WHOLESOME CARROT CAKE WITH COCONUT ICING

Carrot cake everywhere

Carrot cakes are ALL OVER THE PLACE or so it seems, random cafes and restaurants offer them on display. Even though they oftentimes look very appealing (actually, let me be a little bit more precise here: they look as if you’d like to stick your head in them, am I right?), I never really like the icing. It’s too sweet or too buttery, too thick or too thin (I’m usually not a complainer, I promise). Also, I often find myself looking for walnuts because there was only one lonely nut on top of the icing, aren’t carrot cake and a shit ton of walnuts supposed to be best friends? And what about that batter that could be so much moister and taste a little (or a lot) more substantial? So instead of complaining, I set out to make my own version of a carrot cake that is sweet enough to be called a cake and wholesome enough to be nutritious. Are you still with me? This carrot cake is my absolute favourite way of eating carrots and I bet you’ll think the same once you made it! It has a beautifully dense and moist texture and combines the naturally sweet taste of carrots with the exotic flavour of coconut. Are there any loopholes? Absolutely none!

Servings: 12 pieces

Total time: 65 min

For the Cake

Ingredients

2 cups whole wheat flour (you can also use spelt)

1 tsp baking powder

3/4 cup raw cane or coconut sugar

pinch of salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

3 eggs

2 big or 3 medium carrots, grated

1/2 cup coconut oil, melted

1/4 cup maple syrup

zest of 1/4 organic orange

add ins

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1/2 cup chopped raisins

1/2 cup shredded coconut

For the coconut icing

Ingredients

250 ml coconut cream

1 tbsp maple syrup

1 tsp vanilla extract

toppings

handful of chopped walnuts, chopped

Instructions

1. Grease a round 20 cm baking tin and cover with a sprinkle of flour. Then heat your oven to 180°C on fan mode. 

2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the wheat flour, baking powder, spices, salt and sugar.

3. In a medium-sized bowl whisk the eggs, melted coconut oil and maple syrup until all is well combined. 

4. Add the liquid ingredients to the large mixing bowl and mix well until the batter has a nice, slightly runny consistency (the carrot will make it a bit firmer). 

5. Pour the batter into the baking tin and make sure that it is evenly distributed. Bake it for 45 minutes and allow another 5 minutes if the knife does not come out clean.

6. While the cake is in the oven, prepare the coconut icing. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk the coconut cream with the maple syrup and vanilla extract. It may take several minutes until the mixture is creamy and a little more solid, depending on how cold the coconut cream has been in the fridge. Set aside in the fridge and add on top of the carrot cake once it has cooled off. 

7. Roast a handful of chopped walnuts to add onto the coconut icing once it is evenly distributed on the cake, along with a sprinkle of cinnamon. Et voilà!