This carrot cake with warming spices and dried apricots is so very more-ish! There’s no need to feel guilty either; it’s vegan, gluten free and contains no refined sugars. We eat this carrot cake for breakfast, lunch and dessert!
If you can make this carrot cake last for longer than one day, you have amazing self control. Leftovers can be sliced up and frozen. When you want another slice, just take it out of the freezer and put it in a preheated oven for about 15 minutes at 180 degrees celsius, and it’ll be fresh as the day it was made. Matched with my veggie loaf, you have an easy two-course gluten-free vegetarian meal sure to please any guests.
This recipe includes a traditional Dutch spice blend called “speculaas kruiden”. With ingredients like cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg, speculaas kruiden brings a wealth of warm, rich flavours to any comfort food. Just ask any Dutch person and they will know it, and probably have fond memories of it too.
If you don’t have speculaas kruiden, never fear! You can make your own using the recipe I’ve included below, or simply use gingerbread or pumpkin spices instead.
Enjoy!
Carrot Cake
Equipment
- 2 bowls
- Cutting board
- Knife
- Grate
- Measuring spoons
- Measuring cup
- Small sauce pan or double boiler
- baking paper
- Cake tin/baking dish
Ingredients
- 200 ML Apple sauce (Sugar free and organic)
- 260 ML Carrot, grated on fine grate (About 125 grams)
- 1½ Tspn Apple cider vinegar
- 1 Handful Dried apricots (Cut into pieces)
- 90 ML Coconutoil (Melted)
- 125 ML Oat flour (Just take your oats and grind them in a blender or coffee grinder into a flour)
- 250 ML Buckwheat flour
- 90 ML Coconut sugar
- ⅓ Tspn Salt
- ½ Tspn Baking soda
- ½ Tspn Baking powder
- ½ Tspn Cinnamon powder
- ½ Tspn Speculaas kruiden (Or Pumpkinspices, Gingerbread spices or make your own Speculaas kruiden)
Instructions
- Pre heat the oven at 180 degrees Celsius (convection)
- Melt the coconut oil in a double boiler or in a sauce pan on very low heat
- Line the cake tin/baking dish with baking paper
- Grate the carrot at the fine side of the grater
- Put the apple sauce, apple cider vinegar and coconut oil in a bowl and stir well.
- Put in the grated carrot, stir, and then add the dry ingredients. Stir until everything is well combined. It is a firm batter, but if it is too firm, you can add 2 tablespoons of apple sauce.
- Add the pieces of dried apricot and stir in well.If you don't want too much filling, use 1 small handful of dried apricots. If you want a lot of filling, use 1 big handful. It is easy to adjust to you own taste.
- Put the batter in the lined cake tin and bake for about 45 to 55 minutes. Every oven is different, so check at 45 minutes. It is done when you tap the bottom and it sounds hollow.
- Remove the cake from the tin and leave to cool before eating. Enjoy!
Notes
– 1/2 Tspn Star anise powder
– 1/3 Tspn Nutmeg powder
– 1/4 Tspn Clove powder
– 1/4 Tspn Mace powder
– 1/4 Tspn Coriander seed powder
– 1/3 Tspn Cardamon powder Stir to mix everything together well and it is ready to use.
