Thursday, December 31, 2015

Carrot and apple cake with a lemon drizzle icing

I am rather in love with this cake. Apple pieces are showcased to perfection against a backdrop of carrot cake, and the zestiness of the lemon drizzle allows a sweet but fresh finish. As you would expect with carrot and apple in the mix, the cake is moist (but not too moist) and it is sturdy enough to be sliced and taken on a walk (I know this because I did so).


I adapted this from a supermarket (Tesco) recipe and my changes included dropping the eggs (I didn't substitute anything else in, figuring the grated carrot would be sufficient, which it was), halving the butter / non-dairy spread component, and reducing the sugar by 25%. You won't miss what I took out because the carrot and apple give moisture and sweetness themselves.

 


You could serve this without the lemon drizzle if you wanted a plainer cake, or with a cream cheese style icing if you wanted something more decadent. I think the lemon drizzle hits a nice halfway mark. I made a reduced batch of drizzle relative to the original recipe, so if you want something thicker or stronger, up the icing sugar component or make a double batch as you prefer.

Carrot and apple cake with a lemon drizzle icing
A delicious vegan loaf cake to serve 10 to 12

Author: Adapted from a Tesco recipe


Ingredients
2 medium carrots, grated
3 medium apples, peeled and chopped
50g (approx. 4 tbsp) non-dairy spread
150g (approx. 2/3 cup) white sugar
1 tsp vanilla
190ml (3/4 cup) non-dairy milk of choice
300g (approx. 2 cups) plain flour
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp mixed spice

Juice of 1/2 lemon
75g (approx. 2/3 cup) icing sugar
Drizzle warm water, as needed

Method
Preheat your oven to 170'C / 325'F and line a loaf tin.

Grate the carrot and chop the apples and then set aside.

In a large bowl, beat together the non-dairy spread, sugar and vanilla. When creamed, add the non-dairy milk and stir through. Add the flour, baking powder and spice and stir through until fully combined.

Stir in the grated carrot and apple pieces.

Transfer the batter to your prepared tin and bake for 30 minutes. Cover the cake with some foil (to avoid the top browning) and return to bake for a further 15 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.

Allow to cool for approximately 10 minutes before removing from the pan. Allow to cool until almost room temperature before icing.

To make the icing, whisk together the lemon juice and icing sugar in a small bowl. Add a teaspoon or so of warm water to achieve your desired consistency. Drizzle over the top of the cake and sprinkle with extra icing sugar if desired.


Submitted to Healthy Vegan Fridays.

17 comments:

  1. What an interesting combination, Kari. I'll be pinning this recipe for National Carrot Cake Day, February 3rd!

    Thank you so much for sharing...Happy New Year!!!

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    1. Thanks for alerting me to national carrot cake day! I'll need to make this again to honour the occasion ;)

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  2. Looks great to me - anything with lots of fruit and veg in that's still cake can only be a good thing.

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  3. This is MY kind of cake - full of flavor (and apples). The icing is perfect.

    Happy New Year!

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    1. Thanks Maureen, and happy new year to you!

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  4. Carrot and apple is a great combination - sounds like a lovely cake

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  5. Yum! You do sell a cake well, Kari. I love the look and sound of this and how fabulous that reducing the sugar doesn't affect the cake at all. I do like the sound of the lemon drizzle as I do love cakes with a bit of lemon. Wishing you and Mr Bite a very happy New Year xx

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  6. I love carrot cake and I love apple cake but have never tried combining the two - this looks absolutely delicious! And I am in love with that serving tray <3 Happy New Year Kari!

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    1. Happy new year to you Kyra! I love the tray too - it came from family in Canada :-) I hope you enjoy mixing up apple and carrot cake flavours if you try it.

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  7. Oh wow!!! I love the sound of this! It sounds super delicious =) Can't wait to try it out!

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  8. This cake sounds lovely - apple cakes are right up my alley.

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  9. I have kilos and kilos of zucchini at home ATM and I'm wondering if I will ruin this recipe by subbing it in for the carrots? I figure it would work well with the apple and lemon flavours?
    Maybe I'll play it safe and bake it both ways! Love the recipe - pinned!

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    Replies
    1. I think zucchini would work really well! I've made apple and zucchini products before and they're always delicious - have fun experimenting if you decide to make the swap :-)

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