50 Carrot Cake - Vegan and Gluten-free

Last week I baked five different cake experiments, in hopes of finding the perfect carrot cake recipe for my parent's 50th wedding anniversary.  Mom requested carrot cake, so carrot cake it will be.  But you know, I'm not the greatest cake baker.  Even back when I ate wheat and and all things dairy, I didn't really do cake much.  I'd rather eat pie, or something smooth and creamy.   But Mom and Dad have been married 50 years.  That's notable.  They deserve a delicious, beautiful cake in honor of all their committed years together.

My first experiment was one recipe divided in half.  One used eggs. (I know, not vegan, but I had to know if they were necessary).  One containted egg replacer.  The egg cake was fluffier, but it fell apart as I was taking it out of the pan.  The egg replacer cake held together, and it wasn't too dense, at least for a carrot cake.  The cake tasted good, but was too moist, turning kind of wet by the next day.  Cake three was just "ok".  But nothing else.  Cake four turned nice, (thank you for sharing the recipe LaTeaDa) if you are looking for a cake with a full dose of sugar, oil and spice.  Mom and I thought it might make make a nice breakfast cake. But we were looking for something a little more mild, and it had to contain pineapple  So experiment 5 took place.  I used some ideas from cake two, and some of cake 4 along with some of my own ideas, and came out with what I considered to be a "perfect" vegan, gluten-free carrot cake.  I took some of the last two sample cakes to a potluck, and all of the mature ladies thought cake five was the best. 

Would you the recipe?  I'll add photos after the party.


50 Carrot Cake - Vegan and Gluten-free
www.wildflowermorningrecipes.blogspot.com

Step 1:  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray two 8" cake pans, and then dust with flour, then set aside.

Step 2:  Chunky ingredients.
Get the following ingredients ready.  Place together in one bowl, ready to ready to mix in at the end.

1 cup crushed pineapple, drained, (reserve 1/4 cup of the juice for step 4)
3/4 cup dried cranberries (or raisins)
2 cups grated carrots
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Step 3:  Dry ingredients.

Mix the following dry ingredients together into a large mixing bowl.  Mix together with a spoon until smooth and blended.

1 cup brown rice flour
1 cup white rice flour
1 t xanthan gum
1 t baking soda
2 1/2 t baking powder
1 1/2 t cinnamon
1/4 t cloves
1/4 t nutmeg
1/2 cup white sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 t sea salt

Step 4:  Wet ingredients.

Pour these wet ingredients into the large mixing bowl of dry ingredients in step 3.  Use a hand beater or stand mixer to mix these for a minute or so.

9 TBSP of Aquafaba OR Ener-G Egg Replacer for 3 eggs *
3/4 cup oil
1/4 cup pineapple juice (reserved in step 2)


Step 5: Final mix.

Add the chunky ingredients from step two into the large mixing bowl and mix them with the beater, until all mixed together.

Divide into the cake pans.  Set into the oven.  Bake for 50 minutes, or until a toothpick comes comes out clean.  Cool for at least 20 minutes in the pans, then remove.  Cool completely before eating.

*Note:  Aquafaba is the liquid in a can of cooked garbonzo beans.  You can use it straight from a can, or you can use the liquid for homecooked garbonzo beans.  3 TBSP Aquafaba = 1 egg.  

Easy Fruit Cobbler (Gluten-free, Vegan), With Raspberries

The raspberries are producing every day now with our sunny warm, but not too warm weather.   Twice I've made my favorite quick and easy fruit cobbler recipe with raspberries.  It is fruity like cobbler, but you can eat it in your hand like cake.  The recipe is gluten-free, dairy-free, low in sugar and fat.
 

Easy Fruit Cobbler (Gluten-free, Vegan)
www.wildflowermorningrecipes.blogspot.com

Oil to grease the 9 x 13 dish.

1/2 cup sugar of your choice, such as Florida Crystals or sucanat
2 cups Sorghum Flour*
2 Tablespoons Tapioca Starch
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 3/4 soy or rice milk, or milk of your choice
2 cups fruit, fresh or frozen, such as raspberries, blackberries, cherries, or peaches
1/2 cup walnuts or other nuts

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Grease your baking dish.

3.  In a mixing bowl, combine the sugar, flour, tapioca starch, and baking powder.  Mix well.  Add the milk of choice and mix until smooth. Pour this batter into the baking dish.

4.  Arrange the fruit over the batter and sprinkle with the nuts.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

*If you can eat gluten, you may make this recipe with 2 cups of whole wheat pastry flour to replace the sorghum flour and the Tapioca starch.

Gluten-free, Vegan Carrot Muffins

This muffin fresh from the oven won't last long.

We baked the carrot cake that I posted last on this blog as muffins, and it was a great success.  I just had to show you some samples to wet your appetite.

It's going to go fast.

The recipe made 16 muffins.  I baked them for 25 minutes.  If your muffin eaters don't like strong spice, decrease the cinnamon and ginger in the recipe, as you probably won't put frosting on top of muffins.  The frosting balances out the spiciness in the cake recipe.  Find the recipe here.

One bite left . . . gone.

 

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.

Walnut-Raisin Cake

We went to a friend's birthday party and they served this delicious cake. It was so yummy. We couldn't even guess that it was made with raisins and walnuts. We have made it several times since and it turned out great every time. I took it to a potluck luncheon and it was very popular. What a great rating for such a simple recipe made of simple, natural ingredients.

Walnut-Raisin Cake
From Raw Food Made Easy for 1 or 2 People by Jennifer Cornbleet

2 cups raw walnuts, unsoaked
2 cups raisins, unsoaked

Place the walnuts and raisins in a food processor fitted with the S
blade and process until the mixture sticks together. Transfer to a
serving place and form into a little cake. Frost the top and sides
with orange glaze.

Chill for at least 1 hour. Decorate the cake with fresh raspberries
or other berries before serving. Covered with plastic wrap, Walnut-
Raisin Cake will keep for five days in the refrigerator or two weeks
in the freezer. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

Orange Glaze

1/2 cup fresh squeezed orange juice (about 1 - 2 oranges juiced)
1/2 cup pitted medjool dates, soaked

Place the dates, and orange juice in a strong blender or food
processor, and process until smooth. Stop occasionally to scrape
down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Stored in a sealed
container in the refrigerator, the glaze will keep for five days.