Hazelnut Carrot Cake

This Hazelnut Carrot Cake is so soft and fragrant, bursting with flavours: vanilla, hazelnuts, lemon… and so moist and rich yet light. One of absolute favourites on my blog (and of mine).

Just a few days ago I remade my old time favourite cake recipe: Hazelnut Carrot Cake with my dear friend, also a blogger and a nutritionist, Mitra Nutriholist. The occasion was just baking, styling and taking photos together but also it was Mitra’s mother’s birthday so we wanted to make a healthy cake the family would enjoy. We decided for this one since it’s both our favourite when it comes to baking. We had so much fun baking it together, and Mitra beautifully styled it, don’t you think?!

I love this particular cake because it’s my take on making a classic carrot cake healthier and a little different. That’s why I went for roasted hazelnuts instead of almonds or walnuts, and omitted cinnamon all together. Instead of butter I used coconut oil, substituted all purpose wheat flour with rice and spelt flour. As usual, instead of eggs I used flax seeds (flax egg) for binding, and reaction between apple cider vinegar and baking soda that makes the cake “rise”. The result was a very fragrant, light, soft and fluffy cake, also very aromatic, predominantly tasting of vanilla, hazelnuts and lemon. So now you know why I love it so much.

There’s a few important tips  to  baking a vegan cake.
– For this type of vegan cake I always prepare dry ingredients and wet ingredients separately, then mix them together to make the batter.
– When mixing the two together, you have to be very gentle and not overmix it. If you do you may end up with a chewy cake, or it may fall in the middle…none of the results you’re after, so no food processors, blenders or mixers please. Just use a spatula to mix it in a bowl really gently until incorporated. It doesn’t have to be very smooth.
– Also, when the batter is ready, put it in the oven right away. Don’t let it stand too long.

There are two steps you have to do in advance: roast the hazelnuts (because we need them cooled down) and soak cashew nuts for the cream (because we need to soak them for at least 3 hours).

To roast the hazelnuts, place them on a baking tray and roast for about 15-20 minutes on 150 Celsius, until the skins start cracking and the nuts become slightly browned. Easiest way to skin them is to put them when cooled down a bit in a clean cloth and rub until the skins fall off. Then you can grind them. Best leave them to cool down completely because they might give out too much oil if ground while warm. For the purpose I use the processor that came with my immersion blender, which I normally use whenever there’s something I need a food processor for, like making the hummus or the base for a raw cake.

To soak the cashews for frosting (this will make a creamier texture), place them in a bowl, cover with cold water, add a pinch of salt and soak for 3-6 hours. Drain and wash them before starting making the cream.

[recipe-foody]
Preparation Time: 30 minutes + 40 minutes baking time
For 26 cm cake pan, 12 slices

Ingredients
Dry
1 cup rice flour
1 cup roasted hazelnuts (ground)
1/2 cup spelt flour (sifted to get rid of the skin)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp Himalayan salt
1 tsp vanilla powder
zest of one lemon
pinch of ginger

Wet
1,5 cup plant milk (I used hazelnut, but almond, cashew or oat is great too)
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 cup agave or maple syrup
1/2 cup coconut oil (melted) or extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp golden flax seed (plus 6 tbsp water to make 2 flax eggs)
2-3 tsp lemon juice
1,5 cup grated carrot

Cashew Cream
1 cup cashew nuts
4-5 dates
1/2 tsp vanilla powder
pinch of cinnamon
2/3 cup of water
pinch of salt
2 tbsp lemon juice
2-3 tbsp maple syrup

Method

1. Preheat the oven on 180°C. For baking I prefer using steam mode because it helps the cake rise better and retain the moisture.
2. Mix the milk and cider vinegar and lead to stand
3. Grind the roasted hazelnuts and mix them in the bowl with all other dry ingredients
6. Grind the flaxseeds and mix them with twice as much water: 2 tbsp flax+6 tbsp water. You will see that what you get will look a lot like a beaten egg
7. Mix oil, agave or maple syrup with lemon juice
8. Grate the carrot and squeeze the extra liquid out. This will prevent the cake from getting mushy but still it will be very moist
9. Mix flax and oil mixture with a spoon into dry ingredients, then add milk and mix again. Do it gently, do not over mix it because if you do it too harsh the cake could turn out chewy.
10. Mix in the carrot. The batter should be fairly thick but still pourable
11. Pour it into the lined pan and bake for 30-40 minutes. If you’re using a smaller pan, you might need to bake for longer because the cake will be thicker,
12. Test the cake with the tooth pick. When the cake is done it should come out clean, just with a few crumbs but no batter on it. Leave it to cool completely.
13. Prepare the cashew cream: blend all the ingredients in a high speed blender until very smooth. For the purpose I use Electrolux Masterpiece. Refrigerate to cool.
14. When the cake is cooled down and frosting has firmed up, you can assemble the cake

