Carrot Cake - Free of grains, gluten, dairy, eggs, corn, soy, sugar, starch, gums

 

My sweet husband, Scott,  has been my inspiration to create this yummy allergy-friendly carrot cake. His favorite cake of all time is carrot cake and this week was his birthday.

A few years ago I designed a gluten-free sugar-free carrot cake, but now that we are eating grain-free it was time to create a new recipe. I asked him what he specifically liked about carrot cake and he described a chunky cake with nuts and raisins.

My first thought was to make a cake for him, but that I would just not eat it. That would be good - he would be happy... When I mentioned this, Scott encouraged me to make a cake that all of us could eat, even me.  That is what he wanted (I really wanted this too.)

I decided to use my biscuit recipe as a starting point, and played with it a bit. Since the batter is grain-free, sugar-free, starch-free and (amazingly) egg-free, it looked very different than traditional cake batter.  I had to smooth it into the shape I wanted. At first look, I didn't think it would work, but I knew I had to start somewhere. Instead of making full, 9-inch cakes, I baked two cupcakes to see how it would work.

When I removed the test cakes from the oven I had low expectations... until I tasted it.  I was amazed at the wonderful moist cake.  It was a winner!  I could have just danced! But instead of dancing, we cooked the rest of the batter, and ate and ate and ate....all were gone in a blink of an eye. 

Except this one.  No one dared to eat the "pretty one".  Mom needed to get a picture!

The cake by itself was really wonderful to me.  No icing was needed, but since this was for my "special guy" I wanted to make it look like a "special day" cake.  I made the frosting hoping for something to mimic cream cheese. It doesn't taste as close to cream cheese as I would want, but my family liked it all the same. There was no way I could keep testing more icing and not risk getting sick.  I would love to keep working on more icing, but for now I will be happy with the way it is. My family reassured me that it was great and proceeded to eat all the icing leftover in the fridge. To give more options for different diets,  I am including two other recipes for whipped cream and coconut creme icing at the end of this post.

And Happy Birthday to my sweet husband, Scott!  A cake just for you! ;)

 
Grain-Free Carrot Cake
 ~created by The Gluten-Free 'Dish'

Free of:  Grains,  Gluten,  Dairy,  Eggs, Corn, Soy, Sugar, Starch, Gums, Cinnamon, Vanilla, and  Almond

I use my electric mixer to make this cake.

Add to the mixing bowl:
5 Tablespoons chia seed ground
6 Tablespoons water 

Mix well.

Add:
1/2 cup unsweetened organic applesauce +2 Tablespoons
18 drops stevia liquid
3 Tablespoons raw organic honey
5 Tablespoons organic palm shortening
1 tablespoon organic apple cider vinegar

Mix well.

Add:
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 cup pecan meal
1/2 cup coconut flour

Mix well.

Add:

1 1/2 cups shredded organic carrots, approximately 3 carrots, shredded (I use the food processor with the disk attachment.) 
1/2 cup pecans, chopped small
1/2 cup organic raisins

 Mix well.  
 The batter looks like this:

Line a muffin pan with natural paper baking liners. Use a medium size cookie scoop to make balls and shape and smooth with your hands.  Drop them into the muffin pan.

 Bake cupcakes in a preheated oven at 350 degrees Farenheit for 12 minutes. 
This recipe makes approximately 15 cupcakes.

Or a 9" round layer cake,  Be sure to grease cake pan and line with parchment paper cut to fit the bottom of the cake pan. Bake for approximately 15-20 minutes.  Allow to cool about 10 minutes before flipping the layer cake onto a flat surface to cool. 

Cashew Creme Frosting  (pictured above)

1 cup raw organic cashews, soaked in water 2-3 hours rinsed and drained.

8 drops stevia

4 tablespoons coconut milk

2 tablespoons coconut oil

2-3 tablespoons raw organic honey

Place ingredients in a high powered blender like a Vita-Mix and blend well until smooth.  Spoon on top of the cakes and top with chopped pecans if desired.

Other delicious options to replace the Cashew Cream Icing:


1. Coconut Creme Whipped Topping   (Pictured on my blog here)

1 can of coconut milk, full fat, chilled in the refrigerator (I use Thai Kitchen brand)
a few drops of stevia to your taste or honey

Chill the full fat coconut milk in the refrigerator. When ready to serve remove the canned coconut milk from the refrigerator. Do not shake.  With a spoon remove the fat or solid part of the coconut milk, leaving the liquid behind. Add sweetener to your taste. Whip with a hand mixer until creamy.

2. Coconut Creme Icing  (pictured on my blog here)

Inspired and adapted from Elana's Pantry

1/2 cup coconut milk, full fat, cream from the top, refrigerated ahead to chill (I use Thai Kitchen brand)
1 1/2 tablespoons Lakanto
pinch of sea salt
2 1/2 teaspoons arrowroot powder
1/2 tablespoon water
1/2 cup coconut oil

In a medium saucepan on low heat combine the coconut milk creme from the top of the can with the Lakanto and salt until the dry ingredients dissolve.

In a small bowl, combine arrowroot and water to form a smooth paste and add to the saucepan.

Using a hand mixer combine the ingredients in the saucepan and bring to a boil for a second (BRIEFLY because this will thicken quickly).

Remove saucepan from the heat and blend in the coconut oil with the hand mixer.

Put the saucepan into the freezer for 20-25 minutes until the icing is solid and turns white (set a timer so you don't forget).

Remove from the freezer and mix again with the hand mixer until fluffy.
Spread on a cooled cake and enjoy. 

Debbie's Notes: 

1. Since this cake is egg-free and made without guar gum or xanthan gum to hold it together, it is more delicate and doesn't hold together as well as it would with those ingredients. We think it is best to eat this cake with a fork in order to avoid sharing this with your favorite four-legged friends!  We don't mind using a fork, if it means we get to eat cake.  Of course you get to decide how your eat your cake, but just be sure to enjoy every bite!

2 .Just so you know when I refer to "allergy-friendly." I mean that all my families allergies are accounted for.  This cake uses pecan meal, so if you are truly nut allergic this may not work for you.