Another “fun with food” post inspired by summer birthdays and our garden’s plentiful vegetables. It could be a carrot cake, or a zucchini cake, or how about a beet cake? Or a combination of all three?

This dense, nutritious cake is healthy enough for breakfast on the go. Oats, eggs, vegetables – that sounds like breakfast to me. It’s also perfect for packed lunches or after school snacks. Or you could disguise vegetables as dessert by serving it topped with fresh fruit and a dollop of coconut cream.

Preparation

  1. In small batches, grind enough gluten free rolled oats to make 2 ½ cups flour. I use my Nutribullet for this job.
  2. Grate enough carrots, beets or zucchini to measure 3 cups lightly packed. Don’t worry if you have some left over – shredded vegetables are tasty sautéed, in fritters, or even added to soup or a salad.
  3. Butter the bottom and sides of your baking pan. This recipe will make one 9″ x 13″ cake, or variations such as twelve muffins, two loaves, or two round layers.
  4. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Moist Ingredients

In your mixer or a large bowl, beat well:

  • 4 eggs
  • 1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
  • 2/3 cup Lakanto monkfruit sweetener or similar one-to-one sugar substitute
  • 1/2 cup olive oil

Dry Ingredients

In a separate bowl, stir together:

  • 2 ½  cups gluten free oat flour
  • ½ cup coconut flour
  • 1 teaspoons baking soda
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon nutmeg

Assemble and Bake

  1. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and beat until well mixed.
  2. Stir in the grated vegetables. The batter will be thick.
  3. Scrape the batter into the baking pan and smooth into an even layer.
  4. Bake at 350°F for 40 minutes. Muffins will take less time so start checking at 25 minutes. Use the toothpick test – the cake is done if you insert a toothpick and it comes out clean.

Make it Fancy

If you want something fancier than tea bread or muffins, you might decide to serve it as a frosted cake. The birthday cake in my photo was baked in two different sized springform pans. The bottom layer was spread with blueberry jam and then frosting, the top layer centred on it, and then the whole cake frosted before decorating it with fresh blueberries and flowers.

Try this twist on a traditional carrot cake’s cream cheese icing:

Chèvre Frosting

  • 4 ounces chèvre (unripened goat cheese) at room temperature
  • 2 ounces butter at room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 2 teaspoons lemon or lime juice
  • ¼ cup powdered Lakanto sweetener
  • up to ¼ cup thick coconut cream (optional)

Cream together the chèvre and butter. Beat in the sweetener. (If you only have granulated sweetener, powder it in your Nutribullet.) Gradually mix in the thick (or whipped) coconut cream until the desired consistency is reached. Do not overbeat. Frost the cooled cake and chill.  

My cake testers have declared this to be their most favourite cake ever. Good thing, because it’s the only cake I make these days. Enjoy!

Batter and vegetables