Carrot Cake

Aaron has been talking about making carrot cake for over a year. Why it took us so long to make it is beyond me, though we've had no trouble buying it from Blind Faith Cafe (shh, don't tell our wedding cake we sometimes cheat on it). He had a long day the other day so I surprised him by working on this recipe, and we've nearly devoured it. And of course, there is a cream cheese frosting. How carrot cake came to traditionally have cream cheese frosting I have no idea, since I don't think carrots and cream cheese are foods that are typically served together, but who cares, because it is tasty. I made this one plain but I think it would be good with raisins and/or walnuts too.

Carrot Cake (serves 12-16)

For the cake:
1/2 Tbls. chia seeds, crushed as best as you can
1/4 cup water
1 large carrot
3 Tbls. vegan butter, softened
1 1/2 cups flour, sifted (measure first, then sift)
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup coconut milk
1 Tbls. canola oil
2 tsp. vinegar

For the frosting:

1/2 cup cashews, soaked in water for a few hours or overnight
Juice of one small slice of lemon (about 1/8 of a lemon)
2 Tbls. water
1/2 cup powdered sugar
Pinch of salt.

Preheat the oven to 350 F. In a small bowl combine your chia seeds and water. Pop in the fridge while you continue to prepare the cake. It will turn into a gel in about 10 minutes and mimic the function of the egg in the cake.

Shred/grate the carrot and set aside.

In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, sugars, oil, coconut milk, vinegar, and chia gel.

Gently fold in the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients until almost mixed.

Fold in the carrot.

Spread the batter into a 8x8 square pan (or something roughly equivalent in size). Bake for 30 minutes.

While the cake is baking, make the frosting by blending all the frosting ingredients together. Be sure to drain and rinse the cashews first. Frost the cake when cool.

Nom nom nom (enjoying the very last piece as I write this post).