Carrot Cake with Chocolate and Cream Cheese Topping
A lovely vegan recipe for carrot cake with an irresistible white chocolate and cream cheese topping and sprinkled with chopped pistachios, perfect for bakers looking to build up their vegan baking repertoire.
From the book
Vegan Cakes and Other Bakes
Delicious vegan versions of classic cakes
Failsafe vegan recipes for everything from bread to pastry
Show-stopping vegan desserts and sweet treats
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Introduction
Here, the carrots go beautifully with the sweet white chocolate and cream cheese in the topping. Pistachios add the perfect finishing touch to the whole combination.
Ingredients
| For the cake: | |
| 400g (14oz) | plain flour |
| 2 tsp | bicarbonate of soda |
| 350g (12oz) | fine cane sugar |
| Seeds scraped from 1 vanilla pod | |
| 1 tsp | salt |
| 2 tsp | ground cinnamon (slightly heaped) |
| 2 tsp | baking powder |
| 400g (14oz) | soya yogurt |
| 200ml (7fl oz) | corn oil |
| 400g (14oz) | carrots, very finely grated |
| For the topping: | |
| 100g (3½ oz) | vegan white chocolate |
| 80g (2¾ oz) | soft vegan margarine |
| 125g (4½ oz) | vegan cream cheese |
| 50g (1¾ oz) | icing sugar |
| Grated zest of 1 organic lemon | |
| Also: | |
| 100g (3½ oz) | pistachios, chopped |
Essential kit
You will need: a 24 cm (9 ½ inch) springform tin.
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F/Gas 4). To make the cake, combine the flour, bicarbonate of soda, cane sugar, vanilla seeds, salt, and cinnamon in a medium-sized bowl. Sift in the baking powder and stir everything together again.
2. In a separate larger bowl, use a balloon whisk to mix the soya yogurt and corn oil, then vigorously stir in the grated carrot using a spoon. Add the dry ingredients in two stages, using a large spoon to mix everything to an even consistency and only stirring as much as required to combine the carrot mixture with the flour.
3. Line the spring form tin with baking paper. Transfer the cake mixture into the tin and smooth the surface. Bake the cake in the centre of the oven for 65 minutes. Remove and leave to cool completely.
4. To make the topping, melt the white chocolate in a bainmarie then leave to cool to room temperature. Use an electric whisk on its fastest setting to beat the margarine and the cream cheese. Sift over the icing sugar and mix this in along with the lemon zest, using the whisk on a moderate setting. Gradually pour in the chocolate, incorporating it into the mixture with the whisk on a low setting. The result should be a smooth, creamy, soft topping, which will firm up in the fridge. Spread the topping over the carrot cake and smooth the surface. Scatter with the chopped pistachios and chill the carrot cake until ready to serve.
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