THE ULTIMATE HEALTHY CARROT CAKE

 
 
 
 

For Nick’s birthdays in the past, I’ve made chocolate cakes, chocolate peanut butter cakes, cheesecakes (page 212 in East by West) and toffee walnut cake and all kinds of sweet things which he enjoys (with a cup of tea, always with a cup of tea). But a carrot cake - not too sweet - dense, moist, well spiced and frosted, and a lemon custard tart (with enough tang to make you smack your lips) are where it’s at for him.

This year, he put in a request for a carrot birthday cake to celebrate on seeing a carrot cake in a cafe window (he’s also still dreaming of a cake we bought earlier this year in Kings Cross at a food fair - I am too - but we can’t track down the maker/seller) and so I set to work on making one. I know he’s a fan of the Christmas cake I made a couple of years ago which is also packed with carrots, but I wanted to do something a little lighter and less fruity with a gluten-free gram flour crumb and here’s the result.

I didn’t have enough walnuts so this twist on a classic also features pistachios but stick to walnuts or pecans if you like. I took a look at Delia Smith’s carrot cake recipe and decided to include some desiccated coconut and since I didn’t have sultanas, raisins were used for the first attempt which made it to the photoshoot as pictured here. On testing again, I’ve swapped to sultanas which make a lovely change as we use raisins quite a bit. A jar of mixed spice keeps the ingredients simple but feel free to add your own spicy twists, a touch of extra allspice or nutmeg maybe. The frosting is coconut yoghurt with lemon juice tang for something in the style of a ‘cream cheese’ and I threw in some orange extract because I had that to hand but feel free to leave it out. For the initial test, I experimented for the first time using coconut flour to thicken the coconut yoghurt to see if I could skip my usual step of straining the yoghurt for a thicker spread. It worked quite well though it was still quite soft and would not work well for transporting! You can get around this by going back to the straining step or blending with some coconut oil to help it set better. I used olive oil in this cake which I think always makes a cake taste more complex but feel free to sub with coconut oil or butter. Otherwise, this is a vegan, gluten-free cake that got a big thumbs up from taste testers. 

METHOD 

The night before or at least an hour ahead of making the cake:

Start the batter: 

  1. Use a whisk to combine the gram flour, gluten-free plain flour, ground flax and water in a large bowl.

  2. Loosely cover  and leave to stand on the side for at least an hour or overnight. This helps the gram flour to fully absorb the water, thicken up and prevent lumps.

Strain the coconut yoghurt: 

  1. Line a sieve or fine-mesh strainer lined with a paper towel, scoop in the yoghurt and set the whole thing atop a bowl to strain. 

  2. Cover and place in the fridge.

To make the carrot cake: 

  1. Preheat the oven to 170°C fan 

  2. To the pre-prepared batter, add the olive oil, maple syrup, mixed spice, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and sea salt and mix well.

  3. Fold in the grated carrot, desiccated coconut, nuts and sultanas and mix again.

  4. Line two loose-bottomed 8 inch cake tins** with baking paper and grease the sides

  5. Distribute the batter between the tins and bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown on top and firm to touch and a toothpick inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. 

  6. Allow to cool fully before adding the frosting.

To make the “cream cheese” frosting: 

  1. While the cakes are baking, mix the rest of the frosting ingredients into the strained yoghurt. 

  2. Taste and adjust the lemon juice and maple syrup if necessary, and transfer back to the fridge to continue to thicken until you need it

To assemble: 

  1. Carefully remove the cakes from their tins and set one on a final plate or stand. 

  2. Spread half of the frosting on the top of one of the cakes and then carefully place the remaining cake on top. 

  3. Spread the rest of the frosting over the top and decorate with sprigs of rosemary and/or flowers.

INGREDIENTS

CARROT CAKE 

120g gluten-free plain flour (I use Doves Farm) 

80g gram aka chickpea flour 

2 tbs ground flax

1 cup (250ml) water

½ cup extra virgin olive oil

1/2 cup plus 1 tbs maple syrup

4 tsp mixed spice*

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

A good pinch of salt

200g carrots, grated

60g desiccated coconut 

100 - 150g of walnuts, pecans or pistachios (or mixture), chopped

120g sultanas (or raisins) 

"CREAM CHEESE" FROSTING

350g plain coconut yoghurt (I used Coconut Collaborative)

2 tbs coconut flour

2 tbs maple syrup

2 tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp vanilla extract

Optional: zest of lemon to taste or¼ tsp orange extract

Fresh rosemary sprigs and edible flowers (I used flowers from my Cavalo Nero) to decorate







East by West tips: 

*Some Mixed Spice shop bought blends don’t have cinnamon! So be sure to add a tsp of that as well. And check if your spice mix is old as,if it is, it won’t have as much flavour. If you like to taste the spice in your carrot cake then add a little more, this cake can handle it!

*I used an 8 inch cake tin and a 7.5 inch cake tin for a tiered look. Check when filling the tins that they are roughly the same depth. 

 

WATCH ON INSTAGRAM:

 
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