I’m always looking for an excuse to bake a cake. And after I find an excuse, I think, “And what should be the basic ingredient this time? A fruit or a vegetable?” This time, the excuse was my birthday! And the basic ingredient? After an intense debate between banana and carrot, the carrot won, so today I have a brand-new recipe for you for an incredibly tasty carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. Of course, my carrot birthday cake will have no sweeteners, no gluten, and this year, I decided to make it with a few and simple ingredients, and mainly so that it may be eaten by children allergic to nuts—children that I feel I’ve been unfair towards since I love nuts and always include them in my recipes! The cake is so fluffy and tasty that I’m sure you’ll be making it every week! Let’s go through everything necessary and let me know if you do make it!
What we are going to need
For the base
- Carrots. Of course! You can’t make a carrot cake with no carrots, can you? We’ll need about three finely grated carrots. You can use the carrots the right way, there’s no need to squeeze them dry.
- Oat flour. Those of you who have been loyal readers know that I love oat flour and I often choose it, and it can give an amazing result even for a cake. Even though oats don’t have gluten, if you have a serious intolerance, you’ll need to seek out oat flour with the “gluten-free” sign, so that it doesn’t even have traces. I don’t suggest replacing this with any other flour, since we’re making something sweet, and it needs to be exact.
- Milk. I used coconut milk, but you can use any kind of milk, plant, or regular, you have in your fridge. You can also use yogurt by adding water until it’s liquid enough to resemble milk.
- Eggs. You’ll need 6 eggs for this recipe, and they need to be at room temperature. I haven’t tried making it with a replacement, but I’d definitely try flax “eggs,” which essentially are 1 Tbsp. ground flaxseeds and 3 Tbsp. water each.
- Olive oil. This recipe has no butter, nor coconut oil which I often use. I used olive oil to keep the carrot cake simple, and you won’t even notice it.
- Dates or raisins. The only sweetener that the cake will have (besides the carrots, which are also adding some of their sweetness) are the dried fruit, always with no added sugar. I used Medjool dates which are our favourites, always soft, very sweet, and tasty, but you can use raisins if you want, the combination is amazing. If you use raisins, you should soak them before pureeing them.
- Spices. Cinnamon and nutmeg.
- Baking powder. You can skip it if you don’t want to use any.
For the frosting
- Butter. Use 100% cow’s butter, preferably soft butter. It must be at room temperature.
- Cream cheese. Always check the ingredients before buying a product that will be eaten by your little ones. In cream cheese, it’s important that you pick something not mentioning the preservative carrageenan. When used, it should also be at room temperature.
- Sweetener. For your little ones, you can skip it completely. However, I used white petimezi, which is good for children from the age of 6 months old, though it should always be used in moderation.
- Vanilla. I used grated tonka beans, but you can skip it completely, or add vanilla extract.
Tips
For the cake
- Temperature differs from oven to oven, so check the cake by using a knife. If it emerges clean, then it’s ready.
- With this cake, you can bake the whole mixture in a cake tin and cut it lengthwise in half later. If you do it this way, double the baking time, and let it cool completely before cutting. I personally used an adjustable cake tin and baked it in 3 parts.
- Let the cake cool completely before removing it from the tin because if you remove it while it’s still hot, there’s a high chance it might break apart.
- You can have the cake ready the day before, but it’s not necessary. This carrot cake can be made, from start to completion, on the same day, in about 3 hours, cooling time included.
- Since we’re dealing with oat flour, if you’re baking the cake in parts, the mixture might thicken somewhat. Don’t worry if it does.
- If you make the cake the day before, store it in the fridge, covered or wrapped in saran wrap.
You can keep the base cake for the carrot cake and replace the frosting with something else if you want. See some of my older suggestions here, here, here, or here.
For the frosting
- If your ingredients aren’t at room temperature, the frosting won’t have the correct texture, and it will make things difficult for you.
- Prefer using soft butter.
- Make your frosting with a hand mixer and mix well for 2–3 minutes.
General tips
- Follow the instructions for the letter. Sweet foods are more complex than savoury, and each gram is important. Don’t change quantities, and especially don’t replace ingredients, because the result might differ wildly.
- Assemble the cake on your cake display or the tray you’ll use to present it, to avoid unnecessary movements.
- You can store it in the fridge for 4 days. You’ll need to cover it, so leave the decoration to be done on the same day you’ll eat it.
- We personally liked the cake more on the same day than from the fridge, since it was fluffier.
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Preheat the oven at 180°C.
Process the dates in the food processor along with 3–4 Tbsp. of milk, until they’re pureed.
Whisk the eggs well in a mixing bowl.
Add the grated carrots, the olive oil, the rest of the milk, and the pureed dates, and mix thoroughly.
Continue by adding the oat flour, the spices, and the baking powder, and mix until homogenous.
Divide the mixture in 3 cake tins 18 centimetres wide with oiled walls. You can bake the whole mixture all at once in a single cake tin and then cut it lengthwise; in this case, double the baking time. I have a single cake tin, but I still prefer making them one at a time.
Bake each layer for 20 minutes or until a knife inserted emerges clean.
After you remove them from the oven, let them cool down completely before removing from the tin or mould.
Place them in the fridge (ideally covered with saran wrap) until you’re ready for the frosting.
Add the butter in the mixer bowl and whisk at medium speed until soft and fluffy.
Add the cream cheese and the sweetener and mix for 3 minutes at high speed.
Assemble the cake on the tray you’ll use to present it.
Spread 1/2 Tbsp. of frosting on the bottom of the tray and place the first layer on it.
Spread 2 full Tbsp. of frosting from the centre outward with gentle movements using a spatula.
Cover with the second layer and continue with the same procedure.
Finally, place the third layer and continue with the rest of the frosting, both on the top and the sides. You can leave the sides uncovered, if you want.
Spread with a spatula over the whole surface of the cake and flatten it well.
Decorate to your liking and enjoy.
Ingredients
Directions
Preheat the oven at 180°C.
Process the dates in the food processor along with 3–4 Tbsp. of milk, until they’re pureed.
Whisk the eggs well in a mixing bowl.
Add the grated carrots, the olive oil, the rest of the milk, and the pureed dates, and mix thoroughly.
Continue by adding the oat flour, the spices, and the baking powder, and mix until homogenous.
Divide the mixture in 3 cake tins 18 centimetres wide with oiled walls. You can bake the whole mixture all at once in a single cake tin and then cut it lengthwise; in this case, double the baking time. I have a single cake tin, but I still prefer making them one at a time.
Bake each layer for 20 minutes or until a knife inserted emerges clean.
After you remove them from the oven, let them cool down completely before removing from the tin or mould.
Place them in the fridge (ideally covered with saran wrap) until you’re ready for the frosting.
Add the butter in the mixer bowl and whisk at medium speed until soft and fluffy.
Add the cream cheese and the sweetener and mix for 3 minutes at high speed.
Assemble the cake on the tray you’ll use to present it.
Spread 1/2 Tbsp. of frosting on the bottom of the tray and place the first layer on it.
Spread 2 full Tbsp. of frosting from the centre outward with gentle movements using a spatula.
Cover with the second layer and continue with the same procedure.
Finally, place the third layer and continue with the rest of the frosting, both on the top and the sides. You can leave the sides uncovered, if you want.
Spread with a spatula over the whole surface of the cake and flatten it well.
Decorate to your liking and enjoy.
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