A healthy (ish) vegan version of a classic carrot cake topped with cashew nut icing. It's made in traybake form with wholemeal spelt flour and less sugar than most. Healthy it may be, but it tastes just as it should. That's to say, squidgy, spicy and altogether flavoursome.
Place the cashew nuts in a bowl and cover with fresh water. Cover the bowl and leave to soak for at least four hours, but preferably overnight.
150 g cashew nuts
Preheat the oven to 180℃ (350℉, Gas 4).
In a large bowl, whisk the milk, oil and sugar together. Zest the orange and add that together with half of the juice.
125 ml plant milk of choice, 75 ml sunflower oil, 1 orange, 125 g unrefined sugar
Sift in the dry ingredients and fold into the milk and sugar mixture until everything is just incorporated. It's best to stir cake batters as little as possible as you don't want to toughen the flour.
200 g wholemeal spelt flour, 1 tsp baking powder, ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda), ¼ tsp sea or rock salt, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, ½ tsp ground ginger, ¼ tsp grated nutmeg
Gently stir in the grated carrots, walnuts and sultanas.
125 g carrots, 50 g walnuts, 50 g sultanas
Scrape into an 20 cm (8 inch) square silicone mould or lined tin and bake in the centre of the oven for thirty minutes. It's done when the top is firm to the touch and an inserted skewer comes out clean.
Leave in the tin to cool for fifteen minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack lined with a tea towel. Leave to cool completely.
Cashew Icing
Drain and rinse the cashews through a sieve.
Place them in a blender or mini food processor along with the remaining ingredients.
100 ml cashew milk, 4 dates, pinch sea salt, ¼ tsp ground cinnamon, juice of ½ orange remaining from orange used in cake
Blend until you have a smooth creamy consistency. A power blender works best for this.
Invert the cooled cake onto a cutting board so that the top of the cake is facing upwards.
Spread the cashew icing over the top.
Scatter some chopped walnuts over the top if liked.
4-6 walnuts
Cut into twelve pieces.
Notes
The cashew nuts need a few hours soaking before you can make the icing.Will keep in an air tight container for three days.Please note: calories and other nutritional information are per serving. They're approximate and will depend on exact ingredients used.