Lean Carrot Cake

Cooking method

1. Step 1:

   

   Sift the all-purpose wheat flour through a sieve. In yeast-free baking, sifting the flour is especially important for the fluffiness of your cake base. Add salt to enhance the flavor, plus the cinnamon. You can add a little saffron if you like. Stir the dry mix together and set it aside for now.

2. Step 2:

   

   Prepare the orange juice. For this I needed one and a half fresh oranges. You'll need to remove the seeds from the juice. You can leave the pulp in — that's not a problem here. You can replace the fresh-squeezed juice with store-bought. In that case you'll probably need to reduce the amount of sugar for the layer.

3. Step 3:

   

   Add the sugar to the orange juice.

4. Step 4:

   

   Then pour in the vegetable oil and add the apple cider vinegar. Whisk the mixture thoroughly until the sugar grains have completely dissolved.

5. Step 5:

   

   Combine the two mixtures (dry and wet) in whichever bowl is larger.

6. Step 6:

   

   Whisk the batter thoroughly until smooth. You can use a mixer if your bowl is tall enough to keep the batter from splattering.

7. Step 7:

   

   Rinse the carrots under running water and peel them. Grate the carrots on the fine side of a grater and whisk or stir the batter once more. The recipe gives the weight of already-peeled carrots, with no waste.

8. Step 8:

   

   In a separate dish, dissolve the baking soda in two tablespoons of filtered drinking water.

9. Step 9:

   

   Pour this mixture into the batter right away and stir it in immediately with a whisk. The soda reacts with the vinegar, the batter will fizz a little and visibly increase in volume. That means you've done everything right.

10. Step 10:

    

    This is the consistency your batter should have at the final stage.

11. Step 11:

    

    Pour the batter into a pan greased ahead of time with a drop of sunflower oil. I'm using an 18 cm silicone mold with a 5 cm rim height (inner diameter). Bake the layer for half an hour in an oven preheated to 350°F (180°C).

12. Step 12:

    

    Exactly half an hour later I took out my layer and... it was completely raw in the middle! So I put it back in the oven, lowering the temperature to 325°F (160°C), for another 20 minutes. After that, my layer was done. But your baking time may vary a lot depending on your particular oven, so go by yours. Check the layer for doneness by carefully poking the middle with a wooden toothpick.

13. Step 13:

    

    Cool the layer slightly and remove it from the pan. Set it on a wire rack so the bottom doesn't get soggy. Look at the lovely, fluffy, golden layer I ended up with! The color reminds me of a honey cake layer. By the way, if anyone knows exactly why a carrot layer takes on such a gorgeous caramel color, please write in the comments!

14. Step 14:

    

    Once it's completely cool, cut the layer into two or three layers as you like. Cover the layers with a towel and let them rest for a bit.

15. Step 15:

    

    Let's make the lean cream. Pour most of the coconut milk into a saucepan, setting aside a couple of tablespoons to dissolve the starch. Set the milk over medium heat to come to a boil.

16. Step 16:

    

    Combine all the starch and sugar for the cream with the two tablespoons of coconut milk. Stir so no lumps remain.

17. Step 17:

    

    Add the starch mixture to the boiling milk a little at a time and immediately stir the cream well. It thickens very fast, so it can clump up. Only intense but careful stirring will help.

18. Step 18:

    

    We won't soak the layers with anything — they come out moist as it is. Spread the still-hot cream over the top, final layer first! — that way you won't run out of cream for it. And decorate it however your imagination takes you. I sprinkled it with flaked almonds.

19. Step 19:

    

    Assemble the cake on a serving plate, alternating layers and cream. The finished cake should chill in the refrigerator for at least a couple of hours before serving.