Gluten-free, Vegan Carrot Orange Cake, With Coconut Orange Frosting

Grandma says the cake tasted "really good!"

We needed a birthday cake in our family last week, and I got to be the one to bake it.  Gluten free baking is not easy, so I avoid it when possible.  But it wasn't possible this time.  This cake had to be what my family calls, "everything free", and still taste good to the extended family with no known food limitations.  But since it wasn't for my husband, it didn't really make it "everything free", and included more oil and sugar then normal.  I decided that carrot cake would be a good risk.  I looked at a lot of recipes on line, gathered some ideas, and then crafted my own recipe.

I think it turned out pretty good.  It was delicate in texture, as many gluten free baked goods are, but it had a nice texture.

To see what the cake looks like as muffins, without frosting, or to get a few ideas on how to turn this cake recipe into muffins or cupcakes, go to this page.

Gluten-free Vegan Carrot-Orange Cake
(Soy-free, corn-free, nut-free, and pineapple-free, too)
By Barbara at wildflowermorningrecipes.blogspot.com

1 cup rice milk (or other milk)
3 T Ener-G Egg Replacer
1 cup rice flour
1 cup Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free flour mix, (or a mixture of garbonzo flour, and potato starch)
1/2 cup sorghum flour
1/2 cup coconut flour (grind up in your grinder or Vita-Mix)
1/4 cup ground chia seeds (or flax seeds)
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup turbinado sugar (or other sugar)
3 cups grated carrots
3/4 cup oil
3/4 cup orange, peeled, and blended (about 1 orange)

1.  Set the oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 8" round cake pans with palm shortening or some other kind of oil, and then dust with rice flour, pouring off the excess.

2. In a medium bowl, mix the rice milk and Egg Replacer and set aside.

3. In a large bowl, mix the dry ingredients, starting with the rice flour, and moving down to the turbinado sugar.  Mix thoroughly.  Add the grated carrots and mix.

4.  In the medium bowl in step number 2, add the blended orange, and oil, and mix.  Add these wet ingredients to the dry ingredients in step number 3, and mix until all the dry ingredients are incorporated into the wet ingredients, but don't over mix.

5.  Pour the batter into the two prepared cake pans and slip into the oven.  Bake 35 - 40 minutes.  Remove from oven, and cool in the pans.  This is a delicate, but flavorful cake.  Don't remove them from the pans until they are cool and you are ready to frost it.  It will frost easier if you freeze the cake layers first.  Then lay a flat plate on top of the cake pan, and carefully flip the cake over, and slide onto your cake serving tray.  Spread frosting on top of that layer.  Then put the plate onto the second cake, carefully flip it onto the plate, and then gently slide it onto the frosted bottom layer.  Then frost the whole cake.

Coconut Orange Frosting
By Barbara at wildflowermorningrecipes@blogspot.com

3/4 cup of the thickest part of a can of coconut milk (If there isn't a thick layer, set it in the refrigerator for a couple hours until it separates)
1 cup palm shortening (non-hydrogenated)
1/2 to 1 tsp vanilla (gluten free if needed)
1/2 to 1 tsp orange oil or flavoring (adjust amount to desired taste)
2 or more cups of powdered sugar (not all kinds are gluten free)

Place all ingredients, except the powdered sugar into a mixer bowl, or into a food processor.  Mix until very smooth.  Add powdered sugar, add more if needed for taste or texture.