Courtesy of : Christina Mattinson of Old Mill Market & Cafe (Georgetown, CT)
Prep time: 15 - 20 minutes
Bake time: 45 minutes
Equipment Needed: Food processor or blender, 2 small bowls, 8 x 8 square or 8” round pan, measuring cups and spoons, rubber spatula, knife, cutting board, pencil or pen, scissors, cooling rack, optional kitchen scale.
Tip: Read full recipe before starting
● Vegetable oil or cooking spray, parchment paper and a little flour of your choice, for the pan
● 8 large pitted dates (prunes or ½ cup of raisins or other unsweetened, dried fruit can be substituted here if desired)
● Apx. 1 cup hot water
● 3 carrots (7-8oz /220g)
● 2 large eggs
● 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons maple syrup
● 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
● 1/4 cup milk or unsweetened non-dairy milk
● 1/4 cup butter or oil (if using butter or coconut oil, it should be melted and cooled slightly)
● 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
● 2 teaspoons cinnamon
● 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
● 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
● 3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
● 1 1/2 cups (165g) almond flour (see note below on other flours)
● 1/2 cup (42g) unsweetened shredded coconut
● 1 teaspoon baking powder
● Optional: apx 1/3 cup (38g) chopped walnuts, pecans, or other nut of your choosing, plus a bit more for the garnish
● Maple Cream Cheese Frosting (recipe attached)
1. Preheat oven to 350˚F.
2. Roughly chop up the dates, place them in one of the small bowls and cover them with warm to hot water. Put to the side and let stand while completing the next few steps.
3. Spray or oil the sides of an 8-inch baking pan.
4. Line pan with parchment paper. If using a square pan, you will want to use a piece of parchment that is long enough to hang over the sides of the pan to make it easier to remove after baking. To measure the correct width, place the pan on top of the parchment, lining up one edge of the pan with one edge of the paper, and make a mark with your pen or pencil on the opposite edge. Fold the paper longways at this mark, creating a crease which can be torn or cut along. Press the parchment into the bottom of the pan and up two of the sides. Then using some flour of your choosing, sprinkle the other two sides until they are evenly coated. Knock off and discard and extra flour. (see note below about using a round pan) If using a round pan, you will not have overhang and will need to turn the cake out of the pan, remove leaving an overhang (this will make it easy to pull the cake out of the baking pan later, but you can skip this step and simply serve the cake in the pan).
5. Wash the carrots well and trim off the tops and ends. Cut the carrots into apx. 1” pieces, placing them into your food processor.
6. Pulse the carrots for a few seconds until they are finely chopped, but not pureed. Scraping the sides with your spatula, as needed to make sure that they are evenly chopped. They should be a bit bigger than grains of rice. Transfer to the other small bowl.
7. Put the container back on the base (no need to wash it—it’s ok if there are still some carrots around the edges and bottom), add the eggs, maple syrup, applesauce, milk, oil, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, nutmeg, salt and vanilla. Blend until smooth.
8. Add the flour, shredded coconut and baking powder. Blend until incorporated.
9. Drain the dates (or other dried fruit), add them to the batter along with the chopped carrots (and nuts if using). Pulse until just incorporated (don't over-mix). Using a rubber spatula, scrape the sides and stir to fully incorporate all of the ingredients.
10. Spread the mixture into the prepared pan in an even layer and bake until golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, apx. 45 minutes.
11. Set the pan on a cooling rack (or board or counter) for 10 minutes before running a thin knife along the sides of the pan. Then carefully use the parchment hanging over the sides to pull the cake out of the pan, and then transfer it back to a rack (or board or counter) to cool completely.
12. While the cake is cooking, make the cream cheese frosting, see recipe below.
13. Spread the Maple Cream Cheese Frosting over the top of the cake. And if desired, sprinkle the top of the cake with chopped nuts.
14. Refrigerate the cake for apx. 15 minutes, or until you are ready to serve it.
Equipment needed: Sturdy whisk or hand mixer/eggbeater or stand mixer, mixing bowl, measuring cup, rubber spatula
Ingredients:
• 8 ounces cream cheese *at room temperature*
• ¼ cup real maple syrup
Directions:
1. Place room temperature cream cheese in mixing bowl and whisk or beat vigorously, until smooth and fluffy.
2. Using your rubber spatula, scrape down the sides of the bowl. And while whisking or beating, slowly add the maple syrup in a thin drizzle.
3. Continue mixing until completely smooth, stopping and scraping down the sides as needed. Use right away.
Notes:
• It is particularly important that the cream cheese is fully at room temperature and soft before making the frosting. Plan ahead and take it out of the fridge in advance or to soften it quickly, place it on or near your warm oven.
• For a dairy free cake, you can omit the frosting, use vegan cream cheese, or serve the cake with non-dairy or coconut whipped cream instead.
• You can use honey or another natural syrup in place of maple syrup, for the cake and frosting.
• To make this cake with a non-nut flour, use the same quantity by weight of a 1:1 gluten-free allpurpose flour or standard all-purpose flour. The cake will be a bit dryer but still delicious and if you would like to compensate for the lost moisture, you can add an additional 2 Tablespoons of apple sauce or the water from reconstituting your dried fruit. If using a whole wheat flour, reduce the quantity by 25% or use only 50% whole wheat flour and 50% nut or all-purpose flour.
• Be sure to let the cake cool completely before slicing. When made with the almond flour, the texture will be very moist, therefore, the cake will benefit from refrigerating for a bit before cutting.
• This cake can be made a day in advance and the frosted cake can be refrigerated for up to 3 days. The unfrosted cake can be wrapped tightly and frozen for up to 3 months.