My name is Krystle, and it’s a gorgeous, sunshiney Tuesday here today! Well, usually I love to visit the Blue Mountains in Autumn for all of that gorgeous colour found in their deciduous trees. We weren’t able to make it this year, but a weekend in the Hunter Valley with wine tastings and slow pancake breakfasts in the sunny garden was definitely a highlight!

I live in beautiful Thirroul, on the NSW South Coast. I love the whole coastal walk between Stanwell Park and Bulli and the Wodi Wodi Forest Trail for bush walks with the most stunning coastal views! In terms of local eateries, our favourite across the road is South Sailor. Their grilled octopus, XO Greens and GF Korean Fried Chicken (not something I would usually order but always do here) are so delicious! We also absolutely love Balinese Spice Magic in Wollongong for the most tasty, nourishing gluten free, vegan options made with the freshest local ingredients! We always order the Tempeh Lala Manis, the Gado Gado and the Lawar Celeng with turmeric garlic rice - so good! The owner, Jules, is also such a gem!

Growing up out of town, I often occupied my childhood weekends by baking and making desserts like creamed rice. I also worked in a bakery throughout high school and have just always loved food! My mum is a great cook and very intuitive in the kitchen - never following a recipe and just making it up herself. Once I left home, I too fell in love with the slow rhythms of getting creative in the kitchen. Once I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease, I moved my focus to nourishing, wholefood cooking that was free of inflammatory foods and had a focus on nutrition and food as medicine. 

This recipe is inspired by the season of Autumn, a time when I crave warming, comforting flavours like the chai spices I’ve used here. I drink chai tea every day and love adding the flavours to my baking. Carrot cake has always been my favourite type of cake, especially paired with cream cheese icing! I decided to combine the two and make it vegan so that I could make it for a friend’s birthday dinner. The cashew cream cheese worked out perfectly, and I haven’t made any other carrot cake since!

GF |  VG

Ingredients:

 Cake: 

-  ½ cup maple syrup 

- ¾ cup olive oil 

-  2 cups almond meal 

-  ¾ cup oat flour 

- 1 firmly packed cup grated carrot 

- 1 tsp bicarbonate soda 

- ½ cup pecans, toasted and roughly chopped

Spice Mix:  

- 1 tsp ground cinnamon 

- 1 tsp ground ginger 

- ½ tsp ground nutmeg 

- ½ tsp ground cardamom 

- ½ tsp ground cloves

Cream Cheese Icing:

- 1 cup raw cashews, soaked overnight and drained 

- 1 ½ tbsp maple syrup 

- Pinch of salt 

- ½ tsp nutritional yeast 

- Juice of ½ small lemon 

- 1 tbsp coconut yoghurt 

- 2 tbsp water

Additional toasted pecans, for on top.

1. Preheat the oven to 160C and line a 20cm cake tin with baking paper. 

2. Make the flax eggs by combining all ingredients in a large mixing bowl and whisking to combine. Set aside to thicken. 

3. Add the maple syrup and olive oil to the bowl and whisk again before adding all remaining ingredients, including the spice mix. Stir with a wooden spoon until well combined. 

4. Pour the batter into the lined cake tin and place into the oven to bake for 45-55 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. 

5. Allow to cool completely in the tin before carefully turning it out onto a serving plate. 

6. Meanwhile, make the cream cheese icing by adding all ingredients to a blender and processing until very smooth and creamy. 

7. Spread the icing over the cooled cake and then top with additional pecans and carrot curls, if you fancy it. To make the carrot curls, simply use a peeler to peel ribbons from a baby carrot, wrap them around your pinkie finger and then carefully place on top of the cake. Serve at room temperature and store in an air-tight container in the fridge for 3 days. Enjoy!