If you know me at all, you won't be surprised that the first menu item I had set in stone for my Easter lunch this year was Carrot Cake.  It was the grand finale of the meal, so doesn't that make it the most important part?  This is supposed to be a healthy blog, so perhaps I shouldn't refer to dessert as the most important part of my meal.  My Easter meal was a veggie plate buffet.  It was a super healthy and I even skipped out on a glass of wine. 

But the carrot cake was my favorite part.  I actually had never made one before and while cruising recipes for inspiration, I was shocked to see how much oil the average recipe called for (1.5 cups) and how much eggs they called for (3 or 4).  I decided this ew factor was probably there due to all of the dense ingredients.  Nuts, carrots, pineapple, and raisins are all pretty heavy and need a lot of pick me up. 

My cake turned out with two very thin layers.  The frosting was more of a dripping icing, which ended up being absorbed into the cake considerably.  When the cake was cut, you couldn't even tell there were originally two layers and that there was icing in between them.  All of these things had me a little worried about how it would turn out.  I was wanting a light and airy cake with fluffy buttercream-like icing.  And this cake did not fit that description.

 After I took a bite, simultaneously with three other Easter guests, the room was erupting in "ooohh"s and "mmm"'s and "wow"'s.  The cake was scrumptious.  Unfortunately, I did end up using 1/2 cup of oil, which made me cringe.  Next time I'll cut that in half and substitute apple sauce to see what kind of result I get.  If you like super moist and delicious carrot cake that is completely vegan, then you need to try this recipe. 

What You'll Need:

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup unbleached white flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 cup raw sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup soymilk + 1 T apple cider vinegar
1/4 canola oil (or other veggie oil)
1 1/2 cups grated carrot
1 1/4 cups fresh grated or mined pineapple (or canned, crushed)
3/4 cups chopped walnut pieces
3 T powdered egg replacer + 12 T warm water

Icing:
This Vanilla Icing recipe,  plus 1/3 cup of non-dairy non-hydrogenated cream cheese and 1/4-1/2 cup filtered water until desired consistency is reached.  Also, only use 1 tsp of vanilla extract instead of 1 1/2 tsp.  Icing should not be runny or watery, but should be thin enough to drip down the sides of the cake.  

How You'll Do It:

Preheat oven to 350º.  Pour soy milk in a bowl or liquid measuring cup, pour in apple cider vinegar and set aside to curdle.  In a small bowl, mix egg replacer powder with warm water and whisk rapidly to get foamy and thick.  In a large bowl, mix dry ingredients (flours, baking powder, spices, salt).  In another large bowl, mix sugars, vanilla, egg replacer, curdled soy milk, and oil until well combined.  Then mix carrots, pineapple, and walnuts into the liquid/sugar mixture.  Once well incorporated, pour liquid/veggie mixture into the dry mixture in two intervals and mix thoroughly.  Use baking spray or non-dairy non-hydrogenated margarine to coat two round baking pans.  Pour the batter evenly into both pans and put into the oven to bake for 40 minutes.  Before removing from the oven, make sure the cake is firm to the touch and that a toothpick comes out clean after being inserted.  

Take each layer out of it's pan and place on a cooling rack.  When completely cool, transfer to a large plate or cake place.  Spread a thin layer of icing on the bottom layer of cake.  Set the other layer of cake on top of the bottom one.  Poor the rest of icing on top of the cake while using an icing spatula, butter knife, or spoon to spread the icing over the top of the cake, allowing it to drip down the sides.  Once cake is covered, sprinkle the top and sides of cake with toasted walnuts. 

Why You'll Love It:

  Pineapples contain bromelain, a potent digestive enzyme.  It is very similar to stomach acid and is high in calcium, phosphorus, potassium, and beta-carotene.  Carrots are an excellent detoxifier and are also great for digestive health.  Walnuts strengthen kidneys and lungs, lubricate the digestive system and improve your metabolism.  They're also high in calcium, and phosphorus and iron.  This cake has more than it's fair share of oil and definitely has some sugar.  But it's also got a heaping serving of three super healthy plants.  So you'll love it because for a dessert, it could be a lot worse!

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Looking for other delicious desserts?
- Miniature Almond Cheesecake
- Peanut Butter Cookies with Chocolate Dots
- Hazelnut Apple Crisp