Just before the first lockdown was announced last year, we decided to try a free trail of a veg box. We had no idea the lockdown was coming but it turned out to be one of the better decisions we’ve made. I’ve loved the seasonal veg, plus the security of knowing that we don’t have to fight through a busy supermarket to get fresh food at the moment is always welcome. BUT the side effect at winter can be a lot of the same vegetables (I might be running out of ideas for beetroot at this stage…). We had a pile up of carrots this week and I just knew carrot cake would be the perfect solution.
While standard carrot cake is good, I like to take mine up a notch with a little tropical twist. Using crushed pineapple, a touch of coconut, along with grapefruit zest brings a totally fresh take to this old fashioned classic. I’ve topped this off with it’s favourite partner – cream cheese icing. This is a vegan icing but lets be honest, the recipe isn’t that different from the standard cream cheese icing – just use your favourite vegan cream cheese. So if you have a favourite cream cheese icing that you prefer, use it! The steps are exactly the same.
Hope this brightens your weekend, let me know if you enjoy this recipe as much as we did!
- Makes: Two 8inch round cakes with icing
Ingredients
For the Carrot Cake:
- 225g Gluten Free Flour*
- 230g Brown Sugar
- 70g Chickpea Flour
- 2 tsp Baking Powder
- 1 tsp Bicarbonate Soda
- 1 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp Ginger
- 1/4 tsp Nutmeg
- Zest from 1/2 a Grapefruit
- 80g Crushed Pineapple**
- 180ml Almond Milk
- 290g Carrots, grated
- 75g Walnuts, roughly chopped
- 50g Desiccated Coconut
For the Vegan Cream Cheese Icing:
- 215g Vegan Cream Cheese
- 60g Vegan Block butter, room temperature)
- 60g Vegetable Shortening
- 550g Icing Sugar, sifted
- 3 tsp Lemon Juice
- 2 tsp Vanilla essence
- Plant Based milk, as needed
Directions
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees (160 Fan/350 F). Grease two 8 inch, loose-bottomed round cake tins and line the bases with baking paper. Toss the walnuts with a tablespoon or so of the flour before mixing the cake.
Shift the flours, raising agents, and spices into a large bowl. Add in the sugar and grapefruit zest and stir, making sure there are no lumps in the sugar. Add in the milk, oil, and pineapple and beat until fully combined. Finally, fold in the carrot, walnuts, and coconut until everything is evenly mixed. Pour into the prepares tins and smooth over. Bake for between 45 minute to an hour, or skewer comes out clean and the cake has pulled away from the sides. Move to a cooling rack and allow the cakes to cool completely before icing.
While the cake cools, mix together the icing. Beat together the cream cheese, shortening, butter, lemon juice, and vanilla until smooth. Beat in the icing sugar gradually, until fluffy and no longer gritty. If the icing is a little thick for your plans then add a little almond milk, nor more than a tablespoon at a time, until your preferred texture is reached. Store in the fridge till needed.
Spread half the icing in between cake layers and top with the extra icing. I also like to decorate my cake with toasted coconut chips and chopped walnuts but it works equally well with just the icing. Cut into slices, serve and enjoy!
Notes
* Check your gluten free flour blend – if xanthan gum has not been included then add 1/4 tsp.
** If you can’t find crushed pineapple, or would rather make your own, then simply put an equal amount of chopped pineapple into a food processor and blend – easy!
Allergy Notes; This cake is vegan, gluten free, and soy free. If nuts are an allergen for you then just skip the walnuts – it’ll work just as well!
