Ingredients

The following ingredients have 12 Servings
  • 200 ml / ¾ cup + 2 tbsp maple syrup or other liquid sweetener
  • 60 ml / ¼ cup smooth tahini
  • 180 ml / ¾ cup smooth apple sauce
  • 220 g / 7¾ oz coarsely grated carrot (2 cups, lightly packed)
  • 250 g / 2 cups all purpose flour or GF all purpose flour mix (I use this one)
  • ¾ tsp baking soda
  • 1¼ tsp baking powder
  • 1½ tsp cinnamon + ½ tsp cardamom OR 2 tsp cinnamon
  • pinch of salt
  • 60 ml / ¼ cup almond milk
  • 105 ml / 7 tbsp maple syrup, adjust to taste
  • 45 ml / 3 tbsp lemon juice
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 250 g / 2 cups raw cashews, soaked in boiling water for 20 minutes
  • 1 tbsp agar powder (3 tbsp agar agar flakes)* + 90 ml / 6 tbsp almond milk

Instruction

  • Set the oven to 180° C / 355° C. Line a standard 12 hole muffin tin with paper liners or line the bottoms with circles of baking paper and grease the sides generously.
  • In a large bowl mix together maple syrup, tahini and apple sauce until well combined.
  • Next, mix in grated carrots.
  • Place a sieve over the bowl with wet ingredients and sift all the dry ingredients through it. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ones using a spatula and a gentle clockwise folding motion until no flour pockets remain. If you use wheat flour, be careful not to over mix.
  • Divide the batter evenly between 12 muffin holes. Bake for about 21 minutes (they are done when a toothpick comes out fairly clean). Let the muffins cool down completely before removing from the tin and icing.
  • Once cool, remove from the tin and decorate with the frosting. I also decorated with a light sprinkle of cinnamon and orange zest.
  • Place all the liquids at the bottom of your blender. Start off with 3 tbsp of plant milk, add the 4th one later (if needed).
  • Add about half of the drained and rinsed cashews. Blend until smooth, adding more cashews as the mixture gets thicker and thicker.
  • At some point, the mixture will become very thick and heavy and your blender may struggle to turn. To remedy this, start making circles on the surface of your mixture (in the direction of the turning blades) with a spatula to prevent air pockets forming under the mixture’s surface. Be careful not to dip the spatula in too deep as you don’t want to accidentally touch the turning blades. If you follow the technique I've described above, there is enough moisture in this recipe not to have to use any more liquid, which means you'll end up with a smooth, creamy and thick frosting.
  • The mixture will thicken a little after it's been well refrigerated but to be able to pipe it, I recommend adding agar agar as a firming agent. Activate agar agar according to the instructions on the packet. I recommend using powder as it's 3 times more potent than flakes and easier to activate - you need to rehydrate it in liquid (almond milk in this case) for 10-15 minutes first before bringing to the boil. Flakes need a lot of simmering and I found that they never fully dissolve.
  • Once activated, add agar agar to the frosting and blend well and then give it another blend before putting it into the piping bag so that you break any lumps. I like to transfer it to a bowl and give it a really good whisk with a wire whisk to make sure the icing is smooth before I put it into my piping bag.