I’ve never been a fan of carrot cake. It may be because it goes against one of my core values, which is not to mix vegetables with dessert. I’m no scientist, but I’m pretty sure there’s a separate compartment in our bellies for All Things Sweet, and anything healthy in there simply contaminates it.
But then this happened. I met it unexpectedly, and I wasn’t even looking for a relationship, much less looking for love. I’d just been messing around with my mother-in-law’s recipe to make it compliant with our food sensitivities, and BOOM, everything changed. But here we are, together at last.
Not only do these flavors belong together, but they’re (gasp!) full of good things for your body.
Sheesh. Does this mean I need to rethink my core values? It probably does, because darnit, I’m not letting this carrot cake go. It’s a keeper.
Gluten-Free Carrot Cake for Everyone
Ingredients
Bowl #1
- 2 cups date sugar This will make your cake look brown, like chocolate.
- 3/4 cup safflower oil or another neutral oil, but I like the general health profile and high heat tolerance of safflower.
- 3 cups carrots shredded with a food processor, use more carrots if you like them. My husband prefers 4 cups.
- 2 flax seeds See instructions for how to make flax eggs. Can substitute flax eggs with normal eggs.
Bowl #2
- 2 cups garbanzo bean flour my preference for the health profile, but regular baking flour would work. Alternatively, we sometimes use other gluten-free flour (although last I checked, this version had some garbanzos in it, too). Both work!
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Heat oven to 300 degrees F.
- Line two 9-inch round pans with parchment paper. I prefer unbleached paper for health reasons. Combine the contents of the two bowls and pour into your pan.
- Bake for approximately 1 hour if you’ve used regular eggs. Add 10-15 minutes if you’re using flax eggs or a combination of both (the toothpick test will help you know when it’s done).
- Let the cakes cool in the pans for awhile before transferring them to your cake plate. I use a plate similar to this version because it has a lid to keep the cake fresh.
- Cupcake option: same recipe, but use baking cups in a muffin pan (even if it’s nonstick) and cut the baking time approximately in half. Start checking the cupcakes at about 30 minutes. Depending how full you fill the cups, it should make about two dozen.
