GF Carrot Cake (Buckwheat and Oat Flour, using Applesauce)

(scroll to bottom for recipe and instructions)

So for the first year of transitioning into Amsterdam, I didn’t have the mental space or energy to continue baking. And also, I didn’t really have an oven to work with.

But ever since moving into my new lovely flat, I’ve been able to experiment and make use of the wonderful combi-oven; and I decided to pick up baking again.

I bake things from all plant-based ingredients, but sometimes this means that things can get expensive--especially with the nuts (they are super expensive here in the Netherlands). They can definitely be made with cheaper ingredients, but I like to use higher quality ingredients in my food that doesn’t sit too heavy in the stomach.

Last week, I used a favorite carrot cake recipe of mine but tweaked it a bit to make it more accessible and cheaper to make :) And it turned out surprisingly well! Using a mix of buckwheat flour and oat flour worked well to create a moist, yet still fluffy texture.

I just served it with yogurt and maybe some fruits because nuts are pretty expensive in the Netherlands! Still trying to find an alternative to cashew nuts and icing. Icing should work well too--I just personally don’t like the taste of icing sugar. If you want to use the cashew yogurt frosting, head onto Natalie Joe’s original recipe: https://nataliejo.co/vegan-gluten-free-carrot-cake/

Eet smakelijk!

So here is the recipe that I came up with based on Natalie Joe’s recipe https://nataliejo.co/vegan-gluten-free-carrot-cake/

• 1 cup apple sauce (cut them into small sizes and boil them in a bit of water and squeeze some lemon juice into it OR you can buy them store bought unsweetened version)

• ⅔ cup raw cane sugar or coconut sugar (coconut sugar will make the carrot cake less firm)

• 1 tbsp lemon juice

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• ½ cup non dairy milk (personally I like using soy or almond milk)

• 1 ⅓ cup of buckwheat flour (instead of tapioca flour)

• 1 ½ cup of oat flour (you can just buy oats and blitz them up in a food processor or blender)

• 1 tsp baking powder

• 1 tsp baking soda

• 1 tbsp cinnamon

• 1 tsp ginger

• ¼ salt

• 1 ½ cup grated carrots

• ½ cup chopped walnuts (or pecans)

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius or around 350F.

2. To a mixing bowl, add the applesauce, sugar, lemon juice, vanilla, and milk. Whisk to combine.

3. Add the buckwheat flour, oat flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt. Stir to combine.

4. Fold in the grated carrots and walnuts.

5. Transfer to a baking pan (I used a 9×9″ square pan, but round is fine too) that has been lightly sprayed with oil or lined with parchment paper.

6. Bake for approximately 30 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius 350F or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Let me know if you ever make it down in the comments, and what you think about it!