This is carrot cake without carrots. This cake is made with butternut squash a perfect substitute because it has the necessary texture and and it's orange. I'm about to start using butternut squash in my stir-fry dishes it's so similar. What makes this carrot cake unique is that its made from spelt flour, is made without cane sugar and is very simple to make.
This recipe can be sweetened with coconut sugar or agave or maple syrup. There are slight differences when the sweetener is changed and shown below. A great tip to remember is that sweetening with agave or maple syrup as a substitute reduce the all the liquids by half and reduce the oven temperature by 25 degrees. The cooking time may time some more as well.
AGAVE/MAPLE SYRUP VERSION
- 2 cups spelt flour (240g)
- 2 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. sea salt
- 2 tsp. cinnamon (or 1 tsp. allspice powder)
- 1 1/2 cup agave or 100% maple syrup
- 1/4 cup grape-seed oil (or avocado oil)
- Flax eggs (3 Tbsp. flax meal and 1/4 cup + 1-1/2 tsp. water combined) (user mineral water like Perrier for a fluffier cake)
- 1 tsp. vanilla (optional)
- 3 1/2 cup (365g) shredded butternut squash (1 butternut squash)
- 1/4 cup walnut pieces (optional)
- 9x13 inch pan or two 9 inch round baking pans
- Bowls
Method:
- Pre-heat oven to 325F
- Combine 3 Tbsp. ground flax meal with water.
- Combine oil with sweetener of choice and vanilla (if using).
- Combine spelt flour with baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and sea salt.
- Grate butternut squash and fold into mixture.
- Fold in walnuts pieces (if using)
- Pour into baking pan
- Bake for 45-55 minutes (or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean)
- Allow to cool for 20 minutes
COCONUT SUGAR VERSION
Ingredients:
- 2 cups spelt flour (250g)
- 2 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. sea salt
- 2 tsp. cinnamon (or 1 tsp. allspice powder)
- 1 1/2 cup coconut sugar (240g)
- 1/2 cup grape-seed oil (or avocado oil)
- Flax eggs (3 Tbsp. flax meal and 1/2 cup + 1 Tbsp. water combined) (user mineral water like Perrier for a fluffier cake)
- 1 tsp. vanilla (optional)
- 3 1/2 cup (365g) shredded butternut squash (1 butternut squash)
- 1/4 cup walnut pieces (optional)
- 9x13 inch pan or two 9 inch round baking pans
- Bowls
Method:
- Pre-heat oven to 350F
- Combine 3 Tbsp. ground flax meal with water.
- Combine oil with sweetener of choice and vanilla (if using).
- Combine spelt flour with baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and sea salt.
- Grate butternut squash and fold into mixture.
- Fold in walnuts pieces (if using)
- Pour into baking pan
- Bake for 45 minutes (or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean)
- Allow to cool for 20 minutes
More plant based pastries available in our pastry book 7 Flours available now.
