VEG-ISM PART THREE: Let Them Eat Cake

The most horrifying part of foregoing dairy products is the thought of not being able to have the sweeties. Never fear! Thanks to vegan chef Isa Chandra Moskowitz and a good friend of mine for lending me her book, yes we CAN have some sweet good times :)

I've had a couple of requests for vegan baking recipes. Sometimes it's hard because you want the end product to taste exactly like what you are familiar with, but as yet I haven't come across any that taste like their animal-products-included counterparts... they're usually better! As I mentioned, we have to be a bit more creative with veg cooking; and be open to experiencing new flavours. For this reason I've chosen a somewhat exotic cake recipe to share with you today.

Just remember, set the temperature correctly on your oven, follow the instructions, and use the right tools. Of course, there's nothing stopping you from trying a variation on the recipe once you've got the hang of it!

Ginger-Macadamia-Coconut Carrot Cake
*You can replace macadamias with walnuts since they're pretty hard on the pocket

2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground or freshly grated nutmeg
1 cup pineapple juice
1/2 cup canola oil
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup macadamias, roughly chopped
1/4 cup crystallised ginger, chopped (even better if you can find small pieces specifically for baking)
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
2 cups carrots, grated

- Preheat oven to 180C. Have ready two 20cm round cake pans, lightly greased. Alternatively, this could be made in a rectangular baking pan, rougly 22x33com and cut in half lenthwise to create two layers or just iced as one layer.
- In a large mixing bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and ground spices.
- In a seperate large mixing bowl, mix together the pineapple, oil, sugar, maple syrup, and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients to the wet in batches, and combine well with a hand mixer or strong fork. Fold in macadamias, ginger, coconut, and carrots.
- Divide the batter evenly between the two round cake pans, or spread in the rectangular pan, and bake for 40-45 minutes. Let cool in pans. Remove from pans and put a layer of coconut icing (icing sugar, coconut, vegan margarine, hot water) between the layers, and another layer of cocnut icing on top.It looks prettier if you leave the sides free of frosting, but up to you :)

Do let me know how you go with this one, or if there are any specific recipes you'd like me to track down for you :) I do have one for vegan chocolate cake coming from a friend; apparently super amazing and I trust her judgement explicitly, so will keep you posted!

Love,
M Tehrase
xoxo