Notes
– You can substitute hazelnuts with almonds or walnuts
– Also brown flax for golden flax seeds
– If using a smaller spring form, you will need to bake it for longer.
[/recipe-foody]

Guys, I hope you enjoy this one and for more of baked vegan cake goodness, check out Double Chocolate Vegan Cake, Vegan Chocolate Sponge Cake and Chocolate Zucchini Birthday Cake

Hope you try this one and please let me know if you do cause I’d love to hear if you liked it.
If you’d like to be informed when my next recipe is out, please subscribe above. You’ll be simply notified and sent a link directly to the recipe through your email.

Lots of love and happy Thursday:)
Maja xx

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Torta od mrkve i lješnjaka

Ovo je moja zdrava, cjelovita verzija torte od mrkve. Umjesto bijelog brašna koristila sam rižino i pirovo, umjesto maslaca kokosovo ulje odnosno ekstra djevičansko maslinovo, a umjesto jaja sjemenke lana. Za ovakav biskvit bitno je pripremiti sve suhe sastojke zajedno i sve mokre isto pa ih tek onda zajedno zamiješati. Ukoliko želite, možete koristiti i pšenično brašno ali ne integralno nego T850 jer je integralno “preteško” za kolače. Isto vrijedi i za pirovo – ako ne možete nabaviti T850 (polubijelo) jednostvno prosijte integralno i to je to.

Da objasnim onaj dio s “umjesto jaja”: samljevene lanene sjemenke pomiješane sa dvostrukom količinom vode će povezati smjesu, a reakcija između sode bikarbone i jabučnog octa te prašak za pecivo “dići” će kolač.

Potrebno za izradu kolača:
– kalup za pečenje – ja sam koristila okrugli za tortu od 26cm
– pećnica
– dobar blender. Ja koristim Electrolux Masterpiece
– sjeckalica ili food processor za mljevenje lješnjaka i sjemenki lana. Ja koristim sjeckalicu koja je došla uz moj Electrolux štapni mikser

Slijedeća dva koraka treba napraviti unaprijed: ispeći lješnjake kako bi se ohladili i namočiti indijske oraščiće za kremu. Obješnjenje je niže, u postupku.

[recipe-foody]
Priprema: 30 min + 40 min za pečenje
za kalup od 26cm, 12 šniti

SASTOJCI:

Sastojci za biskvit (za kalup promjera 26 cm)

Suhi

1 šalica rižinog brašna
1 šalica prženih lješnjaka
1/2 šalice prosijanog pirovog brašna (tj. tip T-850)
1 žličica sode bikarbone
1 žličica himalajske soli
1 žličica praha burbon vanilije
korica jednog limuna
prstohvat đumbira

Mokri

1,5 šalica mlijeka (zobeno, sojino, rižino, bademovo; ja sam napravila orahovo, možete pogledati kako ovdje)
1 žličica prirodnog jabučnog octa
1 šalica agavinog sirupa
1/2 šalice ulja (ekstra djevičansko maslinovo ili kokosovo, rastopljeno)
2 žlice zlatnog lana + 6 žlica vode
1,5 šalice naribane mrkve

Za kremu:

1 šalica indijskih oraščića
4-5 datulja
pola žličice praha vanilije
prstohvat cimeta
2/3 šalice vode
prstohvat soli
2 žlice soka od limuna
2-3 žlice javorovog ili agavinog sirupa

