A Carrot Cake for Dark Nights …

With the nights drawing in and the weather finally turning, it can only mean one thing as far as I’m concerned: cake! (but a healthy one of course).

Carrot cake has always been a firm favourite and I’ve finally found a recipe which works every time no matter how much it’s tweaked towards healthier ingredients. I’ve played with different flours, using spelt or making it gluten free using coconut flour and brown rice flour. And of course swapping the sugar content for a healthier version. I’ve reduced the amount too – the original recipe called for 500g of sugar! There is just no need for that much sugar especially since carrots are actually quite sweet

I now always use coconut sugar in cakes. It’s not a miracle product but it is considered better than using refined sugar as it contains minerals such as iron, zinc, calcium and potassium along with some short chain fatty acids and some antioxidants. The good think about coconut sugar is it contains a fiber called inulin, which slows glucose absorption and will explain why coconut sugar has a lower glycemic index than regular sugar.

Ingredients

• 250ml olive oil
• 250g coconut sugar
• 250g spelt flour
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 2 teaspoons  bicarbonate of soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon ground cardamon
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 125g walnuts, chopped
• 500g carrots, peeled and grated
• Creamy topping
• 200g cashew nuts soaked in water for a few hours
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil, gently melted
• A few grinds of salt

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 170C / gaz mark 3.
2. Put the olive oil, sugar and eggs in a bowl and stir until well mixed.
3. Sift the flour and other dry ingredients into a second bowl and make a well in the centre. Add the egg and oil mixture and mix thoroughly until blended followed by the walnuts and carrots.
4. Pour into a 24cm springform prepared cake tin and bake for 1hr and 20 mins until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Let cool in the tin and then turn out onto a cake plate.
5. To make the icing, add all of the ingredients to a high speed blender and blend until very smooth. Spread over the cake, if you like, sprinkle some extra walnuts on the top and indulge yourself!

It’s so deliciously moist and lightly spiced – I think you’ll love it