This is a gluten-free carrot cake mixed in one bowl and baked at 180°C for about 35 minutes. It comes out moist and properly spiced — cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg — with coarsely grated carrot, chopped pecans and soaked raisins running all the way through it. The frosting is cream cheese whipped with cold heavy cream instead of butter, so it sits light on top rather than heavy.

Good cake for a weekend brunch with friends. The gluten-eaters at the table tend not to notice anything is missing.

What you’ll need

Bakes in a 23cm square or 18x28cm rectangle tin.

Gluten free carrot cake:

  • 225g brown sugar
  • 120g butter, melted
  • 3 large eggs, room temperature
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 200g self-raising gluten free flour blend
  • ¾ tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp psyllium husk
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • 1½ tsp ground cinnamon
  • ½ tsp ground ginger
  • ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
  • 225g peeled and coarsely grated carrots (about 3-4 medium carrots)
  • 90g pecans, roughly chopped
  • 90g raisins, soaked

Cream cheese frosting:

  • 250g cream cheese, cold
  • 250g heavy cream, cold
  • 80g powdered sugar, sifted
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • Pecans, roughly chopped, for decoration

Method

Gluten free carrot cake

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 180°C and line a 23cm square or 18x28cm rectangle baking tin with baking paper.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, melted butter, eggs and vanilla until well combined.
  3. Sift in the gluten free flour blend, baking powder, baking soda, psyllium husk, salt, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg.
  4. Whisk everything together into a smooth batter with no flour clumps.
  5. Add the coarsely grated carrots, roughly chopped pecans and raisins, and fold them into the batter until they’re evenly distributed throughout.
  6. Transfer the batter into the lined baking tin and smooth out the top.
  7. Bake at 180°C for about 35 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
  8. Allow the cake to cool in the baking tin for about 10-15 minutes, then transfer it out of the tin onto a wire rack to cool completely. It’s important that your cake is cooled completely before you spread the cream cheese frosting on top.

Cream cheese frosting

  1. In a large bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer, if using), whisk the cream cheese until it’s smooth and looser in texture.
  2. Add the heavy cream, powdered sugar and vanilla, and whisk until soft peaks form.
  3. Spread the cream cheese frosting on top of the cooled carrot cake, all the way to the edges.
  4. Sprinkle on some extra chopped pecans as decoration, slice and serve.

A couple of tips

  • Cool it completely. Ten to fifteen minutes in the tin, then out onto a rack until there is no warmth left. Frosting a cake that is still warm will melt it straight off.
  • Keep the cream cheese and the cream cold. Both go in fridge-cold; that is what lets the frosting whisk up to soft peaks.
  • Soak the raisins first. They go into the batter already plump, so they stay soft in the baked cake.

Carrot cake reaches our own menu as pancakes rather than a slice. The Carrot-Cake Pancakes, with berry jam and cinnamon, are on the card in Budapest, Bucharest and Belgrade — walk-ins only. #webelieveinhandmade