My younger sister, Charlotte, is a coeliac and has been on a strict gluten free diet since she was little.
As a result, my Mum is a pro at whipping up all sorts of gluten free treats from pizza bases and pasta to cakes and other desserts, Charlotte has never missed out on anything!
Mum makes a really awesome gluten free zucchini cake. I thought I'd change it up a bit and add some carrot to the mix. It tastes absolutely scrumptious and has such a lovely colour with little specks of green and orange throughout the cake.
I have made this cake both gluten free and with regular flour and there is barely a difference. It is just as luscious without any gluten.
There is no dairy in the cake itself so you could omit the cream cheese icing, if you wish, for a gluten and dairy free dessert.
SERVES 10-12
For the cake:
150g gluten free self raising flour
150g caster sugar
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
125g grated carrot
125g grated zucchini
150g sultanas
150g raisins
75g walnuts, chopped (plus a few extra to serve)
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup olive oil
For the cream cheese icing:
60g cream cheese, softened
30g butter, softened
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup icing sugar
Cake:
Preheat oven to 160˚C fan forced. Grease and line a 25cm x 10cm loaf tin.
Sift the flour, sugar, cinnamon and baking powder into a large mixing bowl. Add the carrot, zucchini, sultanas, raisins and walnuts.
In a separate, smaller bowl whisk together the eggs, vanilla and olive oil. Place the wet mixture into the dry ingredients and mix to combine.
Pour into the prepared tin and bake for one hour, until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
Allow to cool for 15 minutes before turning out onto a cooling rack.
Icing:
Place cream cheese, butter and vanilla in a bowl and beat until creamy and smooth. Gradually add the icing sugar, mixing well after each addition.
Once the cake is cool, evenly spread the icing all over the top. Top with extra chopped walnuts to finish.
