Gluten-free Carrot Cake

Preheat oven to 350°F

Place the almond flour in a large mixing bowl.

Add the ground cardamom.

Add the ground cinnamon.

Add the ground ginger.

Add the baking powder.

Add the baking soda.

Add the salt. Whisk to distribute all of the ingredients evenly.

Crack the eggs into a mixing bowl. You will need a hand blender or a stand mixer with a whisk attachment for this recipe in order to really whip the eggs as thoroughly as needed. The heavily beaten egg is crucial to the texture since we don't have any gluten to lean on.

Add the vanilla.

Add the brown sugar.

Beat on high speed until nearly tripled in volume. This should take 5-7 minutes. The resulting mixture should be thick and lightly colored, and it should form thick ribbons when the beaters are withdrawn to drain back into the bowl.

Add the coconut oil and beat on high speed until the oil is fully incorporated.

Add the almond flour incrementally, mixing well after each new addition.

Fold in the shredded coconut.

Add the raisins.

Add the walnuts.

Add the shredded carrot. If you don't have pre-shredded carrot, you can grate some fresh carrot. If you do go this route, squeeze out as much moisture as possible from the grated carrot. The great thing about using the pre-shredded carrot is that it's already dried out a little.

Line the base of 2 8" cake pans with parchment circles. The trick here is to fold a piece of parchment in half and then continue folding it into wedges until you can't fold anymore. Then, holding the point of the wedge close to the center, chop off the overhang. Unfold the parchment and you should have a shape that nearly matches the bottom of the pan.

Coat the sides of the cake pan with a little coconut oil.

Dust the greased walls lightly with almond flour.

Divide the batter between the 2 baking pans and spread out evenly.

Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted at the center withdraws clean.

Place the butter in a mixing bowl. Here again, a hand blender or a stand mixer is necessary to get the desired effect.

Add the cream cheese.

Beat on high until light and fluffy, stopping to scrape down the sides several times. This should take 3-5 minutes.

Add the vanilla extract.

Beat in the greek yogurt.

Add the powdered sugar. Go slowly here or you risk a mushroom cloud of powdered sugar in your kitchen.

After cooling the cakes thoroughly, turn one out onto a platter. Remove the parchment and top with a layer of frosting.

Place the second layer on top. Remove the second piece of parchment. Frost the top and sides.

Garnish with chopped walnuts and shredded coconut.