Do you make carrot cake 'from scratch', the old fashioned way? Do you end up with a big mess? Carrot peels in the sink, bits of grated carrot sticking to the grater and scattered over the counter, a chopping board covered in bits of walnuts and pineapple, a bowl for the wet ingredients, goop from the eggs on the counter, a whisk, a bowl for the dry ingredients, a floury sieve, a wooden spoon... then once you've tidied all that up, you've got to make the cream cheese icing! Messy. And lots of dishes to wash. So you probably don't make it very often, right? I know I didn't when I had to make it that way!
Maybe you're thinking, 'Nope! I make mine in the Thermomix, or a food processor!' Getting closer... but how many steps does your recipe take? I'm amazed at all the extraneous steps in so many recipes. Cut 'em out! Who wants recipes with lots of steps, anyway? Not me. I've streamlined my carrot cake recipe to two main steps. Plus stirring in some raisins if you like. (Okay, and one more step for the icing.) First the wet ingredients go in, along with the quartered carrots and chunks of fresh pineapple - grated, chopped and mixed all at once. Then I add the dry ingredients, including the nuts, and chop and mix those for a few seconds. Then stir through some raisins. That's it. Pour it in the tin, pop it in the oven, and let the Thermomix bowl wash itself. ;-) You can even skip peeling the carrots and just give them a scrub if you like. Too easy.
By the way, this recipe makes great carrot cake cupcakes, too! I'm afraid I ate four of them today. And a slice of cake. Oops. Good thing they're healthy! :D
I've made a quick coconut cream topping for these. If you'd rather you could make a vanilla cashew cream.
For a nut free version, just replace the walnuts with shredded coconut.
This recipe makes two cakes, or a cake and 12 cupcakes.
Or about 24 cupcakes. :-)
1. Preheat oven to 165C. (Cakes made with honey need to cook at a lower temp, for longer, otherwise they'll be burnt on the outside and gooey on the inside; so don't be tempted to turn the oven higher.) Grease and flour a bundt tin or ring tin, and 12 muffin cups, or two ring tins or 24 muffin cups... you get the idea. If you're going to use cake tins, make sure they're not regular ones or the middle won't cook well - if you don't have a ring tin or a bundt tin, just grease and flour a small glass, and place it upside down in the middle of a round cake tin, and use that.
2. Weigh carrots, pineapple and wet ingredients into the Thermomix bowl, and mix on speed 5 for 15 seconds:
- 400g carrots, quartered
- 300g chunks of fresh pineapple (you can use tinned pieces, but add them with the dry ingredients so they don't get too chopped up)
- 4 large eggs
- 80g macadamia oil (or other light flavoured oil)
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste (or good quality vanilla extract)
- 180g honey* (preferrably raw, unheated)
3. Add dry ingredients and mix on speed 5 for 5 seconds:
- 380g plain gluten free flour (you can make your own mix if you'd rather, see this recipe)
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 2 tsp bicarb soda (baking soda)
- 3/4 tsp sea salt
- 150g walnuts (unchopped)
* Note: for a nut free cake, leave walnuts out and add a couple of handfuls of shredded coconut with the sultanas instead.
4. Optional: stir in raisins/sultanas on speed 3 for 5 seconds:
- 80g raisins or sultanas
5. Cook for approximately 30-40 minutes for cupcakes, and an hour and a half for cakes, depending on your oven. Check by poking a skewer into the centre - it should come out nearly clean when the cakes are done. If the cake is getting too brown on top, just cover it with foil and keep baking til done. Don't cut it straight away while hot - it will be very moist inside. Let them cool, even in the fridge, before icing and eating, and the texture will be better.
* Note about honey: I buy raw, unheated honey in 2 litre bottles from local beekeepers - it's cheaper than buying honey in little containers from the grocery store, it doesn't have added glucose (which a lot of so called 'pure' honey has), it's unheated so there's more goodness in it, and it supports locals!
Coconut Cream Topping
For the topping, you'll need a cold tin of coconut cream - I keep a tin in my fridge for times like this. When it gets cold, the cream rises to the top and thickens, just like thick dairy cream.
In the Thermomix bowl, stir together the topping ingredients on speed 3 until just combined:
- 200g thick coconut cream (organic)
- 2 tsps fresh lemon juice (to make it tangy - optional)
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste (or good quality vanilla extract)
- 60g raw honey (or to taste)
Pour into a dish and refrigerate to thicken again.
When the cakes are cool, top with coconut cream and sprinkle with some extra chopped walnuts or shredded coconut.
Store finished cakes in the fridge.
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