I came up with this recipe recently as a birthday cake for my mum, as she loved the last carrot and apple cake the we made. Lately I’ve been including apples in pretty much 99% of things that we’ve been making, in particular in the form of apple puree. Its such a handy baking staple ingredient to have on hand and can be used as a great replacement for oil in recipes.
Not only does it add a delicious hint of sweet, fruity flavour, but it also helps to reduce the fat content and calories quite dramatically. Obviously this isn’t the be all and end all- I don’t really focus on counting calories and macros in my dessert recipes, but I know it is of interest to some people and something that I often get questions about. This cake is completely oil free and has no coconut oil or vegan butter included in the recipe whatsoever!
The fruit also add in lots of natural sweetness, so reduces the amount of coconut sugar required! Speaking of coconut sugar, if this is something that you haven’t yet used in baking before, then boy are you in for a treat! This is literally one of my favourite store cupboard baking ingredients and is so YUM. It’s a darker, more caramel like sugar, with a beautifully fruity, caramelised flavour. The way I would describe it is; that it has a toffee like sweetness, rather than just being sickly sweet like some sugars.
The apple puree, banana and carrot combo help to create a really light, moist texture with a fresh and fruity flavour. I couldn’t be happier with how this cake turned out to be honest.. and it was so simple to make too! That’s what we’re all after isn’t it: delicious treats that taste like they’ve taken hours to make, when in fact it’s relatively quick and simple! So you can wow your guests without having to spend our slaving away in the kitchen, YAY!
I think this cake is also great for this time of year too, as the carrot and apple give it that seasonal, Autumnal vibe; you can always add in some raisins or sultanas if you like as well.. I think that this would be delicious! For the frosting, I’ve kept things really simple and added one of my classic honey & cashew butter combinations; but I think a vanilla cashew cream would also work well here too!
