GRAINS, NUTS & DAIRY FREE CARROT & RAISIN CAKE
This easy, quick, all-in-one recipe saved a Christmas for us when we had a group of guests who were not only on a paleo diet (no grains or dairy) but they had a nut allergy as well. This delicious cake is loaded with goodness and full of flavour and beautifully moist. The recipe relies on store cupboard items and we always seem to have carrots in the fridge so it’s become our go-to cake whenever we fancy some comfort food or when we have unexpected guests. It will keep in a cake tin at room temperature for at least 3 days and 5 to 7 days in the fridge.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup coconut flour
- 1/4 Cup coconut oil
- 1/2 cup honey
- 4 medium eggs
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsps sea salt
- 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp sodium bicarbonate
- 1 cup grated carrots
- 1/4 cup raisins or currants
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C or 160 degrees C for a fan oven. line an eight-inch round cake tin with baking parchment and set aside.
- Add all the ingredients EXCEPT the grated carrots and raisins and combine thoroughly until you have a batter. Let it sit for 10 minutes as this will help the mixture to swell up a bit.
- Stir in the carrots and raisins and pour the batter into the prepared cake tin.
- Bake in the oven for 40 minutes.
- Once cooked take out of the oven and place on a cooling rack with the cake still in the pan and leave for 10 minutes to rest.
- Remove the cake from the cake tin and peel off the baking parchment and let the cake cool completely. Cut into slices and enjoy.
THE SCIENCE BIT
According to the World’s Healthiest Foods, CARROTS are best known for their beta-carotene content. (The nutrient beta-carotene was actually named after the carrot!) While they can be an outstanding source of this phytonutrient, CARROTS actually contain a fascinating combination of phytonutrients, including other carotenoids (especially alpha-carotene and lutein); hydroxycinnamic acids (including caffeic, coumaric, ferulic); anthocyanins (in the case of purple and red CARROTS); and polyacetylenes (especially falcarinol and falcarindiol). CARROTS are an excellent source of vitamin A (in the form of carotenoids). In addition, they are a very good source of biotin, vitamin K, dietary fiber, molybdenum, potassium, vitamin B6 and vitamin C. They are a good source of manganese, vitamin B3, vitamin B1, panthothenic acid, phosphorus, folate, copper, vitamin E and vitamin B2.
