Carrot Cake
by Cathy ConnallyI don’t know about you but I love carrot cake. There might be only one aspect to it I don’t like, which is the calories and fat. This version gives you all the flavour with none of the guilt.
Flavours: The warm nutty spice flavours from cinnamon and mace with the moist texture you love.
Benefits: Less than half the calories of the traditional version, nondairy, zero cholesterol, some protein and fibre.
Carrot Cake
Rated 5 stars by 1 users
Category
Dessert
Servings
9
Prep Time
20 minutes
Cook Time
45 minutes
I don’t know about you but I love carrot cake. There might be only one aspect to it I don’t like, which is the calories and fat. This version gives you all the flavour with none of the guilt.
Flavours: The warm nutty spice flavours from cinnamon and mace with the moist texture you love.
Benefits: Less than half the calories of the traditional version, nondairy, zero cholesterol, some protein and fibre.
Yield: 9 servings
Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
Equipment: Mixing bowls, food processor, whisk, spatula, 8-inch (20.3 cm) square baking pan, binder clips
Author:Cathy Connally
Ingredients
- 1½ cups (355 ml) unsweetened plant milk such as almond, cashew or walnut
- 4½ oz (126 g) pitted dates
- ¾ cup (125 g) fresh currants or raisins
- ½ cup (112 g) very ripe banana
- 1¾ cup (185 g) rolled oats or oat flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp ground mace
- a pinch ground cloves
- a pinch ground ginger
- 1½ cups (90 g) shredded carrots
- 5 oz (140 g) pitted dates
- ¾ cup (105 g) raw cashews
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ cup whole walnuts for garnish (optional)
- 1 tbsp shredded carrot for garnish
Cake
Frosting
Directions
Cake
- Combine the plant-based milk, dates, ½ of the currants (or raisins), banana and vanilla in a medium mixing bowl. Let stand 15-20 minutes for dates to soften.
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line the baking pan with parchment paper and use binder clips to hold the parchment paper in place.
- If using oats, place them in the blender. Blend until they form a powder. If using oat flour, skip this step. Place oat flour in a large mixing bowl along with baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, mace, cloves and ginger. Whisk until fully blended.
- Place the date mixture in the food processor and blend until smooth. Add the date mixture to the dry ingredients and blend just until mixed. Fold in the rest of the currants or raisins, carrots and walnuts (if using).
- Spread the batter in the parchment lined pan. Bake for 45 minutes.
- While the cake is baking, make the frosting.
- Use a wooden skewer to test doneness in centre of cake. Cool for 10 minutes.
Frosting
- Place dates and cashews in a bowl with enough warm water to cover them. Soak for 45 minutes until the dates are soft and the cashews have noticeably expanded. Reserve the water.
- Take the dates and cashews out of the water and place into a food processor. Add vanilla extract and add enough of the reserved water a bit at a time until desired consistency is achieved.
- Spread the frosting on the carrot cake, add whole walnuts if desired and more shredded carrots to the top of the cake for decoration.
Recipe Note
Nutrition (Per Serving): 6½ oz (175 g) Plant-based | traditional |
|
Calories |
317 | 690 |
Fat |
13.3 g | 44.4 g |
Saturated Fat |
1.8 g |14.8 g |
Cholesterol |
0 mg |111 g |
Carbohydrate |
46 g | 71.5 g |
Fibre |
6.9 g | 2.5 g |
Protein |
7.9 g |7.4 g |
Sugar |
22.6 g |51.8 g |
Sodium |
181 mg | 395 mg |