I love carrot cake. It is the most delicious cake, especially coated in creamy frosting and served with a dollop of natural or coconut yoghurt (even the thought is making me want another slice). And this recipe combines Autumnal spices like cinnamon and ginger with gooey, zesty ingredients to make a thick and delicious texture; dense in a moist way without any crunchy nut pieces – I don’t like whole nuts and so always avoid them in cakes – and really easy to make! As soon as you’ve made the base you can press it into your cake tin, make the icing, spread it on top and eat it there and then; without having to freeze or bake it, you can crave it and be eating it in less than half an hour! Double win!
For the base, you need:
– 100g oats
– 150g chopped carrots (roughly 2 medium sized)
– 50g coconut flakes
– 9 dates
– 3 tsp Cypressa tahini
– 1 tsp cinnamon
– 1/2 tsp ginger
– 1/8 tsp (the tip) nutmeg
For the frosting, you need:
– 120g cashews
– 1 tsp vanilla powder
– Juice from 1 orange
– 10ml coconut water
Start by cutting the ends off your carrots and peeling and chopping them into small pieces – double check the chopped pieces are the desired weight. Put these aside whilst you put the oats into a food processor and ground them into a flour. Once it reaches this consistency (it only takes about 10 seconds), add all of the other ingredients except the tahini. Make sure the mixture is completely broken down and blended together – and slightly sticky – before moving it into a bowl and stirring in the tahini. This will ensure the mixture is then completely stuck together without any excess crumbling pieces.
NB: If you do want a bit of crunch, before adding the tahini, add a handful of raisins or crushed walnuts – whatever you desire – and stir it into the mixture. Then stir in the tahini and, depending on the new consistency, you may need to add a dash more!
Line two small circular cake trays – or you can make one very thick one – and pop these in the fridge or freezer whilst you make your frosting.
The frosting is just as easy to make as the base, simply put all the ingredients into the processor (you don’t even have to wash/rinse it!) and blend until a smooth, thick frosting forms. It tastes absolutely incredible so try and hold off eating it out of the bowl!!
Finally, remove your cakes from the chilled source and spread the icing on top of both of them – if you’re using just one base, do the same but make the frosting even thicker! Then give it a nice sprinkling of cinnamon and serve it immediately or let it rest in the fridge for at least 15 minutes to chill.
Just like that, you’ve made the healthiest version of a carrot cake with only dates to make it sweet – and by only using a few, you prevent it from being too sickly sweet. The spice combination gives it a fresh, festive flavour and makes each mouthful utterly moreish; I couldn’t resist eating half of the one I made (whoops!). I particularly loved it with vanilla Coyo and natural Greek yoghurt but, by itself, you can expect a thick, gooey, rich and flavoursome slice. This is a definite one to make for your friends and family, or if you need a quick treat which guarantees satisfaction!
Syrup & Spice 