A HEALTHY TAKE ON CARROT CAKE

CARROT CAKE IS one of my all-time favourite desserts. It’s delicious, festive and full of vegetables. The only downfall, I realized when making it over and over again, is the crazy amount of oil and refined sugar that goes into it. And yes, it is cake, and we should allow ourselves treats, but I have created a recipe that lowers the amount of oil, includes fruit and is equally delicious. Yes, seriously. This cake contains omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, plenty of protein, energy filled carbohydrates, and more than your daily amount of vitamin A. For even the most die-hard carrot cake fans, I can guarantee you will love my version. If you don’t have a high-powered blender to make the icing, I promise, it’s just as good without it.

Carrot Cake Ingredients

1 cup flour, spelt or whole wheat

1 cup oat flour

1 cup coconut sugar

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon ¼ tsp sea salt

2 cups carrots, washed and grated

1 cup apple, peeled and grated

2 tbsp chia seeds ½ cup coconut oil, melted ¾ cup coconut milk ICING

1 cup raw cashews

2 tbsp coconut oil

4 tbsp honey, preferably raw

4 tbsp water

1 pinch sea salt

1 cup raw walnuts, chopped

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 2. Make the chia egg by stirring chia seeds with 3 tbsp water. Set aside. 3. Grease two 9-inch round cake pans with coconut oil.

4. In a large mixing bowl, blend the flours, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and sea salt. Set aside. 5. In a smaller bowl, mix together carrot, apple, coconut oil, coconut milk and the chia egg (it should be all goopy). 6. Add all at once to the dry mixture and stir until just combined. 7. Pour evenly into cake pans and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until slightly browned. 8. Leave in the pan to cool for 10 minutes and then turn out onto a cooling rack. 9. The cake will be very moist. Be careful not to let it break.

10.While it’s cooling, make the cashew icing: add the following into a high-powered blender (scraping sides frequently) or you can use an immersion blender. Add the cashews, coconut oil, honey, water and salt.

11. Top cake with icing and sprinkle with walnuts.

Servings

Makes 12–15 slices.