[RECIPE] Carrot and ginger cake

Awaken (and feed) the Easter bunny in you with this succulent and moist carrot cake. Or bake it any time of the year, because why the heck not.

It's spiked with fresh ginger, cinnamon and green cardamom, and while a handful of ground hazelnuts lends it a crumbly texture and depth of flavour, a twist on the classic cream cheese frosting (hint: fresh ginger) elevates it to the next level.

You can use plain white flour instead of spelt, and regular brown sugar if you don't have any rapadura on hand. Certainly don't skimp on the spices, though, and make sure you mix by hand as you want to keep those grated carrots visible.

Note that this cake gets even better the next day.

prep 30 min
bake 1 hour
feeds 8 people


35g (3 tbsp) flax seeds
165g (200ml) sunflower oil
90g water

• Puree with an immersion blender, cover and leave for 20 minutes.

250g ground hazelnuts
130g wholegrain spelt flour, or 150g plain white flour
250g rapadura sugar, or brown sugar
16g (1 tbsp) baking powder
1 tsp ground green cardamom
2 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp salt

• Whisk together in a large bowl until well combined.

250g carrots, peeled and finely grated
4cm fresh ginger, peeled and grated
250g vegan plain yogurt

• Stir into the flour mixture, then add the oil and seed mix and stir well to combine.
• Pour in a 24cm springform pan lined with baking paper and greased.
• Bake on the bottom rack of a 180°C preheated oven for 1 hour, or until a skewer comes our clean.
• Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes, then remove from the pan and let cool completely on a wire rack. 

150g vegan cream cheese
70g vegan plain yogurt
50g icing sugar
4cm fresh ginger, peeled and grated

• Whisk the last four ingredients together until well combined and smooth, and decorate the cake. Sprinkle with crushed hazelnuts for garnish