Carrot Carrot with Honey & Cardamom Icing

Of late, Carrot Cake is taking top podium; it’s just perfect on all notes. It isn’t too sweet, possibly because the addition of carrot seems to mellow all flavours by its natural earthiness. 

My version of Carrot Cake is free from refined sugars and processed oils; intended to nourish. The recipe also uses a less refined flour, spelt, an ancient grain that’s easier to digest.

​See recipe video here.

Ingredients 
Wet
3 large eggs (room temperature)
1 ½ cups coconut sugar
190ml extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp vanilla extract
4 medium carrots, peeled & grated

Dry
2 cups spelt flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp fine sea salt
¼ tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp ground cardamom
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
1 cup almond meal
1 cup raw walnuts, roughly chopped

Cream Cheese Icing
250g cream cheese (room temperature)
4 tbsp raw honey
⅓ natural unsweetened yoghurt
Zest of 1 medium sized lemon
⅛ tsp ground cardamom
A handful raw walnuts, roughly chopped

Method
Preheat the oven to 160°c fan (320F) and line a 24cm spring-from cake tin with baking paper.
Crack the eggs into a large mixing bowl and add the coconut sugar.
Using a whisk or electric beater, whisk the mixture until fluffy - this will take about 5 minutes.
Pour the olive oil and vanilla extract into the bowl, and whisk until combined.
Lastly fold in the grated carrot.

Sieve the spelt flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, fine sea salt, cardamom and nutmeg into another large bowl.
Add the almond meal straight into the bowl - stir until combined.
Add the dry ingredients into the wet - mix using a folding motion.
When no dry patches of flour remain (be careful not to over mix the mixture), stir through the chopped walnuts.
Pour the batter into your lined cake tin and bake in the oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until a skewer comes out clean when inserted.
Once baked, allow the cake to cool completely, before icing.

Meanwhile add all the cream cheese icing ingredients into a large bowl.
Whisk until fluffy, and set aside until needed.
​Once the cake is cool, ice the cake to your liking.
Lastly scatter over a handful of roughly chopped walnuts, then slice cake into pieces.
 
The cake is best eaten the day of bake.
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.

Yields 9 pieces