I make a lot of carrot cakes and vary the recipe quite a bit, adding nuts, raisins (rum-soaked raisins for the right audience), sometimes tinned pineapple for added moisture, sometimes a grated apple or a banana if there’s one in the fruit bowl that needs using up. The only real adjustment to make is in the cooking time, as more moisture or a bigger volume of mixture will add time to the bake. 

My standard recipe is naturally dairy-free but we have a Coeliac guest at the café and I’ve been testing gluten-free versions. They always appreciate it, so it’s well worth the effort. 

This particular version has been very popular with all our guests, not just the gluten-free ones. Like all GF cakes it’s a little on the crumbly side but I see that as a chef’s perk. 

I make a cream-cheese icing but you can use  dairy-free ingredients or serve it without icing (I sometimes drizzle with Maple syrup, or make a simple glacé topping with icing sugar and fruit juice).

Also, I make this as one big 23cm cake but you can split it over two tins for a shorter bake and sandwich with icing, or even halve the recipe to make one 900g loaf cake. This mix will make 14-16 cupcakes, which take 18 minutes to cook. 

So feel free to make your own adjustments, and let me know how you get on!

Ingredients

340ml vegetable or olive oil 

225g caster sugar

225g soft dark brown sugar

4 medium free-range eggs

340g grated carrot

225g desiccated coconut

225g FreeFrom GF rice flour 

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 tbsp ground cinnamon 

Optional extras: 

100g chopped walnuts, hazelnuts or pecans

160g raisins soaked in 80ml water (or dark rum, in which case add both fruit and liquid to the mix)

1 small tin pineapple chunks, drained and roughly chopped (reserve the liquid for cocktails)

Any extraneous fruit eg a grated apple or brown banana – you won’t taste it in the cake but it will add moisture) 

Orange or lemon zest if there’s any hanging around

Vanilla or Bergamot essence but there’s a lot going on so that can get lost in the flavour profile

Method

Grease and line a 23cm cake tin with baking parchment. 

Heat the oven to 170C

In a large mixing bowl combine the oil, sugar and eggs.

In another bowl combine the dry ingredients 

In a third bowl add the grated carrot and any other ingredients (drained pineapple chunks, nuts, raisins etc). 

Use a sturdy whisk or hand mixer to whisk the oil, sugar and eggs until well combined but not too frothy. 

Add the dry ingredients and whisk again, just to combine. Then add the carrot and anything else and mix again briefly. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides and give a good stir to make sure all the dry ingredients are incorporated. 

Tin in to your prepared tin and bake for 60-70 minutes, until well risen and firm to the touch. Leave to cool in the tin. 

Cream cheese icing

125g soft unsalted butter

300g full-fat cream cheese at room temperature

60g icing sugar

(Optional: a dash of warm pineapple, orange or lemon juice if you have any)

Toasted coconut curls for decoration 

The key to the icing is to have all the ingredients at the same temperature to avoid the mix splitting. Start with the butter and icing sugar, whisk well, add the cream cheese and any flavourings. 

You can simply top the large cake with a pile of icing, or split the cake horizontally (a bread knife works well) and divide the icing between the middle and top. Or leave naked and dust with icing sugar! 

© Linda Galloway 2024