Deliciously Ella’s Classic Carrot Cake

This double-layered carrot cake with a creamy caramel-like icing is pretty special. One of the really nice things about it is that the sponge is very light so you feel incredibly energised after enjoying it, which I love – although it does mean that you’ll be tempted to eat four or five slices in a row!

Makes 1 cake (12 slices)

For the cake

2 mugs brown rice or buckwheat flour (400g)
1 mug ground almonds (120g)
2 tablespoons chia seeds
⅓ mug raisins (65g)
2 slices of pineapple (225g)
1 mug almond milk (300ml)
½ mug maple syrup (150ml)
3 carrots (250g)
coconut oil, for greasing

For the frosting

3 large bananas, peeled (350g)
10 Medjool dates, pitted
2 tablespoons almond butter
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

For the cake

Preheat the oven to 180°C (fan 160°C).

Pour the brown rice/buckwheat flour into a mixing bowl with the ground almonds, chia seeds and raisins.

Place the pineapple, almond milk and maple syrup into a blender and blend until smooth. Once it’s totally smooth, pour the mix into the mixing bowl with the dry ingredients.

Next, peel and grate the carrots using the fine side of a box grater. Stir the carrot into the mixing bowl and ensure that it’s all thoroughly mixed so that it forms a smooth batter.

Grease two x 24cm cake tins with coconut oil and evenly pour the mixture into both.

Bake for about 30 minutes, until the tops turn a golden brown.

Once the cakes are cooked, remove them from the oven and leave them to cool for about 10 minutes on a cooling rack (this is really important as the cake finishes setting at this point).

For the frosting

As the cake cools, make the icing. Place everything into a blender with 4 tablespoons water and blend until a smooth, creamy mix forms.

Once the cakes have cooled, divide the icing between the two cakes and then ice the tops.