This Gajar ka Halwa Cake is like the Indian version of carrot cake. It’s made with ghee, pistachios, cashews, golden raisins, and plenty of freshly ground cardamom. It’s also low in sugar – there are only 2 tablespoons of raw honey in the whole cake! My carrot cake is based on the famous north Indian dessert, gajar ka halwa (carrot fudge).
Gajar ka Halwa is also known as gajrela (see my recipe here), and it’s one of my dad’s favorite desserts. Today is my dad’s birthday, and so I came up with this cake recipe for him 🙂 I made this cake earlier in the week, and it turned out amazingly. I’m going to bake this same cake later today so we can enjoy it tonight!
Happy Birthday to the most amazing Dad (Paul Singh)!! Thank you for always looking after me and for always being by my side.
You went from helping me with my homework to now helping me with my taxes. Even at my age (20-ish), you’re still looking after me – paying bills that I don’t know about (what’s property tax?), taking care of those annoying camera speeding tickets that I (cough Roby cough) seem to get so often, and guiding me in the right direction when it comes to major life decisions. I’m always calling to ask for your advice because my dad knows everything!
You’ll always be my hero, and it looks like I’ll always be your little girl, and I’m so thankful for that Love you, Daddy!
If you like carrot cake and cardamom, you’ll love this cake. The ghee adds a rich buttery flavor, and the carrots, raisins, and raw honey add sweetness. I love the cashews and pistachios in the cake – they soften in the oven and provide a unique texture to the dessert. The main reason I love this cake? Because I know my dad will absolutely love it! And I hope you will too!
Gajar ka Halwa Cake (Indian Carrot Cake)
Gajar ka Halwa Cake (Indian Carrot Cake)
Ingredients
- 4 cups carrots grated
- ¼ cup golden raisins
- ¼ cup cashews roughly chopped
- ¼ cup pistachios roughly chopped
- 5 tablespoons melted ghee
- 2 cups almond flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cardamom powder
- 3 eggs whisked
- 2 tablespoons raw honey
- coconut butter or frosting optional for glaze
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 °F.
- Add carrots, raisins, cashews, pistachios and ghee into a bowl. Mix well.
- In another bowl, add almond flour, baking soda and cardamom and stir until well combined.
- Add the carrot mixture to the bowl and combine well - then mix in the honey and eggs.
- Pour into a 9-inch springform pan and bake at 350°F for 30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
- Optional coconut drizzle: warm coconut butter and drizzle. Mix in some coconut oil if the butter is too thick.
Judy says
Any suggestions to make this nut free 🙂
Use all purpose flour instead of almond flour ?
Mariana says
Hi! Could I make this cake in two 6 inch tins? I’m planning to make it as a tall cake for a birthday with cream cheese frosting. Would his recipe suitable for that?
My Heart Beets says
Hi Mariana, yes, I’ve actually done that before (but with a cardamom whipped cream filling), so I know it works 🙂 You can keep the bake time the same. You may want to level the cakes before stacking them together. Let me know what you think!
Rinita says
Hi Ashley
I made this today, and it turned out to be A.M.A.Z.I.N.G!!! I followed the steps to the T, however added sugar instead of honey.
I have a question though. Can I decrease the number of eggs used or completely eliminate it and add milk or condensed milk instead? Will that work? I am asking only because I found the smell of the eggs a bit strong.
Thanks for this awesome recipe.
My Heart Beets says
Hi Rinita, I’m so happy to hear that you liked it so much! I haven’t tried an egg-free version but am curious – if you experiment, please let us know how it goes!
Ava says
This looks delicious! Do you have nutrition info for this cake?
My Heart Beets says
Thanks, Ava! I don’t – sorry! I’m working on finding a good app to help with this!
Shahena says
Can I use all purpose or wheat flour??
Helene says
Made this cake today
It’s absolutely yummy
Thank you for the recipe
Love them all I made so far
❤️❤️
My Heart Beets says
Helene, I’m so glad you liked it! Thanks for letting me know how the cake turned out for you 🙂
Josh says
Is this supposed to have a cake texture? I used 9 inch Corningware bowl and baked for almost 45 minutes as middle was not set. Toothpick came out clean but texture is more like halwa and pieces did not hold its shape. Taste great though!
