I think it’s important to do things that are good for our spirits, even if it’s simply to make ourselves feel good. My beau was away on the weekend and I was at home staying warm and doing homework, so I decided to make myself one of my all time favourite cakes: Carrot cake. It’s sweet smell filled up my apartment and I felt good baking and then indulging. However, I am careful not to over-sweeten my cakes and I use alternative flours a lot of the time so that it’s not as heavy and it stays relatively healthy.
For me, carrot cake should not be refined. I go with the idea that it’s more of a loaf, something I can eat for breakfast and not feel ill.
Here is how I do it:
1 cup almond meal
1 cup self-raising plain flour
1/2 cup quinoa
4 teaspoon mixed spice (I use cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamon, pepper, vanilla)
1 cup brown sugar (or any unrefined sugar- makes the cake so much richer and gives a taste of caramel)
2 1/2 cups of grated carrots
1 cup chopped walnuts (half of these to put on the icing)
2/3 cup of either coconut oil or ghee
3 eggs, lightly beaten
150g of natural yoghurt
For the icing:
250 g cream cheese
1 rind of lemon or lime
honey
What next?
Preheat oven to 180°C/160°C fan-forced. Grease a 6cm-deep, 19cm cake pan. Line base and sides with baking paper.
Sift flour, almond meal, quinoa and spice into a bowl. Add sugar, carrot, chopped walnuts, coconut oil/ghee, natural yoghurt and eggs. Stir to combine. Spread into prepared pan. Bake for 1 hour 15 minutes or until a skewer inserted into centre comes out clean (cover loosely with foil if over-browning). Stand in pan for 10 minutes. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool.
To make the icing mix the cream cheese, grated rind and honey to taste. Spread over cake. Decorate with walnuts. ENJOY
Carrot Cake
Carrot Cake
Carrot Cake and morning latté
Carrot Cake
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