Vegan carrot cake with cashew frosting

• Vegan
• Gluten free

• Produce

  • 180 g Carrots, packed
  • 1 tsp Ginger, ground

• Condiments

  • 1/2 Lime or lemon, juice of

• Canned Goods

  • 210 ml Apple sauce
  • 180 ml Coconut cream

• Baking & Spices

  • 4 tsp Agar flakes activated
  • 1 level tsp Baking powder, GF
  • 1 level tsp Baking soda
  • 180 g Buckwheat flour
  • 1 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp Cloves, ground
  • 15 g Cornflour / cornstarch
  • 180 g Demerara sugar
  • 120 ml Maple syrup or other liquid sweetener
  • 1/2 tsp Nutmeg, ground
  • 60 g Rice flour
  • 1 pinch Salt
  • 1 Vanilla pod

• Oils & Vinegars

  • 120 ml Olive oil

• Nuts & Seeds

  • 300 g Cashews, raw
  • 1 1/2 Chia
  • 1 Hazelnuts

Found on lazycatkitchen.com

Description

Directions

• CASHEW ‘BUTTERCREAM’ (make it a day ahead if you can!)Drain and rinse soaked cashews. Chop them roughly and divide them into 4 portions (this isn’t necessary if you are using a Vitamix or an equally powerful blender).Put the first portion of the chopped cashews into a blender with all of the coconut cream and maple syrup. Process until smooth, add the second portion of cashews and again, process until smooth. Continue in the same manner until you’ve used up all of the cashews.Add vanilla seeds and season with lime or lemon juice to taste. If using a blender that isn’t as powerful as a Vitamix or a Blendtec, make small circles on the surface of the mixture (in the direction of the turning blades) with a spatula. Don’t dip the spatula in too deep as you don’t want to accidentally touch the turning blades. This simple trick will help your blender process the heavy mixture by preventing air pockets from forming under the mixture’s surface.Activate 4 tsp of agar flakes (equivalent to 1 and 1/3 tsp of agar powder) in 90 ml / 6 tbsp water. Make sure you simmer the mixture (stirring frequently) for about 10-15 minutes until the flakes almost dissolve or otherwise the agar will not work. Pour activated agar into the cashew mixture and blend well. Place the mixture in the fridge for a while (or overnight if you can) to thicken.CAKESSet the oven to 175° C. Grease two 16.5 cm / 6.5 in cake pans with a little olive oil. If you only have one springform tin of that size, grease it instead.Prepare chia (or flax) eggs (you’ll need 1½ portions) as per the instructions here.In a bowl mix together all wet ingredients. In another bowl, mix together all dry ingredients.Slowly tip the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and incorporate everything together. Since this is a gluten-free batter, you do not need to worry about overmixing, so mix everything really well.Divide the batter evenly between two cake pans. If you only have one springform tin, measure out half of the batter and place it in the tin. Bake, on the middle shelf, for about 45 mins. It’s done when a toothpick comes out fairly clean. Once the first cake finishes baking, place the second one in the oven and bake for the same amount of time. I don’t recommend baking both cakes at once as you may end up with uneven results. If using a single springform tin, let the first cake cool down, remove it gently from the tin, clean the tin, grease it and fill with the second half of the batter. Bake for approx. 45 min or until a toothpick comes out fairly clean.ASSEMBLYAllow both cakes to cool down completely. Trim the top of one of the cakes with a serrated knife so that the top cake sits better on top.Put a generous layer of cashew frosting on top of the first cake. Place the second cake on top and frost the top cake and the sides (optional) with more cream.Decorate with chopped hazelnuts, orange zest and cinnamon.