Paloma Faith ~ Perfect Contradiction Album
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| Ali's Vegan and Gluten-Free Carrot Cake |
Hello folks...well what a weekend! The celebration for my lovely Mum went really well and food and pink fizz was had by us all. Little Noo had her own celebration on the day by getting her ears pierced! I felt so old..lol But she came back with red ears but the most proud and magnificent smile that reached all corners of her face. Sadly though poor ML is still fighting off a nasty dose of Pleurisy so was sofa bound but that meant extra hugs from the little ones throughout the day. Thankfully I had the help of the lovelies that are my sister and my pal Ann. Phew! A steamy cast iron stuffed with a veggie casserole, topped with veggie dumplings was the offering for lunch along with fresh salads. The little ones enjoyed a carrot and lentil soup with bread and heaps of fresh salads. For dessert ice cream sundaes were on the menu and everyone around the table feasted happily. Afterwards it was party games that included limbo, musical statues and chairs and a great game of stringing food items to a long piece of string and the little ones had to go along and remove the items with just their mouths...very funny indeed. Mum really enjoyed herself so that was great.
Sunday was a day for relaxing after the madness of the celebrations. Ann was staying for the weekend and then we were joined by Dev and Bev and the lovely four legged Ms Ella so Archie was extremely happy. We enjoyed a late lunch together and then after Dev, Bev, Ann, Archie and Ella took a stroll around the country park we sat down to tea and a hefty slice of today's recipe. Relaxing...and peaceful.
Whilst away on our road trip around Scotland I had
I simply can't take any credit for this cake so I am choosing not to post the recipe but simply provide you with the link to the creators webpage. Her post about the cake comes with a story and magnificent photos...I simply could not compete with that today. So please check out Ali's posting for Vegan and Gluten-Free Carrot Cake at Gimmesomeoven.com.
The cake is made with a very generous amount of carrot which I prefer. I feel cheated with these carrot cakes that are mainly batter with a smattering of one carrot throughout. The flour mix with festooned with cinnamon, nutmeg, ground ginger and a pinch of cloves. The sugars are blended with 4 flax eggs until light and fluffy and is then folded into the flour and carrot mix. You have the choice of three cake sizes...one large, 2 9" or 3 8" layers. I chose the 9" version...for no other reason than that's what I had close to hand. My 8" tins are shallow and also buried at the back of my baking tin cupboard! lol. The cakes cooked in the set time of 25 minutes and smelt divine whilst baking. And despite no lining of the tins the cakes came out of the tins without any hassle. They kept their texture very well and the cake sprung back when pressed. When cooled I frosted the centre of the cakes and then reluctantly the top. (I hardly every frost the top of a cake unless its a birthday cake...but I know my friends well enough to provide what they would like...that's love right there!) I was still left with a large tub of frosting. (Half batch...*shaking head* lol) I left the cake to chill in the fridge to firm back up the frosting until I was ready to serve....
...when I did finally make tea for the returning wanderers I served the carrot cake. All loved it...all had extra frosting..lol I admit that I removed most of mine. However the cake itself was a glorious surprise. The texture almost made me tearful as I was beginning to believe that a good texture and vegan-gluten free cake were mutually exclusive. But this cake albeit dense was spongy and moist. No sandy textures once you started to chew. The batter and carrot were at a perfect balance. You knew you were eating a good carrot cake. Now my only issue...and it's a very small one at that...was the spice blend. A hefty measure of ground cinnamon is suggested and that is exactly what I used...1 tbsp. By comparison to the other spices it was a gigantic amount and the other spices were a little lost. The cinnamon intensifies the longer the cake is sat. We all agreed that it was a great tasting cake as it was but we also agreed that a lowering of the measurement of the cinnamon next time would be the way to go. As is..Dev likened it to a German Christmas cake for its use of spice.
The recipe itself was perfectly easy to make. I loved the use of the flax eggs. I know I'll be making this again with the slightest of adaptations. Less cinnamon, adding pecans and when Ann isn't partaking...using a few juicy sultanas thrown in for good measure. And...no frosting unless it's a celebration cake.
I hope you take the time to check out Ali's full posting and try this recipe for yourself...it's a treat of a cake but worth it.
Thanks for stopping by and I hope your weekend was a great one and that your week starts peacefully...
~Red~
NB: I take no credit for this recipe whatsoever. It is the hard work and creation of Ali over at Gimmesomeoven.com and hers alone. I do send out thanks to her for sharing it. ~R~
