A recipe for a carrot cake was one of my first cake recipes on the blog. It took me so many tries to arrive at the perfect ratios that I remember having a bit of an embarrassing breakdown and seriously doubting my cooking skills. This stupid cake reduced me to a sobbing mess crouched down on my kitchen floor.
By the time I wiped off my tears, the last cake (which I pronounced ‘rubbish’ upon taking it out from the oven) had a chance to cool off and, once I cut into it, I suddenly realised that I had finally cracked the vegan carrot loaf code. I felt a bit silly. I went from wanting to chuck it all in to elated and cheerful within a few minutes. Poor Duncan, who witnessed my breakdown, was probably considering doing a runner especially that I was holding a kitchen knife… As I am a firm believer in not re-inventing the wheel, this recipe is based on my original recipe except that I’ve made this one gluten-free (plus simplifed the recipe in the process) and also improved and simplified my cashew frosting. This frosting is smooth and creamy. It does not include any added oil or agar agar, neither does it require a powerful blender thanks to two simple tricks that my very average blender has forced me to come up with. This cake has a fair amount of spice in it, it’s a bit of a cross between a carrot cake and a bunch of gingerbread cookies. I personally love that but if you are not that keen on spices, simply dial them down a bit or skip most of them, cinnamon is a must in a carrot cake though, surely!?
120 g / ¼ lb carrots, coarsely grated (1½ cups grated) 120 g / ½ cup + 2 tbsp brown sugar 150 ml / ½ cup + 2 tbsp apple sauce* 80 ml / 1/3 cup oil (I used mild olive oil) water
DRY INGREDIENTS
180 g / 1½ cup buckwheat flour** 1 tbsp ground chia or flax seeds 1 level tsp baking soda 1 level tsp baking powder pinch of salt 1 tsp cinnamon 1 tsp ground ginger ½ tsp ground nutmeg 1/8 tsp ground cloves
CASHEW FROSTING (makes 1½ cups)
195 g / 1½ cups cashews, soaked overnight 4 tbsp maple syrup, adjust to taste 3 tbsp lemon juice 2-3 tbsp coconut milk (I use this brand) or thin plant milk 1 vanilla pod, seeds scraped chopped pistachios, for decoration
PLEASE NOTE that a 2lb cake tin is very different from a 2lb bread tin. A 2lb cake tin (which should be used here) holds about 5 cups / 1250 ml (by contrast the bread one holds 8 cups / 2000 ml). The batter should fill no more than 2/3 – 3/4 of the 2lb cake tin or else the cake may not raise.
