This carrot cake has no fruit, potato, sugar, or eggs! It is sweet, moist, and delicious.
This carrot cake is awesome. Thank you! –My husband
My husband's favorite dessert is carrot cake (I don't know why), so for his birthday I like to make him a cake. This simple recipe has been adjusted so it has no fruit, potato, egg or sugar. It always turns our fantastically - which is great because baking is not what I'm best at. Savory food is where I shine, no so much the sweet stuff. Since I am egg intolerant just I haven't done a lot of baking over the years. But, it's so hard to buy desserts that are in compliance with our intolerances, it is always best to just do it myself.
I hope you enjoy this delicious carrot cake as much as we do!
Carrot Cake
Ingredients
Cake
3/4 cup maple syrup
1 cup walnut oil
3/4 cup buttermilk (can make your own - note below)*
1 tsp rice vinegar
2 tsps pure vanilla extract
2 cups Bob's Red Mill Organic All Purpose Flour (or other fruit-free flour)
3 tsps baking powder (Rumford or other potato-free brand)
1 tsp baking soda (Thrive market or other potato-free brand)
1/2 tsp sea salt
2 tsps ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
3 cups shredded carrots (5-6 medium carrots. I like to use my food processer for this)
1 cup walnuts
Cream cheese frosting
3 Tbs Unsalted butter (room temperature)
1 cup Cream Cheese, full-fat (room temperature)
4 Tbs Maple syrup
1 tsp Vanilla extract
1/4 tsp Sea salt
Directions
Preheat oven to 350º F (180º C). Grease and lightly flour the bottom and sides of a 13×9-inch rectangular pan, or two 8-inch or 9-inch rounds. Set aside.
Mix all of your wet ingredients together in a large bowl (maple syrup, walnut oil, buttermilk*, vinegar, and vanilla until well combined.
Add in your dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger), and mix until just combined. Taste for sweetness - may add more maple if desired. Stir in carrots and nuts. Pour batter into pan(s).
Bake: 13×9-inch pan for 40 to 45 minutes, Two round cake pans 30 to 35 minutes, The cake is ready when golden brown and you insert a toothpick into the middle of the cake and it comes out clean. Cool cake(s) on a cooling rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan(s) and cool completely.
Make the frosting. With an electric mixer, blend the cream cheese and butter for about 2 minutes, until smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add maple, vanilla, and sea salt. Beat on medium-high until light and fluffy. Add more maple if desired. Chill in refrigerator for 10 minutes if necessary.
Spread on one cake, and assemble if making a layered cake. Spread around sides and on top evenly. Sprinkle more chopped walnuts on top of cake, if desired. Enjoy!
*To make your own buttermilk, all you need to do is curdle whole milk with an acid.
Mix 1 cup whole milk with 1 Tablespoon of vinegar (or lemon, if not fruit-free). Let it stand for 5-7 minutes, and stir again. It should have thickened slightly.