Carrot Cake by Bonnie

As you can see, a delicious piece of carrot cake, is being taken down.

This is a vegan carrot cake baked by my dear friend, Bonnie. It followed a yummy meal our friends made as a sort of celebration of our dropping by to see their new home and meet their furbaby, Abbey. Bonnie and Stephen aren't vegan so it was very sweet of them to go to the trouble of making something for us that they might not ordinarily eat. We were touched.

Recipe next with more notes and chitchat to follow that, for those who are interested.

VEGAN CARROT CAKE by BONNIE

INGREDIENTS + Method

• Preheat oven to 350 F/175 C
• Grease 9×13 pan or use parchment
• Grate 2 cups of carrots and set aside
• Also put aside 1/2 cup dried pineapple pieces *see Notes

Whisk the following 'dry ingredients' together in a bowl:

*1 cup All Purpose flour

*1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour

*1 teaspoon baking soda* see Notes

*3 teaspoons cinnamon

*1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

*1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Mix the 'wet ingredients' together in another bowl:

*1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce

*1 cup non-dairy milk *see Notes

*2 teaspoons vanilla

*1 cup demerara sugar *see Notes

*1/2 cup olive oil

Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.  Once blended, fold in the grated carrots and dried fruit

Fold the batter into the cake pan and bake for 30-40 minutes  depending on your oven. 

Cool completely before icing.  Bonnie used a simple vanilla glaze. When I made one a few days later, I creamed some toffuti cream cheese with maple syrup as an icing. What did you use?

N O T E S

1. Bonnie, Ed and I met during our first year of College a very long time ago. Stephen has to put up with a bit of yakety-yak about those long-gone days. He is very gracious. He and Ed hit it off, so there you go.

2. Bonnie has a new dehydrator so decided to dry her own pineapple pieces for inclusion. Wow, the flavour and texture of the dry pineapple brought back memories of all those classic carrot cakes of long ago. Please watch this space for some vegan carrot-cake innovating-- I think, muffins. 

3. Yes, surprisingly, only 1 teaspoon of baking soda made the fluffy cake you see in the photo!

4. Bonnie used almond-cashew milk in her recipe. You can use whatever you non-dairy milk you have around.

5. Demerara sugar gave this cake a  sort of oldy-fashioned-y hint of molasses-- a little richer than regular brown sugar, a little sweeter than coconut sugar. Use your available sugar but demerara is really worth a try.

6.If you are using a new mini-oven, they are pretty neat for baking, but please read the directions because they do tend to speed-bake.

7. If you bake up Bonnie's cake, we would love to see it!  Post it at #organicgrannydotcom on Instagram, or let us know on here (below in comments) and we will make arrangements... Enjoy!