My Heart Beets says
Hi Josh! Yes, it should have a cake-like texture – I’m guessing it may require a longer cook time since you’re using a bowl. Glad you liked the taste though 🙂
Sri says
Is there any egg substitute for this cake?
Sangeeta says
I tried your recipe and it turned out good, except that I felt that it was not sweet enough. Otherwise, I love that it’s gluten-free and a healthy dessert.
Can I use sugar instead of honey? Or any other substitute?
My Heart Beets says
Thanks Sangeeta! Yes, you can use sugar! If you liked it then maybe just follow the recipe again but add an extra couple tablespoons of sugar – that’s what I’d do 🙂
Pushpanjali says
Hi Ashley, this recipe looks amazing! I have a quick question. I want to make this for a friend who has a lot of food allergies and restrictions. Is there a way to make this without the egg? She cannot have eggs. Otherwise this is perfect.
Thanks in advance!
Pushpanjali
My Heart Beets says
I haven’t tried this without egg but I have heard of others successfully using egg replacers like chia seeds with water or flax seeds with water! Let me know if you try it this way 🙂
Mona says
Can you please tell me approximately how many servings this cake will make. Thanks
Deb says
This is my favourite recipe for a gluten free and paleo dessert. I have made it countless times. Thank you for a wonderful recipe. I attempted carrot halwa many years ago for a young couple’s first Christmas away from India, so great story about your cake’s inspiration.
My Heart Beets says
Deb, thank you! I’m so happy to hear that you’ve made it so many times! And how sweet of you to make halwa for them… they must have been so appreciative!
Joann clemmer says
I did not know where it when to add the ghee….
Is it the drizzle for the cake ?
My Heart Beets says
The recipe calls for adding the ghee in step 2 🙂 the glaze is made with coconut butter. Let me know what you think if you make this!
Heather says
Just letting you and your readers know that I made your recipe (exactly) as well as a version substituting the carrots with zucchini and the raisins with dark chocolate pieces. Both tasted great, although my family and I are partial to the modified recipe. Unfortunately we didn’t refrigerate the carrot cake and it spoiled after two days – lesson learned for the zucchini cake that was baked today! Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Heather says
Could zucchini be substituted for the carrots?
My Heart Beets says
I haven’t tried it this way but I’m sure it would work 🙂 Just squeeze out any extra moisture before using the zucchini!
Amy says
Hi Ashley,
Could I cook this in something besides a springform pan? Would a pyrex pan work? Thanks!
My Heart Beets says
Hi Amy, I’m sure another pan will be just fine but you may have to adjust the cooking time! Let me know how you like this recipe 🙂
Mor says
Hi there!
Looks like a great recipe 🙂 I’m thinking of baking it for my 2 year old’s birthday.
I have a few questions:
Should the carrots be finely or roughly grated?
Do you have an idea for a smooth frosting?
Would the cake be easy to cut? I would like to cut it into a shape of a horse 🙂
My Heart Beets says
Hi Mor! You can grate the carrots either way. As for cutting the cake – it’s pretty textured so I’m not sure how easy it’ll be to shape after it bakes. If you try this please let me know how it turns out and how your daughter likes it!
JL says
I’ve made this before and it was huge hit. Such a big hit, that I’d like to make it again. Problem is, a bunch of us are counting calories. Any chance you have the nutrition break down for this and any of your other recipes?
My Heart Beets says
Hi JL! I’m so glad you like the cake 🙂 I don’t have calorie/nutritional info available on my website but I’m sure there are calculators on the web that you can use to help you figure that out?
Margot Wing says
I spent a few years of my childhood in India, and always loved halwa, the one made with cream of wheat! Fast forward 40 years and no longer eating wheat, so I would make it with cream of rice. But now limiting all grains, I find this! It’s even better than all of my memories of it!! I love your site and every one of your recipes that I have made. Thank you so much!
My Heart Beets says
Margot, I’m so happy to hear that you liked this recipe! And that you’ve liked everything you’ve made from my site – hearing that makes my day!!
Nikki says
Hi Ashley,
This recipe looks great! I wanted to ask you if there’s a way to make the cake without eggs? Or can I substitute it with something else?
My Heart Beets says
Thanks, Nikki! I’m not sure if this cake is possible without eggs… hopefully a reader who has tried will respond! you can try my gajar halwa for a dessert with the same flavor though.
