Carrot cake (no added sugar)

A healthy cake, with no added sugar. Stays nice and moist and would probably get even tastier if it lasted to the next day! Unfortunately the cake is toooooo delicious and moorish so it was devoured in a matter of hours!

Healthy Carrot Cake 

3 eggs
1 banana
15 soft dates (~100grams)
6tbsp rapeseed oil
1,5dl ground almonds
1dl spelt flour
1,5tsp baking powder
3tsp cinnamon
1tsp cardamom
3 carrots, finely grated
1dl dessicated coconut
1dl assorted nuts, roughly chopped
1dl raisins/sultanas

+ margarine and dessicated coconut to bread the cake tin with

1. Preheat the oven to 175degrees. Prepare a round cake tin (or any oven dish that's handy). The cake does not rise or expand a whole lot, so a tin that just about holds the cake batter is sufficient.
2. Mix the dry ingredients together in a bowl and set aside to wait, while mashing the banana together with the eggs, oil and the dates (using a stick blender helps!). Add all of the ingredients together, finishing with the grated carrot and raisins.
3. Bake the cake in the preheated oven until a skewer/toothpick comes out clean. Between 40-50mins, if I remember correctly! ;)

Tastes great as is, but for a special occasion a cream cheese frosting suits this cake perfectly. My favourite is one flavoured with fresh orange or lemon juice!

Wholesome and scrumptious comfort food for rainy days like these! x

Lemon and Poppyseed Cake

Christmas is closing in and I am really looking forward to cooking and baking for the holidays. Before cracking on with all of those gingerbread biscuits, plum pastries, spiced buttermilk cakes and the hearty home cooking, I wanted to give this tangy and very interesting looking cake a go. This recipe is based on a sour cream pound cake and makes a lovely bundt cake that gets more flavourful and tasty a couple of days after making it.

 Lemon - Poppyseed Cake   

4 eggs
150grams butter, softened
4dl sugar
4dl plain flour
200ml sour cream (gräddfil/kermaviili)
1tsp baking powder
1tsp bicarb of soda
2 lemons, juice and zest
70grams poppy seeds

1. Prepare a large bundt pan by greasing and breading it with breadcrumbs. (I only had a small cake tin available, so I used the rest of the batter to make two tiny cakes as well.)
2. Beat the soft butter and sugar together until smooth. Keep beating and add one egg at a time, beating each egg into the creamed butter and sugar, before adding the next one.
3. Once the cake mixture is nice and smooth and all eggs have been added, pour in the lemon juice and zest, followed by the sour cream. Give it a good mix.
4. Sift the flour, poppy seeds, baking powder and bicarb together in a bowl, then fold it properly into the cake batter, without over beating.

   
5. Transfer the cake batter into the prepared bundt pan and bake at 175degrees 50-60mins, until a skewer comes out clean. (my smaller bundt took between 40-50mins, it really depends on the size of the tin and the efficiency of the oven in use.)
6. Let the cake cool a little in its pan, before carefully tipping it out of the pan onto a wire rack and letting it cool completely.
7. Dust the cake with powdered sugar or alternatively drizzle some lemon icing over it. 

Our new home has been draped in the most wonderful citrus scent since yesterday thanks to this baked goody! Winter is truly here, with all the snow one could want and the cake, it just fits in perfectly! :)

Have a great week-end you lot! x