Nutty Carrot Cake with Cashew Cream
My relationship with cakes goes back years, formed from living the first 18 years of my life with my grandparents. Grandma Doris’ cake tin was always full, just in case unexpected family or visitors arrived wanting a cup of tea and a chat, which in our house would always be accompanied by cake.
As I started to bake and update the recipes during the pandemic, I realised the true ideology of baking, an act of giving and an expression of friendship and love. Given the impressive size of my grandfather’s waistline, I would say that the love between him and Doris was Shakespearean.
Serves 8–10
— 3tbsp chia seeds
— 100g coconut sugar
— 1 tsp vanilla powder
— 275g carrots
— 2 ripe bananas
— 125ml walnut oil
— 275g ground hazelnut
— 110g ground almond
— 1 tsp cinnamon
— ¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
— 2tbsp baking powder
— 75g coconut shreds
— 2cm ginger
— 90g raisins
— Coconut oil for greasing
— 200g Cashews
— 400ml coconut milk
— Juice from half a lemon
— 2 tbsp coconut oil
— 2 tsp vanilla powder
— 6 tbsp maple syrup
— Pinch of sea salt
The night before you plan to make this cake you should prepare the chia egg replacement. This is 3tbsp chia seeds mixed with 200ml water, I use an old glass jar of this. After mixing together I shake the jar and place it in the fridge overnight. The next morning you have a gloppy egg-like mass, which has a texture that is very similar to a raw egg. I always have this in the fridge and if I am baking, 1 tablespoon of this is a good replacement for an egg.
Soak the cashews in water for at least 4 hours, I tend to do this overnight.
Preheat the oven to 160 degrees.
Take 5 tablespoons of the chia egg mass which you prepared the night before and place in a mixing bowl with the coconut sugar and vanilla powder. Mix well with a hand mixer or kitchen machine.
Whilst that is mixing, wash the carrots and grate them.
Mashing the bananas with a fork into a pulp.
Add the mashed banana to the sugar and chia seed and mix well at a high speed for 2-3 minutes.
Then add the oil, add freshly grated ginger, and grated carrots. Mix again for 1-2 minutes.
Prepare all the other ingredients into a bowl and stir before adding in four parts to the mix. Add a quarter and then mix together well before continuing with the next quarter until all ingredients are mixed in creating a moist mass.
Prepare three cake tins with the dimension 15cm, oil the sides well with coconut oil then pour in the mix and pat down well. I like to run a knife around the edge to separate the cake mix to the edge of the tin, this seems to help with the cake removal later.
Bake in the oven for 80 minutes. Use the cocktail stick test to ensure it is completely done. Poke the stick into the middle of the cake, if it comes out without cake mix on it then it is cooked.
Leave the cakes to cool before removing them from the baking tins.
Warm the coconut oil until fluid on a low heat.
Drain the cashews and add to the blender or food processor with all other ingredients including the warm coconut oil. Please be careful that the oil is only warm and not hot.
Blend in the food processer until the ingredients make a soft smooth paste.
Take the first cake and cover the upper edge with the cream, then add the next cake on top like a large sandwich. Do the same by adding the cream to the top and then adding the final cake layer on the top.
Cover the outside edges of the cake and use a cake icing scraper or flat wooden spatula to scrape the cake edges. You should see the cake below I find this optic very modern and is almost like a silk gauze laying over the cake.
Decorate with fruits of your choice.
Spread a little love for easter.
Photos: Maximilian Bartsch