Brooke S. says
Thank you so much for this recipe!!! We made it for my son’s birthday party and everyone loved it. I appreciate having a healthy option to serve my family and friends.
BTW, we made a honey butter glaze for the top and it was delicious.
My Heart Beets says
So happy to hear that, Brooke! Happy birthday to your son! 🙂
Abbey says
Could I sub coconut oil for the ghee?
My Heart Beets says
yes! it won’t taste the same (obvi no buttery taste) but it’ll still be good 🙂
Simmy says
HI, I’m just wondering is it possible to leave out the raisins when making this recipe? as my husband can’t eat raisins and the rest of the recipe sounds great and simple so I would really like to try 🙂
My Heart Beets says
Simmy, yup you can definitely leave out the raisins. Maybe try adding chopped dates for extra sweetness? Let me know how it turns out for you!
Lenore says
I’ve had this at Kashmire in Boston, and it was awesome. But there was some kind of white cheesy topping on it. What do you think that could be? Can you recommend a sweet topping for the same outside of typical cream cheese frosting? I want to make this recipe with something sweet on top.
My Heart Beets says
Hi Lenore! That topping is called “koya” – it’s basically just whole milk but reduced until dried. It takes a looong time to make. You can read more about it on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khoa Here in the United States, I know people make it with ricotta cheese, powdered milk, sugar and butter because it’s faster. I don’t really share dairy recipes on this blog so I don’t have a recipe for it but you basically just melt butter, then add the rest of the ingredients. If you want a dairy-free topping, make coconut whipped cream and spice it with cardamom 🙂 Hope that helps!
Lydia says
Hello, are there any substitute for almond flour? thanks 🙂
My Heart Beets says
Lydia, I haven’t tried this with another flour – but I think another nut flour might work – maybe cashew flour? If you try, please let us know how it turns out for you!
Angela Privin at Paleo Kitchen Lab says
This was the perfect carrot cake. I made and served it for my birthday celebration and even people that don’t like carrot cake ate it and raved about it. This is a true keeper. And so healthy with 4 cups of carrots. Yum. And cardamom is one of my favorite spices.
My Heart Beets says
I’m so glad you liked it, Angela! Thank you so much for the kind review 🙂 Hope you had a great birthday!
Jack says
This was my first paleo recipe — I followed the directions to a tee. When I loaded into the springform, it seemed dry and not enough liquid to bind it. After cooking it looked crumbly. After releasing the springform, I cut it and it crumbled. More like consistency of dry cereal. Isn’t there supposed to be more liquid to bind it together ? Tasted delicious but not cake light.
My Heart Beets says
Hi Jack, that’s strange… I’ve made this cake many times and it has never had the consistency of dry cereal… did you melt the ghee before using it? Were the eggs tiny? I have no idea what could have caused this…
Jack says
Yes, I melted it and used extra large eggs.
Raseel says
Loved this cake!!! it tastes so much like the gajar ka halva without all that ghee!
My Heart Beets says
Thanks, Raseel! 🙂 So glad you liked it!
Colette says
Hi Ashley! My brother just found out he is CANCER-FREE! When he found out he had Cancer he said, “When I’m all through with this I want a Carrot Cake!” Well, that day is here. He said being sick has been a wake-up call for him. He still wants Carrot Cake, but he wants it to be healthy. You never let me down when I need a great recipe! Thanks! 🙂 HE LOVED IT!
My Heart Beets says
Colette, I am SO happy to hear that!! Such wonderful news! I’m so glad he loved the cake 🙂
Sian says
Yum!! I can’t wait to try this version, it sounds and looks amazing. Thanks so much, I just love so many of your recipes. Also, how cute are those pictures of you and your Dad. What a handsome man, and a beautiful daughter.
My Heart Beets says
Thank you! That is so kind of you to say 🙂 I hope you enjoy this cake!
Kylah Genade says
I cannot bake to save my life – but its my husband’s birthday and he is anti-sugar, white flour, starch carbs etc…so I came across this recipe by chance and it looked completely do-able….Its in the oven right now…Im a little nervous as I have a history of burning the heck out of things (good thing we like our food – well done I guess)… but I am praying. It smells incredible…I had a friend from India who made us this ‘TO-DIE-FOR’ Rice pudding with cardamon in it and that is why I decided to give this a try…. very excited! Thank you for the great recipe – I am hoping it tastes as good as it looks. (I risked death just to sneak some of the batter – that whole salmonella raw egg thing – Im living on the edge but it was worth it!!) Kylah from South Africa!!
