Almond Cake Delight with pistachio, coconut & carrot

This is a delightful carrot and almond cake! Nothing naughty in here although because of the dates and coconut mostly, the glycemic index isn’t low, but perfectly acceptable if eaten with a high fibre meal or a small portion, if on its own. It is also a cake which is not specific to a geographic area as the ingredients are found easily.

I made this for a family get together to see my mum. There was much commenting and we all agreed we liked it but came up with some small improvements, which I will of course share with you.

The other really lovely thing about it is, its super easy to make and doesn’t require the careful handling of a pastry chef. In fact I used my food processor for the entire thing once during the developing of this recipe.

 Almond Cake Recipe – Serves 8 or 10

100g (3.5oz) shelled pistachio nuts (ground quite fine)

100g (3.5oz) fresh coconut (grated or ground quite fine)

200g (7 oz) pitted dates

3 eggs

2 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 large carrots (150g/5.3oz) coarsely grated

200g (7oz)ground almonds

150g (5.3oz) melted butter

coconut nectar/honey/agave for drizzling

• Preheat the oven to 160ºC (320ºF).
• Prepare 23cm (9in) springform cake tin with your best method. I have used reusable liners for years now as there’s no faffing with cutting baking parchment, or greasing etc. These are widely available on both sides of the Atlantic, though I’m not so sure about the Caribbean.
• Grind the pistachios (I used my food processor).
• Add the dates and blend until quite fine. The dates must be very finely chopped or blended.
• Add eggs, vanilla extract and melted butter and blend until uniform.
• Remove mixture to a roomy bowl.
• Add ground almonds, coconut and carrot and mix thoroughly but don’t overdo.
• Spread gently in cake tin.
• Place in oven and after 40 mins check for uniformity of cooking. Continue with remaining baking time being careful not to overcook as it will be dry.

 

I drizzled coconut nectar over the top and served with full fat natural yogurt. It was a delicious accompaniment to a cup of tea. My mum had seconds…..