Carrot Cake. The two words guaranteed to make almost anybody smile! It’s a classic you can’t go wrong with. What’s even better is a carrot cake that is filled with 100% good and wholesome ingredients that won’t leave your gut feeling grim.
This Cassava Flour & Almond Meal Carrot Cake contains a lot of our favourite ingredients, just as the name says our go-to is cassava flour. It also contains almond flour or meal, naturally sweetened with honey and it’s loaded with healing spices like cinnamon, carrots, pear and pecan nuts.
Why We Love Cinnamon:
Cinnamon is a spice that is made from the inner bark of trees scientifically known as Cinnamomum.
It has been used as an ingredient throughout history, dating back as far as Ancient Egypt. It used to be rare and valuable and was regarded as a gift fit for kings.
Today, however cinnamon is readily available all over the world and very affordable.
- Cinnamon is loaded with powerful antioxidants, such as polyphenols. An antioxidant that protects your body from oxidative damage caused by free radicals.
- It’s known as an anti-inflammatory, that helps your body fight off infection and repair tissue damage.
- Cinnamon is known to reduce the risk of heart disease by reducing the levels of total cholesterol, “bad” LDL cholesterol and triglycerides, while “good” HDL cholesterol remains stable.
- Cinnamon Can Improve Sensitivity to the Hormone – Insulin. Insulin is one of the key hormones that regulate metabolism and energy use. It’s also essential for transporting blood sugar from your bloodstream to your cells.
- Cinnamon Helps Fight Bacterial and Fungal Infections.
- Cinnamon has properties that can provide relief for indigestion, flatulence, heartburn, nausea and stomach cramps.
What about Dates and using Date Paste?
Dates are a great natural way to sweeten just about anything and although sweet, dates do not negatively affect your blood glucose when consumed in moderation as part of a healthy diet. They are delicious on their own or in a paste. Date paste should consist of pure dates blended together until they form a smooth paste.
Palm date fruits are rich in phytonutrients and soluble fiber and research suggest that they can quickly improve your digestive health.
Both fiber and polyphenols have important prebiotic effects, meaning that they can improve gut bacteria and may have important health benefits as a consequence.
The addition of dates has been found to significantly improve bowel movements and stool frequency suggesting better digestive function.
A recent study, researchers concluded that “that the consumption of date fruit may reduce colon cancer risk without inducing changes in the microbiota.”
We hope you and your loved ones enjoy this Cassava & Almond Meal Carrot Cake as much as we do!
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Cassava & Almond Meal Carrot Cake
- Prep Time: 20 - 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 - 45 minutes
- Total Time: 1 - 1 1/2 hours
- Yield: 8 - 12 slices 1x
- Category: Baking
- Cuisine: Cake
Description
A carrot cake to be proud of! You won’t be able to help it, but have friends over for tea all the time, just to make this cake!
Ingredients
For the sponge:
1 cup cassava flour
¾ cup almond meal (flour)
¼ cup desiccated coconut (optional)
¼ teaspoon Himalayan salt
1 teaspoon baking powder (gluten-free)
½ teaspoon bicarbonate soda
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
1 cup coconut oil, melted
3 large eggs, free range
½ cup of honey or date paste
2 cups carrots, grated
1 large pear, grated
½ cup pecan nut, roughly chopped
¼ cup almond milk or water (in case batter is too thick)
For the syrup/glaze:
½ cup orange juice
¼ cup honey (or erythritol/monk fruit, sweetened to taste)
For the Icing – Icing is optional
Dairy Option
1 tub cream cheese, grass fed, room temperature
¼ cup pouring cream, grass fed
Powdered erythritol/monk fruit or honey to taste
Non-Dairy Option
1 can coconut cream
Powdered erythritol/monk friut sugar to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180C
- Grease a bundt or 9-inch cake pan, using coconut oil.
- In a large mixing bowl, add all the dry ingredients. Whisk until well combined.
- In a measuring jug add melted coconut oil, eggs, and honey/date paste(or sweetener of choice). Whisk thoroughly.
- Add the egg mixture to the dry ingredients and mix well, using a wooden spoon.
- Now add the carrots, pear and pecan nuts, fold into the mixture until all is well combined. If the mixture seems to dry and a touch of almond milk or water, a splash at a time until cake mixture is slightly moister. Remember with gluten-free baking you don’t want your cake mixture to be too runny, as it won’t bake as well.
- Once your mixture is ready, scoop it into your prepared pan. Smooth the surface and pop it into your pre-heated oven.
- Bake for 30 – 45 minutes, until golden and cooked through.
- Remove from oven and leave to cool in the pan for 10 – 15 minutes, then transfer onto a cooling rack.
- Prick the cake all over using a skewer and pour over the syrup mixture.
- Once the cake is completely cool, you could serve as is or add the icing.
For the Icing:
Dairy Version – Add the cream cheese to a bowl, mix well until smooth. Gradually whisk in the cream, until your mixture is a thick but pourable consistency. Sweeten and drizzle over the cake.
Non-dairy Version – whip up all the ingredients until the coconut cream is smooth and thick, top it on the carrot cake and enjoy!
Notes
This recipe is so versatile in what you can do with it.
Change the gluten-free flours to your preference, coconut works great as well as most others.
Substitute pear for apple, grated beetroot also works incredibly well. Just be sure to fold in gently and as the very last step, this will ensure your entire cake won’t turn red!
