In this very slightly tweaked traditional Italian recipe, almond meal, sweet carrots, eggs and pine nuts supply good nutrition as well as delicious flavor.
Ingredients
- Butter for greasing cake pans
- 1½ cups (6 ounces) peeled and finely grated carrots (from about 4 medium), using the medium holes on a box grater
- 1 lemon, organic if possible
- 1¾ cups (6 ounces) almond meal
- 4 tablespoons (1½ ounces) brown rice flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon xanthan gum
- 3 large eggs
- 2⁄3 cup (5 ounces) white sugar
- 1 tablespoon pine nuts
- Confectioners’ sugar
- Whipped cream or Greek yogurt, to serve
Directions
Heat the oven to 350° F. Grease the sides of a 9-inch cake pan with butter and line the base with baking parchment. Butter that, too.
Place the grated carrots in a large bowl. Grate the zest of the lemon on top, add 1 tablespoon of the juice and reserve.
In a separate bowl, combine the almond meal, rice flour, baking powder and xanthan gum.
Using an electric mixer beat the eggs and white sugar until pale and thick, about 5 minutes. (A lifted beater should leave a slowly dissolving ribbon on the surface.)
Fluff up the carrot mixture with a fork, spoon it around the edge of the bowl of egg mixture, and fold in. Lightly fold in the almond-meal mixture until no streaks show.
Transfer the batter to the baking pan and sprinkle with the pine nuts. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until golden. An inserted toothpick should emerge clean. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes.
Unmold onto a rack and gently peel off the paper. Let cool right side up. Sift a 2-inch wide band of confectioners’ sugar around the edges of the cake before serving. Serve with whipped cream or Greek yogurt.
Nutrition Analysis: 230 cal, 13 g fat, 55 mg chol, 35 mg sodium, 22 g carbs, 3 g fiber, 15 g sugar, 7 g protein.
Recipes © copyright 2014 by Jacqueline Mallorca.
Gluten-Free Living’s Food Editor, Mallorca has more than a dozen cookbooks to her credit. Her latest titles include The Wheat-Free Cook: Gluten-Free Recipes for Everyone and Gluten-Free Italian.
