best gluten free carrot cake
Recipes

Posh Gluten Free Carrot Cake

Posh Gluten Free Carrot Cake

Best Gluten Free Carrot Cake

This cake was inspired by a recipe written in the Guardian Feast magazine last weekend by the young baker Liam Charles. The picture of Liam’s cake looked so beautiful and his carrot crisp topping was so different, that my immediately thought was, ‘this cake sounds amazing! I must try to make a gluten free version of it’. So, I am delighted to share this recipe with you and hope that you’ll enjoy this cake as much as we did. Please let me know your thoughts as I’m fuelled by your feedback.

Serves: 10
Prep: 15 minutes
Baking: 35 minutes

  • Cooking Method
    • Baking

Ingredients

Ingredients

  • 200g Isabel’s Cassava flour
  • 50g Cornflour
  • 100g walnuts ground up in a blender (if you don’t have walnuts, hazelnuts will do)
  • 2 tsp of Baking powder
  • ½ tsp Bicarbonate of soda
  • 3 tsp Ground mixed spice
  • 1 tsp Ground cinnamon
  • ½ tsp Grated nutmeg
  • 100g Dark brown sugar
  • 150g Light golden sugar
  • 200g Butter or Sunflower oil spread
  • 100g Butternut squash finely grated
  • 200g Carrots coarsely grated
  • ½ tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 Tbsp milk or substitute
  • Zested of an orange
  • 4 eggs

For the maple-icing topping

  • 100g slightly salted butter
  • 300g icing sugar
  • 100g full-fat cream cheese
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 tbsp maple syrup

For the carrot crisp

  • 2 carrots, washed
  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil
  • ½ tsp ground cinnamon
  • ½ ground ginger
  • 2 tsp of honey

Method

1
  1. Preheat the oven to 170C (160C fan)/350F/ gas 4. Grease and line two 20cm round cake tins with baking paper.
  2. In a large bowl, add the Cassava flour, cornflour, grounded walnuts, spices, baking powder and bicarb, mix well and set aside.
  3. Peel and grate the carrots and the butternut squash with the finer side of the grater so that it is grated almost like a puree and set aside.
  4. Cream the butter and sugars together until well combined, then add the eggs one by one mixing well each time. Add the vanilla and whisk until well incorporated.
  5. Now start adding the dried ingredients to the butter, sugar and egg mixture until combined. Then add the butternut squash, carrots, orange zest and milk and mix again.
  6. Divide the mixture between the two tins and bake for about 35 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Set aside to cool.
  7. Make the carrot crisps. Using a peeler, shave the carrots into thin strips. Put in a bowl, drizzle with the oil, honey and sprinkle over the spices. Lay the carrot strips in two baking trays, making sure they do not overlap. Bake for about 10 minutes, turning the tray around halfway. Turn off the oven, open the door a crack and keep the trays in there for a further 5 minutes. Remove from the oven, lift the carrot strip from the tray a little to get that messy look. Don’t worry if the carrot strips look soft, they will crisp up as they cool down. Set it aside for later.
  8. For the filling and topping, combine the butter and cream cheese, lightly whip with an electric mixer, sift in the icing sugar, and beat until smooth. Add the vanilla extract and maple syrup, beat again until it’s a spreadable, but with firm consistency. Cover with clingfilm and refrigerate until ready to use. This mixture is going to sandwich your cake together.
  9. To assemble, put one layer of cooled sponge onto a serving dish, cover with half of the butter and cream cheese filling, then sandwich with the second sponge. Spread the remaining filling on top of the cake. Finally, scatter with the carrot crisps and serve.

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