I really love carrot cake. I have prepared numerous variations of this cake but up untill now no gluten free version yet. When I had a late lunch at Murni a couple of months ago I had a very nice carrot cake with wallnuts. I have yet to find a recipe that equals this piece of exquisite carrot cake but I must say that the recipe you will find in this blogpost is a very good runner up.
When Ilja De Weerdt asked me to partipate in her #betterbodybetterlife15 challenge I didn’t hesitate for a minute and started to think about healthy alternatives for her to be munching on. This recipe for carrot cake is one of them.
Almond meal, carrots, olive oil and eggs…these are the main ingredients for the cake. I have added some cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla to the mixture and must say the spices really taste yummie in this cake.
You can swap the carrots for zucchini if you like for a more neutral cake or you can combine both. As you wish.
I never eat my cake with frosting, but if you’d really like a frosting I’d suggest mascarpone with some sugar and maybe some cardamom or ginger to spice things up.
Marzipan Carrot cake
Make sure you like the taste of almonds because this cake will taste a lot like it, or as my kids put it: ‘it’s not carrot cake but marzipan cake, great!’
- 250 gr shredded carrot or zucchini
- 160 gr caster sugar or coconut sugar because the almonds taste sweet as they are
- 125 ml mild olive oil - make sure NOT to use extra vergin olive oil
- 2 tsp vanilla extract or 1 tsp vanilla extract and the marrow of a vanilla bean
- 3 biological eggs
- 250 gr almond meal (or grounded almonds)
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp cardamom
- ½ tsp ginger
- ½ tsp nutmeg
- the zest and juice of 1 lemon (BIO please because you use the zest!)
- Grease a round springform cake tin and preheat your oven to 180°C.
- Mix the almond meal, sugar, spices.
- Add the olive oil and eggs.
- At last add the vegetables.
- End with the vanilla extract and lemon zest and juice.
- OPTIONAL: you can add some walnuts or pecans if you like to your batter.
- Mix until all is well blended and pour in the springform cake tin.
- Bake for 30 minutes in a preheated oven but check regularly that your top isn't overcooking. If you insert a skewer in the center and it comes out clean, your carrot cake is ready.
- Take out of the oven and let cool down for at least an hour.
- Serve with whipped mascarpone frosting or eat as it is.
- Enjoy the almondy taste of this cake, nom nom!