Hello, from the mountains of Kentucky. Snow still covers the ground on the homestead. While it has melted in a lot of places, it lingers here. Our farm lies down between two mountains resulting in us being behind the north side of the mountain. Our farm is located in what Appalachian people call a holler! We don’t mind it… I can’t imagine living anywhere else. Our homestead is the property in the end of the holler. No one above us, in front of us, or behind us. We love the privacy and lack of a of seeing traffic passing by. We have one neighbor who can see the lower end of our land, which helps with insurance and to keep an eye on our property if we’re gone. All that being said, I am excited to bring a new recipe that is gluten free, dairy free, and vegan it can easily be changed to non-vegan as well.

I was challenged with creating a dessert for our daughter’s birthday, that our youngest grandson could eat. He has recently become gluten and dairy intolerant. He tested negative for celiac disease and allergy tests are scheduled to help diagnose the problem. Until an official medical diagnosis is made, we’ve strived to remove both dairy and gluten from his diet, as this is what seemed to give him the most trouble. Our efforts seem to be working. We also discovered while on this gluten free journey that many spices contain gluten. I have used organic spices for years and was happy to learn that the majority of organic spices are gluten free. However, we must always read the labels to be for sure. With all that being said, I am excited as we move forward to post gluten free recipes that are also dairy free and vegan in upcoming posts. Here we go with a first, which was a huge success! Carrot Cake!!!

Cake Ingredients:

• Egg substitute equaling 4 eggs ( I like just egg)
• 1 1/2 cups of organic cane sugar
• 2/3 cup of organic light brown sugar
• 2 tsp of pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup of melted organic unrefined coconut oil
• 1/2 cup of sweetened almond milk with a tsp of organic white vinegar (you may sub for buttermilk if not following a plant based diet)
• 1/2 cup drained crushed pineapple in pure juice no sugar added
• 2 tbs of pineapple juice from pineapples
• 2 1/4 cup of gluten free King Arthur’s organic flour (may sub for all purpose flour)
• 1 1/2 tsp good quality non caking baking powder
• 1 tsp non caking baking soda
• 1 tsp organic cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp organic ginger
• 1/4 tsp of organic nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp non caking salt (I like pink Himalayan)
• 2 1/2 cups finely grated organic carrots
• 1/2 cup organic pecans finely chopped (optional)
• 1/2 cup choice organic raisins (optional) I like dark raisins but you may use golden

Frosting Ingredients:

• 3 cups sifted organic confection sugar
• 1 stick (equals 1/2 cup) of Country Crock plant butter
• 8 ounces of organic plant based cream cheese (I like the Simple Truth brand)

Ingredients can be substituted for non-vegan cake.

Process:

Preheat oven to 350, spray and line a 13×9 glass baking pan with unbleached parchment paper. Mix vinegar into milk and set aside. Mix sugar, eggs or egg substitute, oil, vanilla, pineapples, milk, and juice. In a separate bowl mix dry ingredients and then fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Fold in the carrots, pecans, and raisins. Gently stir and when well mixed pour into the prepped cake pan.

Gently tap the pan of batter on the counter top to decrease air bubbles. Bake on the middle rack. Bake for forty minutes. Due to difference in oven temperatures test at 30 minutes with a skewer for doneness. If the skewer comes out clean, the cake is done. If the cake is not ready, return to oven and check again at 35, etc. Bake until the skewer comes out clean when resting for doneness. I baked in a Pyrex glass baking pan, which is thicker. My cake was done at 42 minutes.

When the cake is baked, set it on a cooling rack. Wait until cake is completely cool before frosting. While the cake is cooling, make the frosting.

Process:

Mix room temperature plant-based butter, room temperature plant-based cream cheese, and three sifted cups of confection sugar on slow in a stand mixer. Once the sugar is incorporated, speed the mixer up to create a fluffier frosting.

When the cake is completely cooled, using a rubber spatula, frost the cake. (Optional) Sprinkle chopped pecans over the top.

I was amazed how creamy the frosting turned out. It is smooth, creamy, and tart enough to be delicious. The frosting didn’t have a phony taste like store bought frosting often has. I couldn’t wait to taste the cake after it was frosted. I actually didn’t wait until our daughter’s birthday dinner. I tasted the corner of the cake and was super happy with the results! I explained to her why a tiny little piece was missing from one of the corners. She understood and said she would’ve done the same.

The cake was a success! Everyone enjoyed it and loved the addition of the raisins. I had additional chopped pecans for those that wanted to add nuts to the top of their cake. The moisture level was off the charts! Had I not told everyone the cake was non dairy, plant-based, organic, and gluten free, they would have never known. Eating healthy doesn’t mean that you have to scrimp on taste.

I hope you and your family enjoy this cake as much as our family has. It is a great sweet treat for evening coffee, after dinner dessert, or even a breakfast treat. For now, God bless from the mountains of Kentucky. Feel free to like, share, subscribe or comment. If you’re enjoying our recipes and adventures in homesteading, go check out our podcast, Homesteading in the Mountains on Apple Podcasts. Have a wonderful week and weekend!