Carrot Cake Torte (Gluten Free)

I'm not sure who ever thought of the concept of putting carrots into a dessert but I'm sure glad they did! Carrot cake is one of those treats that I always forget about but thoroughly enjoy whenever I get the chance to eat it. I love the combination of the sweet, comforting spices (cinnamon) and the tangy cream cheese frosting. There are also awesome textures with the nuts, raisins, and fresh carrots interlaced in the sweet cake. Brilliant! It's a dessert that, if not too sweet, or too heavy, can keep me excited with every bite - unlike its standard chocolate or vanilla cousin.

Since migrating to a gluten-free diet, I haven't eaten or baked too many cakes. Achieving that perfectly fluffy cake is just bit more difficult without gluten (though not impossible). So I've been creating more "tortes" than "cakes." I use those terms loosely because in reality, all tortes are cakes, but not all cakes are tortes (brings me back to my school days). Tortes are generally more dense than a cake and often lower in height. It's those two descriptors that have made me call this latest creation a "torte" rather than a cake. If you set your mind to a fluffy carrot cake, you will be sorely disappointed. However, if you are looking for some that captures all of the delicious flavors of a carrot cake in a more "compact" bar-like treat, then this is a great choice.

I used a Jamie Oliver recipe for a gluten-free Carrot Cake as my base but made a few tweaks along the way. One of the major "tweaks" is unknowingly omitting what is likely a key component of his cake - the gluten-free self-rising flour. This would be an all-purpose gluten free flour with the addition of baking powder and possibly salt. This fact completely slipped past my consideration set as I rushed to mix up the cake and get it in the oven. Only once the cake was in the oven did I realize there was no "rising" ingredient: baking powder. SO torte it is :)

Just a note: if you do not have self rising flour, you can make your own with the following ratio:

• 1 cup gluten-free flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

I also made the cake into two layers instead of one as I like to have a little layer of frosting break up my bites of cake. Just a personal preference.

This was a really fantastic take on a carrot cake. Though it isn't light and fluffy (obviously) I actually loved the texture which was more dense but not overly "heavy." The cake itself was not incredibly sweet which may not be ideal for some sweet-tooths but that again was a true delight for me. I served this with a sprinkle of powdered sugar to add a hint of sweetness but after a full meal, I don't feel like something that is cringe-worthy sweet. This was a perfect balance of treat and wholesomeness which didn't make me feel too bad about the fact that I would be consuming the cake for the next few days. Next time I'll try to remember the baking powder - or maybe not - the "torte" texture was a welcome mistake.

Carrot Cake/Carrot Torte (Gluten Free)
adapted from Jamie Oliver's Gluten Free Carrot Cake

Ingredients:

• Coconut oil, for greasing
• 225 g (about 2 3/4 cups + 2 Tbsp) gluten-free self rising flour, plus extra for dusting.  Note: If you do not have gluten-free self rising flour, you can use approximately 2 3/4 cup flour + 4.25 teaspoons baking powder and 1.25 teaspoons salt). If you omit the baking powder, you will have a more dense final product - which could be desirable.
• 2 large eggs
• 125 g (about 1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp) soft brown sugar Note: if you prefer a sweet cake, you may want to add a bit more)
• 125 ml (scant 1/2 cup) coconut oil, melted 
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 small apple, peeled and cored
• 200 g (about 2 medium carrots or 2 rounded cups lightly packed after grating) carrots, peeled and grated
• zest and juice of 1 orange
• 1/4 cup golden raisins
• 50 g (about 1/2 cup) pecans, lightly toasted and chopped

Frosting:

• 75 g (1/3 cup) unsalted butter, softened
• 150 g (2/3 cup) cream cheese, softened
• 125 g (1 cup) powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• zest of 1 orange, reserve 1 2 tsp for garnish
• 1/4 cup pecans, crushed (to garnish)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375F. Prepare one springform pan or two cake pans by greasing the bottom and sides with coconut oil (or butter). Trace the bottom of the pan on a piece of parchment paper and cut out a round to fit in the bottom of the pan. Lightly flour the sides and parchment paper liner, making sure to tap out any excess flour.
2. In a large bowl, lightly beat the eggs. Add the brown sugar and coconut oil. Mix to combine. Sift together the flour and spices (and baking powder and salt if not using a self-rising flour). Add the flour mixture to the eggs and fold through.
3. Peel and grate the carrots and apple. Fold into the batter along with the orange zest, orange juice, golden raisins, and pecans. The batter will be fairly thick.
4. Pour mixture into prepared cake tin(s) and smooth top to make sure the batter is evenly distributed. Place in the oven and bake for 18-22 minutes (for a 2 pan cake) or 30-35 minutes for a spingform pan.The cake should be golden and a toothpick should come out clean when the cake is done. Remove from oven and let sit it the pan for 5 minutes before turning it out onto a cooling rack. Let cool completely.
5. Meanwhile, for the frosting, beat the butter and cream cheese with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add the powdered sugar, maple syrup and orange zest and beat until well combined.
6. Once the cake is cooled, smooth frosting on top of cake (on both layers if using two layers). Garnish with remaining orange zest and crushed pecans.