First confession: I desperately wanted to give this thing a meyer lemon glaze. Those orangey-yellow citrus orbs are in peak form right now, and a nice shot of the meyer lemon glaze drizzling down on the cake would have been epic food porn. Then, I took a step back and asked myself, does this bread really need more sugar? I think you know the answer. This cake was great just the way it is with maple syrup and a shredded fuji apple as the primary source of sugar. You see . . . exercise in restraint. Don’t worry, the meyer lemon did come into play with this recipe. Inside one of these slices are tiny flecks of lemon zest, which brightens up the flavor of the cake.
Second confession: I added carrots and zucchini to this cake mainly to trick the hubs into eating more vegetables. I’ve been doing that to smoothies with great success, so I figured I could push my luck with cake, too. And he fell for it. Mission accomplished.
MASTER MY MISTAKES / COOKING NOTES
- Getting the Right Amount of Sweetness: I tried so many different combinations of sweeteners for this recipe. First, I started with honey/muscovado/grated pear, then I tried honey/muscovado/applesauce, and finally settled on maple syrup/grated apple. The versions with applesauce were my least favorite—the cake tasted bland compared to the other loaves I made with grated fruit. I quite enjoyed the honey/muscovado/grated pear, but for the sake of simplicity, I stuck with maple syrup/grated apple.
- Texture of the Cake: Because this cake is made with gluten-free flours, it will be more crumbly than those made with all-purpose or other wheat flours. It cut nicely into 1/2-inch slices, but the cake gets quite messy when you’re trying to cut them into smaller pieces for sharing.
If you try this recipe, let me know how it goes by leaving a comment or sending me a message! Or take a photo of the food and tag me on Instagram so that I can give you a fist bump. I love seeing your creations!
Carrot and Zucchini Olive Oil Cake (Gluten Free)
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 cup (60m)l olive oil
- 2/3 cup (155ml) maple syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/3 cups (180g) gluten-free all-purpose flour*
- 1/4 cup (30g) millet flour
- 1/4 cup (35g) oat flour**
- 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup (105g) grated carrots
- 3/4 cup (95g) grated zucchini
- 1 medium fuji apple, about 85g, peeled and grated
- zest of one lemon
Optional Toppings
- shredded coconut
- black sesame seeds
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ºF (175ºC). Position an oven rack to the middle position.
- In a large bowl, whisk eggs together. Stir in olive oil, maple syrup and vanilla extract. In another bowl, mix flours, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Pour flour mixture into bowl of wet ingredients and stir until everything is just combined. Let batter rest for 5 to 10 minutes.
- Spray a 9×5-inch loaf pan with cooking spray. I like adding a small sheet of parchment on top so that the bread is easier to release later. I usually spray the parchment with oil lightly. Set aside.
- Fold in grated carrots, zucchini, apple, and lemon zest to batter. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan. Sprinkle shredded coconut and sesame seeds on top, if you like.
- Bake for 50 to 55 minutes, rotating halfway. A toothpick inserted down the center should come out clean. Let cake cool in pan for 10 minutes before removing it and cooling on a rack. Let cool for at least 45 minutes to an hour before cutting into it.
Notes
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links
lynn @ the actor's diet says
This looks absolutely divine. And counts as a vegetable serving, totally.
Lisa says
Haha, yes, I would agree with that! Thanks, Lynn!
Gayle says
Am I missing where the Olive Oil comes in?
Lisa says
Hi Gayle, thanks for your message. You’re not missing anything—I didn’t put it into the recipe! This cake calls for 1/4 cup olive oil. I’ve updated the recipe to reflect this. Thank you so much!
Joanne says
I cannot wait to try this. It looks great and sounds heavenly.
Lisa says
Thanks, Joanne! Let me know how it goes for you!
Amy says
This looks delicious and I can’t wait to try it!
Lisa says
Thanks, Amy!
Summer says
Lovely for a nice treat! Fantastic cake ♥
summerdaisy.net
Lisa says
Thanks, Summer!
Zainab says
Hhaha my hubs will be getting more hidden veggies now. Love all that you packed in here.
Lisa says
Yay! Thanks, Zainab!
Kelly says
I love how hearty and wholesome this cake is! So many healthy goodies in here and the texture looks perfect! Haha and yay for sneaking in veggies for the hubs!