My Heart Beets says
Kylah, I am so glad that you made this for your husband’s birthday! I hope it turned out well – I am sure it did!
Lisa says
This was fantastic. SO fantastic, that I brought it to our local Indian restaurant for a friends birthday , and the staff were raving about it! They asked for the recipe 🙂 How cool is that? I directed them here…Maybe the restaurant will start experimenting with your recipes…THAT would be perfect!!! I LOVE Indian but try to limit going out for it due to Paleo, but you have made it possible for me to enjoy it even more than ever! I made a Cashew Butter frosting to go with it, and it complemented the flavors of the cake perfectly. The first time I made it, I left it without frosting and it was equally delicious…doesn’t really need frosting, but it was a birthday 🙂
My Heart Beets says
Wow, thanks so much Lisa!! That cashew butter frosting sounds delicious – I’ll have to try that the next time I make this cake!:)
Gale says
This recipe sounds so incredibly delicious! Definitely trying this week. And you look SO beautiful and happy in those photos with your Dad! You are both very lucky.
My Heart Beets says
Thank you, Gale!! 🙂 Let me know how the cake turns out for you!
Caroline says
Great recipe! Thank you so much. We made it several times for different people and everybody likes it!
My Heart Beets says
So happy to hear that, Caroline! 🙂 Thanks for letting me know!
Dottie B. says
I’ve just recently gone Paleo and have never felt better; I want to make this for my moms birthday so I can have some too. All I have is coconut flour; can I substitute?
My Heart Beets says
Coconut flour is very different from other Paleo flours, so unfortunately you won’t be able to substitute it in this recipe (or in any recipe).
Zahra says
My husband started paleo and I was really all about trying to eat healthy, nothing else mattered. Then I started seeing a major change in his entire being (weight, mindset, positive vibes, overall happiness…) then I came across this recipe, and as I’m eating it, I finally get it!! Paleo is not only worthwhile, but enjoyable thanks to your recipes!! Thank you 🙂
My Heart Beets says
That’s wonderful, Zahra! And thank you – it always makes me so happy to hear stories like this!
Lauren says
Looks great! Can’t wait to give it a try…do the pistachios need to be unsalted? Just wondering since all I have is salted pistachios. Thank you!
My Heart Beets says
Hi Lauren! You can use salted pistachios 🙂 Let me know how they turn out for you!
Lauren says
I enjoyed your carrot cake recipe, Ashley! The salted pistachios worked well! I have one question, what size pan did you use? I used a standard cake pan but I think next time I need to keep it in the oven longer.
Jen says
Hi! I’m making this right now and just wondering how many cardamom pods should I add? And do I add them whole? Thanks!
My Heart Beets says
Hi Jen, you can just use 1 tsp cardamom powder – I suggest pods because I think cardamom tastes best when freshly ground. I usually remove the shell and just use the seeds inside – Let me know how this turns out for you!
Salma says
Hello, I made this for my family and they absolutely loved it! I couldn’t believe how similar the taste was to gajrela. I am off to try a few more recipes 🙂 Thank you!
My Heart Beets says
Salma, happy to hear that your whole family liked the recipe! Let me know how any others you try turn out for ya 🙂
Amy says
Made this today with traditional cream cheese frosting – beautiful! Will definitely be making again!
Found your blog via Things My Belly Likes 🙂
My Heart Beets says
Amy, thanks so much for letting me know how it turned out for you!
Joanna says
This looks amazing, and having had success with your carrot fudge recipie, I am going to try this soon! I can’t get ghee where I live (Ethiopia), but I can get butter, coconut milk (which solidifies in the fridge), and I already have coconut oil. Which of these would you suggest as a substitute? Thanks!
My Heart Beets says
Hi Joanna! So glad you liked the carrot fudge! If you can get butter – I’d suggest making your own ghee. Just cook the butter on low heat until the milk solids caramelize/turn brown. Then strain the butter and you’ve got ghee 🙂 If you don’t want to make your own ghee then you can use butter but you’ll lose a little bit of the toasted/nutty flavor that comes with using ghee.