This festive carrot ring is a cross between a sweet carrot cake and savory carrot bread. I typically make this recipe for Jewish holidays (particularly Rosh Hashanah) to add a festive flair to the holiday table. This post contains affiliate links. Please see my disclosures.
Are you looking for a festive, fun, beautiful, and totally gluten-free recipe to cheer up your holiday table?
If so, look no further than this beautiful carrot ring recipe.
If you’ve never had a carrot ring, you are in for a surprising treat.
Most people will write off this recipe as no good. Who wants to eat such a thing at dinner? But if you dare to make and try it, you’ll see why it’s a family favorite at our holiday table each year.
What Is It?
A carrot ring is a sweet cake, cooked in the shape of a ring, that is served during a meal vs. dessert.
It contains plenty of shredded carrots inside, along with plenty of butter and a little sugar to make it sweet.
I typically make it for Jewish holidays, particularly for Rosh Hashanah, because it’s festive and because carrots are a symbolic food for the holiday.
This is my husband’s grandmother’s recipe. Her name is Bubu (you might know her from her famous dill pickle recipe). Bubu is 96 years old now, but back in the day, she baked up plenty of Jewish pastries and treats.
You might be a bit intimidated by the carrot ring. Is it good? Is it weird? I get it, however, once you take your first bite, you will know why our family makes this recipe every year and why it has been in our family for many generations.
Ingredients
To make a gluten-free carrot ring for your holiday table, you’ll need a few key ingredients.
Carrots: First, you’ll need shredded carrots. You can grate carrots in your food processor or with a box grater, or buy pre-grated carrots in a bag at the grocery store (this is my preferred way).
Flour: You’ll also need a good, gluten-free flour blend. I used my trusty Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Gluten-Free Flour blend. It works like a charm in many of my recipes, and I’m happy to report it worked well when converting Bubu’s carrot ring into a gluten-free recipe.
Other Ingredients: You’ll also need butter, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
Equipment
In order to make this recipe, you’ll need this ring mold pan, which is fairly inexpensive (about $20). The ring pan is a good investment, as you’ll be making this recipe time and time again.
If you don’t have or don’t want to invest in a ring pan, try making it in your bundt pan. I have not tested this option personally, but people have told me it has worked for them.
How to Make
To make this recipe, cream together your butter and sugar. Then add your eggs and water.
Then add your dry ingredients – your flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt – to the wet batter.
Once all your ingredients are well combined, you’ll fold in the grated carrots until they’re evenly distributed inside the batter.
Now for a very important step: Grease that ring pan well! Really well! I use a non-stick cooking spray because it nets the best results.
Simply add your batter to the pan, make sure it’s evenly distributed, and stick your carrot ring in the oven for about 30-35 minutes, allowing the oven to work its baking magic.
Allow the cake to fully cool, and then invert it onto a round serving platter. The cake will stick to the pan if it’s too hot or not cooked through. A well-greased pan from the start will prevent these kinds of mishaps from occurring.
Now for the really exciting part. Just before serving the beautiful ring cake, add warmed and seasoned peas to the center. Nothing goes together better than peas and carrots!
I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do. It’s such a delightful addition to any holiday meal – enjoy it for Christmas, Easter, and any and all Jewish Holidays (except maybe Passover).
Other Rosh Hashanah Recipes
Here are some other festive recipes that work well on your Rosh Hashanah table:
- Gluten-Free Challah
- Gluten-Free Honey Cake
- Gluten-Free Carrot Cake Infused With Pineapple (Dairy-Free Option)
- Gluten-Free Apple Cake
- Easy Beef Brisket Recipe (Perfect for Jewish Holidays)
Gluten-Free Carrot Ring
Equipment
- 1 ring-shaped mold pan
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 cup butter (2 sticks)
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 tbsp water
- 1 1/2 cups Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten-Free Flour Blend 222 grams
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 cups carrots grated, about 4 medium/large carrots
- 2 cups frozen peas cooked as instructed on bag (canned peas okay) – optional
- Kosher salt to taste – for the peas
- Fresh black pepper to taste – for the peas
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350º degrees F. Grease a ring-shaped mold pan well with cooking spray or oil. If you don't have a ring-shaped pan, try using a bundt pan.
- Cream together the butter and brown sugar in your standing mixer using the paddle attachment for about 1 minute. Add the egg and water and mix for another 30 seconds.
- Sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a separate bowl. Add the flour mixture gradually to the wet mixture until well combined. Fold in grated carrots until well distributed throughout the batter.
- Add the batter to the ring-shaped pan and bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Allow the carrot ring to cool fully before flipping it onto a round serving dish. If the carrot ring is stuck, you can use a flexible spatula to loosen the cake from the sides of the mold. Be gentle!
- Just before serving the carrot ring, add warmed and seasoned peas to the center of the ring (optional).
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