Wholewheat Carrot Walnut Cake adapted from Ottolenghi

Wholewheat Carrot Walnut Cake … if carrots are in season, and gajar ka halwa/Indian carrot halwa has been made {happened last week}, it’s definitely time to tick the other things off my list. Carrot cake tops this ‘list’!

This Wholewheat Carrot Walnut Cake has been lurking in the to do list for long.

Adapted from the Ottolenghi recipe, this one is as delicious. I’ve gone 100% whole wheat, used coconut sugar, part clarified butter/ghee, upped the walnuts and carrots slightly, and topped this with a hand whisked mascarpone. One word, YUM!

Push came to shove when someone from my Instagram feed recently made a carrot cake and tagged me. On asking her which recipe, she exclaimed that it was from my blog, the Ottolenghi Carrot cake. I had baked that way back in 2010!

The Ottolenghi Cookbook was my first really special cookbook, a gift from a very sweet friend when I visited the UK for the Food Bloggers Connect in 2009. While the trip was a hurried one, the Ottolenghi ‘shop’ was on the list of things to do. We were too many, too scattered, and never really got there. We were a bunch of food bloggers who built the tour to the UK after connecting on twitter. Those were good days, and twitter made it happen!

I still remember the carrot cake like it was just yesterday.

Intrigued by the description, a battle of tastebuds penned down by the author in the introduction, I proudly turned out carrot cake, much to the fascination of all at home. In those days, carrots either meant a gajar ka halwa, or at best a quick Indian stir fry. Salad was of course the easiest option!

I was touted a genius to be able to get so many vegetables with so much ease down the kids throats and that too happily! The carrot cake was much enjoyed!

Of course more such experiments then followed. Beetroot cakes, pumpkin pies, apple cakes … and so much in between.

With so much baking done these last few years, experiments tend to get bolder. Also, ingredients need to stand for themselves and make sense as an include. This Wholewheat Carrot Walnut Cake is no different, and I’m glad to say it turned out delicious.

Changes? Whole wheat baking flour instead of all purpose, coconut sugar instead of normal, garam masala instead of cinnamon and clove powder, half oil + half ghee/clarified butter … and a few other minor ones.

Oh, also mascarpone in the frosting just because the kidlet doesn’t love cream cheese! Mascarpone was far simpler too, sweetened with the intensity of a scraped vanilla bean! ENJOY!!

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Wholewheat Carrot Walnut Cake

This Wholewheat Carrot Walnut Cake has been lurking in the to do list for long. Adapted from the Ottolenghi recipe, this one is as delicious. I've gone 100% whole wheat, used coconut sugar, part clarified butter/ghee, upped the walnuts & carrots slightly.

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour

Total Time 2 hours hours 15 minutes minutes

Servings 8 cake

Ingredients

Cake

• 150 g whole wheat flour/aata
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp garam masala powder
• 2 eggs separated
• 100 g oil
• 100 g clarified butter {ghee} melted, cooled
• 200 g coconut sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 100 g walnuts chopped
• 50 g desiccated coconut
• 150 g carrot grated
• pinch salt
• 25 g coconut sugar for sprinkling over

Frosting

• 200 g mascarpone chilled
• 50 g icing sugar
• 1 vanilla bean, scraped
• 50 g walnut halves toasted

Instructions

Cake

• Preheat the oven to 170C. Grease and dust a loose bottom 8" round tine. Line the base with parchment. I used a ring inset for the centre.
• Stir together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and the spice mix.
• Place the oil, clarified butter, coconut sugar and vanilla extract in bowl of stand mixer. Whisk for 3-5 minutes, then add egg yolks, whisking until mixed in.
• Stir in the coconut, walnuts and carrot, followed by the flour mixture on the lowest setting. Don’t overmix it, just until it’s combined.
• In a separate bowl, whip the egg whites until firm peaks and fold them into the batter.
• Pour the batter into the prepared tin, levelling out as required. Sprinkle over 25g of coconut sugar.
• Bake this carrot cake with walnuts for 60 minutes in the preheated oven until golden and a skewer comes out clean.
• Let it cool completely in the tin, then gently remove from tin.

Frosting

• Place all ingredients in a large bowl and whisk with a balloon whisk until smooth. Don't overbeat as the mascarpone might lose its body.
• Spread over the top of the cooled cake, then scatter over toasted walnut halves.