This is based on a Donna Hay recipe I adapted. I have tried a few recipes in my time, but this one is a clear winner. It’s not flourless/gluten-free on purpose - no coeliacs in this family - but I just love the flavour and texture leant by the addition of the almond meal and coconut. It also doesn’t have any butter and uses extra virgin olive oil instead. Additionally, I halved the brown sugar called for in Donna’s recipe because the dates are already so ridiculously sugary and the cream cheese frosting is decadently sweet.
INGREDIENTS
4 eggs
½ cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
2⅔ cups almond meal
¾ cup desiccated coconut
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp mixed spice, plus extra for dusting
250 g carrots, peeled and grated
½ cup currants
1 cup fresh Medjool dates, pitted & chopped
⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
500g cream cheese, softened
⅔ cup pure icing sugar, sifted
2 tbsp milk
METHOD
Preheat oven to 150°C, and line the base and grease the sides of a 20 cm springform tin and set aside.
Place the eggs, sugar and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer and whisk for 8 minutes until foamy.
Place the almond meal, coconut, baking powder, mixed spice, carrot, coconut, currants, dates and oil in a large bowl and mix well to combine. Fold through the egg mixture and spoon into the prepared tin.
Bake for 50 minutes. Set aside in the tin to cool completely.
To make the cream cheese icing, place the cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat for 5 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the milk and beat for a further 1 minute or until smooth.
Remove the cake from the tin. Spread with the icing and dust with the extra mixed spice to serve. Serves 12.
