Carrot Cake

A low FODMAP carrot cake made with a gluten-free 1:1 flour blend, grated carrot, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg, frosted with lactose-free cream cheese.

Prep 20 min

Cook 33 min

Serves 12

Gluten-freeVegetarian

Ingredients

For the cake

• 1 1/2 cups (210g) gluten-free 1:1 flour blend (if the blend does not list xanthan or guar gum, add 3/4 tsp xanthan gum)
• 1 tsp gluten-free baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup (150g) packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup (50g) white sugar
• 3/4 cup (180ml) neutral oil (canola, sunflower, or light olive oil)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups (about 200g) finely grated carrot, from roughly 3 medium carrots (carrots have no tested FODMAP limit)
• 1/3 cup (about 35g) chopped walnuts, optional (Monash lists a 30g serving of walnuts as low FODMAP)

For the frosting

• 4 oz (115g) lactose-free cream cheese, softened
• 3 tbsp (45g) butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups (180g) confectioners' (powdered) sugar, sifted
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• Pinch of salt

Instructions

Mix the batter

1. Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease a 9-inch (23cm) square pan and line the base with parchment.
2. In a bowl, whisk together the flour blend, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg.
3. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, brown sugar, and white sugar until smooth. Whisk in the oil and vanilla.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir just until no streaks of flour remain. Fold in the grated carrot and the walnuts, if using.

Bake

1. Pour the batter into the pan and spread it level. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the top springs back and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.
2. Cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then turn the cake out onto a rack and cool completely before frosting. A warm cake will melt the frosting.

Make the frosting and assemble

1. Beat the softened cream cheese and butter together until smooth, about 1 minute. Overbeating cream cheese can make it runny, so stop once it is even.
2. Add the confectioners' sugar in two additions, beating on low, then add the vanilla and salt. Beat until fluffy.
3. Spread the frosting over the cooled cake. Cut into 12 pieces to serve.

Tips & Substitutions

• Leave the raisins out or keep them tiny. Monash lists raisins as low FODMAP at only about 1 teaspoon (4g) per serving. If you add any, keep the total to no more than 1 teaspoon per slice.
• Watch the nut portion. Walnuts sit at a 30g serving and pecans at 30g. The optional handful here stays well under that once the cake is sliced, so skip the nuts entirely if you want extra room in your day.
• Use lactose-free cream cheese where you can find it. Regular cream cheese is low FODMAP in small amounts (about 2 tablespoons), and this frosting spreads to under 1 tablespoon per slice, so either works if you keep portions in check.
• Confirm your flour blend. Some gluten-free blends slip in inulin, chicory root, or legume flours that add FODMAPs. Choose a blend based on rice, corn, potato, or tapioca starch, and add xanthan gum only if the blend lacks a gum.
• Sweeten with sugar. Brown and white sugar are used here; maple syrup would change the batter's liquid balance, so it is not a direct swap. Skip honey, agave, and polyol "sugar-free" powdered sweeteners.
• Keep it dairy-free if needed. Swap the butter for a plant-based block and use a dairy-free cream cheese that is not cashew-based; check that neither lists inulin or chicory root.

Why This Works

• Carrots carry no FODMAP limit. Carrots are the base of the cake and test as low FODMAP even at large servings, so the flavor comes from an ingredient you do not have to measure.
• Garlic and onion are simply absent. A sweet cake needs neither, so there are no bulbs, powders, or infused oils to manage.
• The flour swap removes the wheat fructans. A gluten-free 1:1 blend replaces wheat flour cup for cup, and the added gum gives the crumb structure that gluten normally provides.
• Lactose-free dairy keeps the frosting friendly. Lactose is the FODMAP in soft dairy, so lactose-free cream cheese and butter (which is naturally very low in lactose) let you frost generously.

Storage

Store the frosted cake covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days; bring slices to room temperature before serving for the best texture. Unfrosted cake freezes well for up to 2 months, wrapped tightly, then thaw and frost before serving. If you want to freeze frosted pieces, open-freeze them first, then wrap. If you plan to eat more than one slice, look up any ingredient in the FODMAP Foods app to see how its rating changes with portion size.