Lisa says
Thanks, Kelly!
Traci | Vanilla And Bean says
Hooray YOU – five times is epic, but I get it! Sometimes it’s just necessary to get it just the way you want it. Indeed, food porn would be good with the glaze… but I know this is amazing without. Love how you packed all those veggies in this Lisa and to trick the hubs is brilliant! I’m constantly working on the same battle over here! And green smoothies are a great way to do it! Dates are my trick! Such a fabulous loaf my dear! ox
Lisa says
Dates! What a great idea! Thanks, Traci!
Melissa Falk says
I love olive oil cakes and I love carrot and zucchini cakes. Nice recipe. Will pin.
Lisa says
Thanks, Melissa!
Patricia @ Grab a Plate says
This is gorgeous! I love that there is millet and fuji apple in this recipe. Also love how you’ve tricked your husband into eating more veggies — great idea!
Lisa says
Thanks, Patricia!
Nutmeg Nanny says
This cake it gorgeous! Love that it’s gluten free!
Lisa says
Thanks, Brandy!
Bridget Marcus says
Do you think this recipe could be used for muffins?
Lisa Lin says
Absolutely, Bridget! Just cut the cooking time to 24 to 26 minutes and keep the baking temperature to 350 degrees F. Let me know how it goes!
Gina N says
I have made this cake several times and even as muffins. Everybody loves them. Even my picky daughter, who hates both carrot cake and zucchini cake loves this one! The only thing I changed was using a mix of almond flour, arrowroot flour, coconut flour, and tapioca flour in place of the all-purpose flour. Yummy!
Michelle says
Hi Gina,
What are your ratios for the different flours?
Thanks!
Michelle
Gina says
Hi Michelle,
I mix my own paleo flour recipe from Dr. Josh Axe and I store it in an airtight container so I can’t break down the amount for the carrot and zucchini olive oil cake. Here’s the measurements I use to make 4 cups:
1 1/2 cups of almond flour,
1 cup arrowroot flour/starch,
1 cup coconut flour,
1/2 cup tapioca flour
So much tastier and healthier than all purpose flour.
Megan says
Hoping this will trick my toddler into eating some veggies! If I substitute all-purpose flour for all of the flours, should I just use a 1:1 substitution ratio?
Thanks!
Laura says
This came out so wonderfully! It might just be that I have a weaker oven but I had to cook it for about an hour and 5-10 minutes to get the middle to stop being gooey. It was delicious and worth the wait though!
deborah says
I didn’t have zucchini so just added more carrots… added coconut flakes and a few chocolate chips… used all oat flour, no millet – came out amazing. Thank you! good rise and all!
Gina says
This is amazing!!! So delicious and healthy! I love carrot cake and I love zucchini cake even more. This recipe combines them both and with an apple and lemon zest – this is heavenly. The best zucchini loaf I have ever had. I made my own gluten free flour mix using almond flour, coconut flour, arrowroot starch, and tapioca flour (recipe here: https://draxe.com/recipes/paleo-flour-blend/). To die for! Thanks Lisa.
Marie-Anne Hagen says
Thanks so much for developing and sharing this great recipe!
I used what I had on hand, so Bob’s Red Mill GF flour only and Yucatán honey instead of maple syrup. I added 1/3 cup of Bob’s Red Mill old fashioned oatmeal (to absorb the water from the zucchini) and 2/3 cups pecan pieces for texture!
Yummy 😋
Lisa Lin says
Thank you, Marie-Anne for these useful cooking notes!!! This is great for other people who might have Bob’s Red Mill’s GF flour on hand!
Mukesh Gosai says
Hello Lisa,
I made this cake, though used Polenta flour, as my daughter is unable to tolerate various flour types.
It is just delicious however it was a slight crumbly. Just wondered what I could add to make hold better.
Thanks
Regards
Mukesh
Lisa Lin says
Polenta is tricky because it’s naturally a bit crumbly. I don’t know off the top of my head what you can do to fix the texture. Sorry about that!
Michelle says
Hi Lisa,
Can I cur the maple syrup down to 1/4 cup? Do I need to add or increase anything if so? I’m not supposed to really have sugar due to Lyme Disease, so I try to limit it.
Thanks,
Michelle