wait to try this…. I might have to do a larger version though, my whole family does love carrot cake!
Check out the original recipe that I based this off of. It is a single layer cake and it’s yummy!
I love that you made a gluten-free dessert. This cake looks so moist, Brianne! I love that the recipe is scaled down for two. Pinning!
Thanks Jennie. I’ve been having fun experimenting with the small size gluten free desserts!
Deep dish + carrot cake? Yes please!!! I love that you used yogurt in your frosting. We’re going to have to give these a try!
Thanks Sarah. I’ve been doing the cream cheese/Greek yogurt thing, and it gives nice tang and texture!
Ok now it’s my turn to try and make my own version of this 😉 This would be perfect for a small Easter treat!
Haha! Yes, you totally should!
Now THESE are what I should have made last Sunday for dessert. Instead, I made a carrot-lemon cake from a random recipe I found online, and it wasn’t nearly as tasty as this looks. LOVE the Greek yogurt cream cheese topping. Ohhhh yeahhh!
Aww, sorry I didn’t get this recipe to you sooner! If you need to actually make a whole cake, the recipe I adapted these from is really good!
I love deep dish single serving desserts! This sounds fabulous!
Me too! This is my third in the past couple months.
I like the good “stuff” in my carrot cake too. Love that you made this recipe for two! If I had the whole cake I’d probably eat it!
There are definitely two schools of thought with carrot cake!
Mmmmm.. Carrot cake is the BEST~!!!
I agree!
mmmm…. I love carrot cake and love the individual size cakes. Must try these!!
There is something about being able to eat a whole cake without eating a whole cake!
I just made carrot cake muffins for the same reason…I’d eat a whole cake myself, but I could convince my friends to take home “muffins.” So I’m thrilled to have a delicious recipe for two!!!
Defintiely better to make desserta that are easy to send off. Cakes are awesome, but people don’t always want to take a slice.
I love carrot cake! I’d love to try a gluten-free version!
There really is so much flavor going on. It’s awesome!
These are so pretty, Brianne! I’m betting the almond flour really accentuates the walnuts in the batter too! I love individual desserts/desserts for two, so saving these to try soon!
I actually think the almond flour really makes carrot cake even better! All the flavors get amplified.
Yummy! I love how they are individual treats….and gluten free!!
Double win! 🙂
love that you made these in ramekins! so cute and great for portion control because I would devour the entire cake!!
A little bigger than a teensy cupcake, smaller than devouring a whole cake!! 🙂
Yum!! I love carrot cake, but haven’t had it in forever. Now I’m craving it!
Here you go… satisfy that craving!
Haha totally lunch! My dad is such a huge carrot cake fan. Maybe this is a slightly healthier way for him to enjoy his favorite treat. Plus portion control always means healthier in my book.
I’m not gonna call it low calorie, but at least the almond flour is a bit more nutritious than white flour 😉 Plus it keeps you from eating an entire cake!
Yum! What a creative way to have a delicious piece of carrot cake for lunch…I’m on board!
One for lunch, one for dessert, right?! 🙂
These look wonderful!! I LOVE carrot cake, but if I make a big cake, I end up eating way more than I need to. This recipe makes the perfect portion to get my carrot cake fix. The Greek yogurt cream cheese topping sounds delicious too!
Thanks Alida. Yes it is perfect to satisfy a craving!
Why certainly carrots plus Greek yogurt equals lunch. Absolutely.
Totally makes sense, right?! 😉