Carrot cake has always been nostalgic for me, and though it’s old-school in so many ways, when I ask people what their favorite cake is, carrot cake comes up far more often than you’d expect. Too often recipes for it come out too dry, too dense, or with raisins— which is just a hard line for me. This one is fluffy and moist and gives that holiday warming with the addition of the spices. I love to decorate it with passion fruit and chamomile flowers (or even saved fennel fronds) for an added tart kick, slight crunch, and herbaceous bright finish, plus that way it looks like it was plucked right out of a garden.

This recipe is great for a proper tiered cake—like one you’d make for a wedding or birthday—but I’ve also made it into individual cakes for events and small dinner parties, which is a delightful surprise for guests when they receive their own personal cake.

Ingredients: 

11/2 cups (360 ml) avocado oil, plus more for greasing 

1 cup (170 g) organic light coconut sugar 

1 cup (92 g) oat flour 

1 cup (120 g) light buckwheat flour 

1 cup (138 g) sorghum flour 

11/4 tablespoons (22 g) psyllium husk powder 

11/4 teaspoons (5 g) baking powder 

1 teaspoon (4 g) sea salt 

11/2 teaspoons (4 g) golden flax meal 

11/2 teaspoons (4 g) white chia seeds, milled 

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg 

1 teaspoon ground cardamom 

1 cup (165 g) chopped pineapple 

11/2 cups (360 ml) milk or unsweetened nondairy milk of choice 

2 cups (232 g) finely grated carrots 

11/2 cup (180 g) chopped walnuts (optional) 

1 recipe Cashew Milk Frosting (recipe follows) 

Passion fruit and chamomile flowers, radicchio or fennel fronds, for garnish (optional)

Method: 

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a 9-inch (23 cm) cake pan with parchment paper and lightly grease. In a large bowl, sift together the coconut sugar, oat flour, buckwheat flour, sorghum flour, psyllium husk powder, baking powder, salt, flax meal, chia seeds, and spices. Blend the pineapple into a puree in a food processor. 

Gently whisk the milk, carrots, pineapple, oil, and walnuts (if desired) into the dry ingredients, in that order, until combined and smooth (be careful not to overmix). 

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and lightly tap the pan on the counter to settle the batter. Bake for 40 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. (The cake will collapse out of the oven if it’s not fully cooked.) 

Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack until completely cool, at least 1 hour.

 When the cake is completely cooled, frost and decorate as you wish.