BEST EVER VEGAN CARROT CAKE

I'm very honoured that Laura, my 15 year old daughter and awesome vegan baker, is allowing me to share her recipe for the most delicious carrot cake ever! 
She made this one for her dad for Fathers Day, at his request, its his favourite cake!
I've always been a fan of carrot cake but sometimes its just dry and unappetising, but not this one!  

Its deliciously moist, sweet, flavoursome, packed full of nuts and seeds for a bit of crunch and oodles of minerals, good fats, vitamins and antioxidants.

The wholemeal flour provides fibre and minerals. The carrots also provide fibre and lots of vitamins.

The flavour is enhanced by mixed spice and cinnamon, which helps insulin do its job of mopping up sugar from your bloodstream so you don't end up with a sugar rush. The fibre and protein from all the nuts, seeds and carrots also slows the rate at which the sugar hits your bloodstream.

So all in all this cake has a lot going for it!!

I do think that putting veggies in cakes is a genious idea, courgette and lime, beetroot brownies, sweet potato and chocolate cake! These are all great but I did make a cauliflower and chocolate cake a few months ago for the BBC Radio Scotland Kitchen Cafe and that was just wrong on every level! Cauliflower is just bitter tasting and totally overpowers any other ingredient. It also smelled awful, just like cooked cauliflower! Why anyone thought it was a good idea is beyond me! 

​Anyway back to the totally right on every level carrot cake!

Admittedly it is a special treat cake and not one we have regularly and yes it does contain sugar but in my opinion that is balanced out by all the good stuff!

The recipe makes a large cake which you can cut into 10 slices but we are greedy so usually cut it into rather big slices, 8 is our normal!
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I do hope you give it a go the next time you have a celebration coming up or just fancy treating yourself or impressing your friends!
I'm convinced it will become a family favourite!

Please let me know what you think, if you try it, by leaving me a comment! It's lovely to know that folks are trying out my recipes and I value any feedback!

​Here is the recipe..

BEST EVER VEGAN CARROT CAKE
Ingredients
2 cups (300g) of plain wholemeal flour
1 cup (150g) of brown sugar
3 cups of grated carrots, about 4 large ones
1/2 cup (50g) desiccated coconut
1/2 cup (75g)raisins or sultanas
1/4 cup (35g) of pumpkin seeds
1/4 cup (35g)of sunflower seeds
1/4 cup of nuts (35g), chopped, walnuts, almonds or hazelnuts all work well
1 teaspoon cinammon
1 teaspoon mixed spice
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda
1/3 cup of sunflower or olive oil
1 cup of water
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Frosting
300g icing sugar
100g vegan spread
zest of an orange
1/2 teaspoon orange extract (optional)

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C
2. Grease and line 2 8 inch round cake tins with baking parchment.
3. Mix all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.
4. Add the grated carrots, oil, water, cider vinegar and vanilla extract and mix until the ingredients are well combined.
5. Divide the mixture evenly between the two tins
6. Bake in the oven for around 45 minutes. Check if ready by inserting a skewer, it should come out clean! If not leave it in the oven for another 5 or 10 minutes. Leave the cakes to cool on a wire rack. 
7. To make the frosting, sift the icing sugar into a large bowl, add the vegan spread and beat together until light and fluffy. This is much easier with an electric mixer though a wooden spoon will do! Add the orange zest and orange extract, if using and mix well.
8. Sandwich the two cakes together with half the frosting. Spread the remaining frosting on top and decorate with nuts, orange zest, pumpkin seeds and cinnamon.
9. This cake is so moist it will keep happily for a good few days in a covered tin!

                      .....your health in your hands.....