Carrot and Coconut Cake

Feb 24, 2023

This carrot and coconut cake is a win win.   It gives you the tantalising blend of fruits and spices you'd find in a traditional fruit cake - but with a gorgeous creamy topping too! Yahoo! 

I’ve used dried golden berries (sometimes called inca berries) for this recipe instead of raisins and/or sultanas. They have a lower GI and a lower sugar content (38g per 100g) than raisins and sultanas (60-70g sugar per 100g). They have a gorgeous, rich, full flavour, with a slight citrussy tang.  They are about the same size as raisins and sultanas, but I’ve chopped the fruit to distribute the flavour across the cake.  This way only a small quantity is needed.
If you don’t need to watch your sugar intake as carefully as I do, and/or you prefer to use sultanas and raisins, you could still chop the fruit up to lessen the quantities.  Dried fruit, whatever the type it is always quite a lot sweeter than fresh fruit.

120g carrots grated
1 apple grated
90g dessicated coconut
150g almond flour
4 tbsp granulated alternative natural sweetener (see options below)*
4 eggs
75g butter (melted)
Juice of ½ a lemon
1 tbsp vanilla essence
3 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp mixed spice
1 tsp ginger
½ tsp salt
1 ½ tsp baking powder
60g chopped walnuts
25g chopped golden (inca) berries

Topping:
75g softened butter
100g mascarpone
5 tsp milled natural granulated sugar replacement. (See options below)*
10 drops caramel essence
1 tsp vanilla paste

Pre-heat the oven to 180C/Gas mark 4.
Line a 23cm square tin with baking paper.

Grate the carrots and apples. (or use a food processor)
In a bowl, whisk the eggs, sweetener, spices, flavouring and lemon juice until light and fluffy.
Add the melted butter and stir in well.
In a separate bowl mix the almond flour, salt, dessicated coconut and baking powder and mix well.
Add the dry ingredients to the egg mix and stir in thoroughly.
Then add the chopped nuts and golden berries and mix through.
Turn the cake batter out into the lined baking tin.
Bake for around 30 - 40 minutes.   Check the cake is cooked by putting a knife or skewer into the centre.  If it comes out clean the cake is cooked.  If it doesn't continue to cook, checking every 5-10 minutes.

For the topping mix all the ingredients thoroughly and spread generously onto the cake once it is thoroughly cooled.
Store the cake in the fridge.

*Granulated natural sweetener options could include xylitol, erythritol, allulose. See Alternative Sweeteners page for more info. Each will have slightly different levels of sweetness.  Adjust to taste.

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