Carrot Cake with Lemony Cashew Cream

Hello people of Stroud and surroundings,

How are you going? 

As an essential business we will continue to be open from 10-4 on Monday to Saturday. You can also order online at www.looseplasticfree.co.uk. Delivery is available for those who need it.

This week I've got a recipe for you that is suitable for any odd season but on these chillier days it will be extra enjoyable to bake a vegan and gluten-free Carrot Cake!

You're not vegan? That's fine, neither am I, but I think it's a mighty good thing to eat more vegan foods. Why not start with cake?

This is one of the first recipes I reconstructed in order to make it medicinal, healthy, nutritious AND delicious. I hope you like it as much as I do. Recipe from my cookbook Lick Your Plate. Available at Loose. 

Watch a video I made for this rich and fulfilling Carrot Cake when I was 'stuck' in Australia earlier this year right before lockdown, or get the recipe right here straight out of Lick Your Plate. 

Dry ingredients are to be found at Loose. For the wet ingredients you can even get airmail-free olive oil at loose! Happy shopping, baking and eating.

Carrot Cake with Lemony Cashew Cream

This carrot cake recipe was born out of the desire to satisfy my daily cake cravings without dying of heart disease or gaining too many kilos from excess consumption of sugar. Of course also fulfilling my personal chef client’s needs for gluten, refined sugar and dairy-free cake recipes. When one of my first cooking classes required an addition of a carrot cake, I had to finalise this recipe. The days of intuitive baking and non-measuring were over, and I started to weigh and measure each ingredient so that everyone could make this healthy carrot cake. Need I mention how good carrots are for you? I think you already know. This recipe is not too sweet, but you can make the cashew cream extra sweet if you want to serve it as a decadent dessert, or add a touch more maple syrup in the cake batter. I think it’s perfect like this and can be enjoyed as a guilt-free afternoon snack, or a sweet breakfast.

Makes 1 medium round cake

Dry ingredients

2 cups almond meal

1/2 cup rice flour

1/3 cup maize flour, or gluten-free flour mix

Pinch salt

Pinch nutmeg

Pinch clove

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp bicarb

1 cup sultanas, dates, or currants, or all three combined

Wet ingredients

2 tbsp flaxmeal, mixed with 1/4 cup rice milk, let sit only 5 minutes, no more

1/4 cup rice milk

1/4 cup rice syrup

1/4 cup maple syrup

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/3 cup olive oil

Rind of 1 lemon

Dash of vanilla extract

Also

2 medium carrots, grated coarse, roughly 2 cups or 200g

1/2 cup dry roasted walnuts, chopped roughly

ACTION!

Preheat oven to 180°C.

Line a medium round cake tin with baking paper.

Dry-roast the walnuts. Grate the carrots.

Sift the dry ingredients well.

Mix the wet ingredients and combine them both, then add the carrots and walnuts.

Mix lightly and pour into cake tin.

Bake for approximately 50 minutes depending on cake tin shape and the nature of your oven.

To check if the cake is ready: insert a knife in the middle, and if it comes out clean the cake is ready. Let sit 10 minutes or so to cool.

Enjoy with tea and Lemony Cashew Cream (recipe below).

Tip

You can use hazelnut meal instead of almond meal. Try adding 2 tbsp poppy seeds or 1/2 cup chopped pineapple. Pepitas or pecans are also very nice instead of walnuts.

 

Lemony Cashew Cream

This is a great classic vegan version of a thick, white glaze, or a creamy icing. In this case it’s lemony. You can adjust the consistency easily by adding more, or less milk. Also, when left in the fridge overnight it will thicken exponentially. The cream lasts for up to 4-5 days in the fridge and defrosts well when frozen, just be sure to re-blend the cream to recreate that smoothness.

Cashew cream is definitely best eaten spanking fresh.

Ingredients

1 cup raw cashews, soaked overnight

1/4 - 1/2 cup rice milk, depending on desired consistency

1 tbsp maple syrup, or lots more depending how sweet you like it

Tiny pinch of salt

Juice and rind of 1 lemon

ACTION

Strain the cashews and discard water.

Place all ingredients in a blender, or mini food processor and whiz until über-creamy. Taste test, take a deep breath and enjoy!

Maria-Carin Gala from Gala’s Organic Kitchen, on behalf of Loose the plastic-free shop in Stroud.