Postupak
1. Lješnjake pecite u pećnici na 150 stupnjeva 15tak minuta, ili dok kožica ne popuca i lagano ne posmeđe. Najlakše ćete ih oguliti tako da ih još vruće umotate u čistu kuhinjsku krpu i protrljate.
2. Indijske oraščiće namačite u zasoljenoj vodi ( 3- 6 sati). Zatim ih dobro isperite i ocijedite.Tako će biti mekši i dobit ćete glađu i finiju kremicu.
3. Prethodno zagrijte pećnicu na 180°C. Ja pečem kolače na Plus Steam  parnom modu jer se bolje dignu i budu sočniji.
4. Stavite jabučni ocat u mlijeko i promiješajte. Pustite da odstoji dok pripremite ostale suhe i mokre sastojke.
5. Sameljite lješnjake (nakon što su se potpuno ohladili) pomiješajte ih u zdjeli sa svim ostalim suhim sastojcima. Za mljevenje orašastih polodova najčešće koristim sjeckalicu koja je došla uz moj štapni mikser, a koju i inače koristim kad god trebam food processor.
6. Sameljite lan u mlincu za kavu ili u sjeckalici (naglašavam da treba biti što finije samljeven) i pomiješajte u zdjelici s dvostruko više vode. Vidjet ćete kako lan dobiva konzistenciju razmućenog jajeta. I napomena: nemojte kupovati samljeveni lan. Lan sadrži puno omega 3 masnih kiselina koje vrlo lako oksidiraju. Drugim riječima, takav lan će brzo izgubiti nutritivne vrijednosti i užegnuti.
7. Pomiješajte ulje sa sirupom i sokom od limuna. Ako koristite kokosovo ulje, prvo ga rastopite – jednostavno stavite teglicu u pećnicu dok se zagrijava ili u zdjelu s vrućom vodom.
8. Naribajte i iscijedite mrkvu, sok možete popiti 😉
9. Umiješajte lan i smjesu ulja i sirupa u suhe sastojke. Lagano promiješajte, dodajte mlijeko malo po malo i ponovno promiješajte. Nemojte prežustro miješati da biskvit ne bi bio žilav.
10. Kad je smjesa uglavnom jednolična, umiješajte naribanu i iscijeđenu mrkvu. Dobivena smjesa treba biti prilično gusta, ali da se ipak može preliti u kalup uz pomoć špatule. Slobodno isprobajte sirovu smjesu kako biste provjerili je li dovoljno slatka i ukusna. Ako vam je nedovoljno slatka, slobodno dodajte još malo sirupa, a ako vam se čini da je nedovoljno ukusna, dodajte još mrvicu soli i limunovog soka.
11. Ulijte smjesu u kalup obložen masnim papirom i pecite 30-40 minuta, ovisno o jačini pećnice. Kolač je gotov kad dobije zlatno smeđu boju i lagano popuca povrhu. Je li se ispekao možete provjeriti tako da umetnete čačkalicu u njega. Ukoliko izađe čista (samo malo masna i eventualno s mrvicama), kolač je gotov. Ako se s nje slijeva tekućina, kolač se još mora peći.
12. Kolač ohladite i pripremite kremu.
Za ovaj korak najbolje je koristiti dobar blender. Ako nemate, možete i štapni mikser ali kremica neće biti tako glatka. Dobro operite oraščiće i izblendajte sa svim ostalim sastojcima dok ne dobijete potpuno glatku kremu. Vodu dodajte postupno, dok ne dobijete potpuno glatku smjesu. Možda vam niti ne bude potrebna cijela količina. Ohladite i namažite potpuno ohlađeni kolač odozgora. Ako ste radili kolač u manjem kalupu pa vam je ispao viši, možete ga i prepoloviti pa namazati i iznutra. Možete još posuti odozgora s mljevenim lješnjacima.

Notes:
– ako nemate, ne možete ili ne želite nabaviti rižino i T850 pirovo brašno, možete ga zamijeniti pšeničnim T850 (ne integralnim jer je “preteško” za ovakav kolač. T850 znači prosijano integralno). Toplo preporučam da koristite barem rižino jer je jako ukusno, lagano i bez glutena.
– lješnjake možete zamijeniti bademima, iako je meni ova varijanta ukusnija i zanimljivija
– zlatni možete zamijeniti običnim, smeđim lanom. Najbolje ga je svježe samljeti u mlincu za kavu, jer kad stoji dugo samljeven ili kad ga kupite samljevenog, jako brzo gubi svoje hranjive sastojke.[/recipe-foody]

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Maja x