Ingredients

The following ingredients have 12 Servings
  • 120 g / ¼ lb carrots, coarsely grated (1½ cups grated)
  • 120 g / ½ cup + 2 tbsp brown sugar
  • 150 ml / ½ cup + 2 tbsp apple sauce*
  • 80 ml / 1/3 cup oil (I used mild olive oil)
  • water
  • 180 g / 1½ cup buckwheat flour**
  • 1 tbsp ground chia or flax seeds
  • 1 level tsp baking soda
  • 1 level tsp baking powder
  • pinch of salt
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp ground ginger
  • ½ tsp ground nutmeg
  • 1/8 tsp ground cloves
  • 195 g / 1½ cups cashews, soaked overnight
  • 4 tbsp maple syrup, adjust to taste
  • 3 tbsp lemon juice
  • 2-3 tbsp coconut milk (I use this brand) or thin plant milk
  • 1 vanilla pod, seeds scraped
  • chopped pistachios, for decoration

Instruction

  • Set the oven to 175° C / 345° C. Grease a 1kg / 2lb cake tin (please see notes) with a bit of oil.
  • In a bowl mix together all wet ingredients. If you are using shop-bought apple sauce (I tried both Sainsbury's and Waitrose own brands), it tends to be quite dry. In that case add 6 tbsp of water to the wet ingredients. If you are using homemade apple sauce that is way wetter, add only about 3 tbsp of water.
  • Place a sift over the bowl with wet ingredients and sift all dry ingredients through it. Mix well, as this is a gluten-free batter, you can mix at will. However, if you've decided to use wheat flour (as per my NOTES), fold the flour in very gently and be careful not to overmix.
  • Allow the cake batter to rest for about 20 minutes for the chia / flax seeds to activate in the added moisture.
  • Spoon (it should be quite wet but not runny) the batter into a baking tin. Bake for 50-60 mins depending on your oven. It's done when a toothpick comes out fairly clean. Let it cool down completely before removing from the tin and icing.
  • Once cool, remove from the tin and decorate with chilled frosting and chopped pistachios.
  • PLEASE NOTE that this recipe yields 1½ cups of frosting, enough to ice two cakes, but I do not recommend halving it as this is the smallest amount the blender can handle.
  • Rinse the cashews and chop them roughly. If you own a very powerful blender (like a Vitamix or Blendtec) this step may be completely redundant, but with my low-range (and fairy old) blender, this is the only way I can achieve a smooth consistency without adding too much liquid.
  • Divide the chopped cashews into six portions roughly. Chuck the first portion of chopped cashews into a blender with maple syrup, lemon juice and coconut milk (start off with 2 tbsp, add the 3rd later if needed). Process until super smooth.
  • Once smooth, add another portion of the chopped cashews. Process until smooth and repeat until you've used up all of the cashews. Towards the end, 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 should be enough moisture in this recipe not to have to use any extra liquid, which means you'll end up with a smooth, creamy and thick frosting.
  • Place the mixture in the refrigerator for a few hours (or freezer for 20-30 minutes) to firm up.