So this is amazing. Baked this for the first time a few months ago and have tweaked it a bit since then. Enjoy…
INGREDIENTS
1 ¼ cups organic granulated sugar
¼ cup organic powdered sugar
1 cup olive oil (it’s a cake. Pretty much have to cheat and do this)
1 single serving organic applesauce (about 3 tbsp)
1 tsp EnerG Egg replacer (just the powder – don’t mix w water)
2 ⅓ cups GARBANZO flour (it’s nutty… protein rich… and delicious!)
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp crushed Himalayan pink salt
3-4 cups shredded carrots (I prefer food processor to stand mixer attachment – and NEVER use store bought – not enough moisture).
1 cup chopped raw walnuts (half for recipe, half for putting on finished cake)
METHOD:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
In your stand mixer (or large bowl) mix the sugars, oil, applesauce, and egg replacer until smooth. Add the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, vanilla, and salt and continue blending until smooth.
It will be a THICK batter… that’s the way it’s supposed to be.
Shred your carrots. I prefer the Kitchenaid Food Processor… but the stand mixer attachment works fine (just longer carrot shreds – not preferred). A healthy 3 cups and up to four works great.
The TRICKY part is baking it. It’s not a clear time – because the carrots are filled with moisture and will cause the total bake time to vary quite a bit. I’ve been complete in 30 minutes, and have taken 50. Of course you don’t want to burn it… or dry it out (which is kind of hard to do – it’s an extremely moist cake).
So put it in the greased pan (don’t use Baking Spray with Flour unless you don’t care about the gluten). Put it in the oven. Bake away and get ready to watch it.
After about 25-30 minutes, it will probably be a little “jiggly”… and need more cooking. The magic is to reduce the center jiggle…. without over cooking the rest. SOME jiggle is okay – as I said it’s an extremely moist cake. But you really want a toothpick to come out clean (I use a steak knife – works great and I don’t use them for steak… lol… but they’re also good for salads. Chop that stuff right up – but I digress).
Cream Cheese Frosting – wow so good. And sweet. And well. It’s a cake.
INGREDIENTS:
¼ cup vegan margarine (without palm oil if possible)
1 package vegan cream cheese
2 tsp vanilla or regular soy milk
1 tsp vanilla extract (plus a dash if using regular soy milk)
4 cups – ish – powdered sugar.
METHOD
In stand mixer or large bowl – beat the cream cheese, vegan butter, soy milk, and vanilla on low to medium speed until it’s smooth.
Then, mix in the powdered sugar – about a cup at a time – until it’s thick. Be careful – especially with a stand mixer – powdered sugar can “blow up” and get EVERYWHERE… so a little at a time.
Sometimes the frosting can be a little clumpy and lumpy. Turn the speed up a bit and smooth it out. Just don’t power through too much…
Watch for the consistency of a thick frosting – that’s when you’ve got enough sugar.
Put it in the refrigerator for a bit… but not too long as it can become TOO stiff. An hour in, an hour out, something like that works well.
Frost your cake.
Add the remaining walnuts.
Serve to happy friends and family.
Receive HUGE COMPLIMENTS, praise, adoration, and love.
/p
