Oh cakes! I really love a moist slice of cake to go with my tea in the afternoon. This Italian Almond Carrot Cake is particularly good.
It is very soft and packed with carrots! It contains very little flour and the almond meal helps to keep it moist.
Almonds also give the gave a very distinctive flavour that reminds me of Sicily.
In fact, Sicily is very famous for its almonds and almond-based treats like marzipan. In fact, I have shared quite a few sweet Sicilian delicacies in the past:
Orange and Chocolate Marzipan Balls
Chocolate Covered Marzipan Rum Balls
But back to this Italian Almond Carrot Cake! You can make it gluten-free by simply substituting the all purpose flour with the same amount of almond meal. Easy, right? And… this cake is also dairy-free!
Try it and let me know what you think in the comments.
Don’t forget to check out my video below!
Italian Almond Carrot Cake
Ingredients
- 300 gms – 10 oz. carrots grated
- 180 gms – 2 cups almond meal
- 180 gms – ¾ cup + 1 tbsp caster/superfine sugar
- 3 eggs
- 50 gms – 6 ½ tbsp all purpose flour
- 8 gms – 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp lemon essence or grated zest
- Icing sugar to dust
Instructions
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In a big bowl, mix the grated carrots, almond meal, and caster sugar.
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Add the eggs one by one, and keep stirring.
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Add the vanilla extract and lemon essence, and stir.
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Add the flour and baking powder, and stir until well combined.
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Pour into a greased 20cm – 8 inch springform tin and bake at 180°C – 355°F for about 30-40 minutes or until cooked through.
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Let it cool down before unmoulding and dust with icing sugar before serving it.
Recipe Notes
For a gluten-free version, substitute the all purpose flour with the same amount of almond meal.
Hello Manu, I love this recipe of yours. You just gave me an idea how to entice kids in eating vegetables specially carrots. I think this would be more delicious to kids when used with a Rabbit mold and I can’t wait to try it. Thank you so much for sharing this healthy recipe.
This cake was amazing! It was easy to make (except for grating the carrots! Next time I’ll use a food processor). The cake itself was moist and tasty without being over sweet. This will definitely become one of my favourites
Ciao Manu
Greetings from Australia. I am making the cake from your recipe. But instead of lemon skin I am using navel orange skin. I am cooking for my mama who suffers from ins and diverticulitis and instead of using flour just added tapioca flour instead to soften it up. It’s in the oven so in the 25 minutes I’ll know.
Thanks for the recipe.
Regards
Micharl
Hi Michael! I hope it turned out well! Do let me know, as I am very curious about the tapioca flour! 🙂
Hi Manu, Thank you so much for this simple yet super delicious recipe. I made it for the family and they absolutely loved it. This is now my go to recipe for family occasions
Yay!! I am so happy you liked it! I love it too!! 🙂
Hello Manu, many thanks for this recipe.
Easy to follow instructions, mine baked in 35minutes.
Result golden brown delicious cake served with a small dollop of creme fresh.
Much appreciated
When I tried a commercially-prepared orange Italian carrot cake, I knew I had to find a way to make it at home. This recipe is perfect. SO delicious, so much better than traditional carrot cake. Sometimes I will finish it by glazing with warmed/liquefied orange marmalade instead of powdered sugar.
Awww I am so HAPPY you like it! It’s one of my favourite cakes! I love the idea of the warm orange marmalade glaze. I will have to try it! <3