Carrot cake for Mother's Day
In most countries, we celebrate Mother's Day on the third Sunday of May.
To celebrate all the incredible mothers out there, I have been trying out a new recipe of a carrot cake topped with buttercream frosting and pecans. I just made it a tiny bit healthier. The cake itself is glutenfree and paleo.
Now, I did a dairy-free buttercream frosting, but you could add a cream cheese frosting which of course has dairy, or just eat the cake plain. With all the spices and flavour in the cake you seriously wouldn’t be missing out.
Ingredients:
- 280 g almond flour
- 60 g tapioca flour
- 160 g coconut sugar
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 3 tsp cream of tartar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 5 large eggs
- 90 gr ghee, butter or palm shortening/coconut oil, melted and room temperature
- 125 gr applesauce (I made a batch of easy-to-make applesauce prior to making the cake; 12 apples peeled and cut into blocks, cook with 3 cinnamon sticks and a cup of water, once soft add a tablespoon of lemon and/or a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 385 gr shredded carrots
- 50 gr chopped pecans, (plus extra for garnish)
For the (dairy-free) buttercream/cream cheese frosting:
- 450 g (dairy-free) buttercream/cream cheese, room temperature
- 4 tbsp butter or palm shortening/coconut oil, room temperature
- 360 g powdered sugar, (I use organic powder sugar (hard to substitute with dates) or more, as needed)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 170°C (325 degrees Fahrenheit)
- Grease three 20 cm (8-inch) pans and line the bottom of each with a circle of parchment paper
- Add all of the dry ingredients to a medium bowl and whisk together
- In a separate large bowl, add the eggs, butter or coconut oil, applesauce, and vanilla extract. With a hand mixer on medium speed, blend together for 30 seconds
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet and blend for another minute, or until well combined. Fold in the shredded carrots and chopped pecans
- Evenly divide the cake batter between the three 20 cm (8-inch) pans. They'll only be about 1/4 full, and that's okay. Use a spatula to flatten them on top
- Cook the cakes for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Rotate the cakes halfway through. - Let the cakes cool for 15 minutes in the pan. Then remove them from the pan and continue cooling on a cooling rack
- While the cakes are cooling, make the cream cheese frosting. Combine all frosting ingredients together and blend in a stand mixer or large bowl with a hand mixer on medium speed
- Divide the frosting between the layers and add a thin layer of frosting, which is then scraped off, from the outside edge. Top with chopped pecans
- Servings: 12 servings
Enjoy! Happy Mother’s Day to all the wonderful mums out there
