Best Baker in Town

This year I planted some carrots in the garden. It’s still too soon to harvest them (but they are growing!), so while I’m waiting, I decided to buy some nice fresh carrots to bake this cake. It’s simply delicious, not too sweet, but the creamy layer on the top provides perfect balance. And it’s very easy to make!

Here’s what you need:

For the cake:

• 4 eggs – yolks and whites in separate bowls
• 1/2 cup of vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup of brown sugar
• cca 3/4 cup of walnuts
• 1 cup of gluten free flour (I used Doves Farm flour and buckwheat flour)
• 1 spoon of baking soda
• 2 and 1/2 cups of carrots (about 6 normal sized carrots)
• pinch of salt
• cinnamon

For the cream:

• cream cheese (300 g)
• whipping cream (250 ml)
• sugar (cca 4 table spoons)

Just a few things before we start baking:

• If you have really young sweet carrots, you can use less sugar 🙂
• In cakes like this one, I like to combine flour with walnuts (or other nuts). I use a rule that nuts and flour together make the total amount – so if you want to use more flour, use a bit less nuts and vice versa. I just don’t recommend to use more nuts than flour (because you don’t want the cake to fall apart 🙂 )
• In this case I used Doves Farm gluten free flour mixed with buckwheat flour. If you don’t have buckwheat flour, just use the gluten free mix. Also if you have some other brand of gluten free mix, it shouldn’t be a problem.
• The combination of carrots, walnuts and cinnamon is something divine 🙂 I am a big cinnamon lover and if I bake the cake just for me, I would put tons of it 🙂 If you are not as crazy as me, a teaspoon should be enough.

Let’s bake!

1. Prepare the cake tin: line the bottom and the sides with baking paper. I normally use a bit of butter to make the paper stick 🙂
2. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
3. Peel the carrots and shred them using a grater or food processor.
4. Whip the egg whites with a pinch of salt using electric mixer, until they create soft peaks. Set aside.
5. In another bowl, combine walnuts, flour, baking soda and cinnamon.
6. In another bowl, whip the egg yolks and sugar until pale and fluffy.
7. Mix in the oil and then the dry ingredients.

8. Put the shredded carrots and mix well.
9. Now, slowly with a spatula, mix in the whipped egg whites. The result will be a bit fluffy 🙂
10. Pour the batter in the cake tin and place into the warm oven.
11. Bake about 55 minutes – the time might vary a bit depending on your oven. The cake will rise and should be slightly golden on the top. If you are not sure, you can check it with a wooden stick, but be careful because if you open the oven too soon, the cake might “fall”.

12. Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool down.
13. When the cake cools down, it’s time for the cream! Place cream cheese in a bowl, pour whipping cream over it and add sugar. Whip it all using electric mixer. I like the cream sweet because it creates contrast with the cake, but if you want, you can add the sugar gradually to be able to stop at the point you like.
14. Cover the top of the cake with the cream. You can leave it plain or add some decoration. I used a peeler to create some carrot curls 🙂

That’s all the magic!

If you have any questions, feel free to ask (you can leave a comment below). I’ll be happy to hear if you enjoyed the cake! 🙂