Whole Grain + Nut Free Carrot Cake Recipe

This recipe was adapted from Donna Hay's Carrot Cake Recipe. 

My kids are fussy eaters and many times my new found lunchbox favorite drops off their favorite list and comes home uneaten. *sad face* Therefore I am always on the hunt for new recipes that are healthy, yummy and tick the school's 'nut-free' requirement. 

I made the Donna Hay's Carrot Cake recipe for my husband's birthday and it was such a hit that the kids wanted it for snacks. I have adapted it into a wholegrain and nut-free version and it got a BIG tick from all the kids and the hubby so it's made it debut appearance as the first post on this brand new blog. Enjoy!

Ingredients

1 cup brown or raw sugar

¾ cup olive oil

1½ cups plain whole grain flour (e.g. whole wheat, oat flour, buckwheat) 

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of (baking) soda

1½ teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg or ginger

2½ cups grated carrots (about 4 large carrots)

½ Flaxseed & Golden linseed mix; or Sunflower seeds; or any other seeds

½ cup sultanas or raisins

Frosting (Optional but not lunchbox friendly)

250g cream cheese, softened

⅓ cup icing (confectioner's) sugar

1½ tablespoons lemon juice

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180^oC (350^oF). Place the sugar and oil in the bowl of an electric mixer (hand mixer works too) and beat for 2-3 minutes. 
2. Add the eggs gradually and beat well.
3. Sift the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, cinnamon and nutmet/ginger over the sugar mixture.
4. Add the carrot, linseed, flaxseed and sultanas/raisins and mix until just combined.
5. Pour into either a) 22cm-round cake tin lined with non-stick baking paper; or b) muffin trays lined with cup cake baking paper; or c) 25cm l x 12cm d x 17cm w rectangular baking dish lined with non-stick baking paper
6. Pop in the oven and bake for until golden brown and cooked when tested with a skewer (55-60 minutes for the round and rectangular baking dishes and about 20 minutes for the muffin sizes)
7. Cool in tin.

For the frosting

1. Process the cream cheese in a food processor until smooth.
2. Add the icing sugar and lemon juice and process until smooth.
3. Spread frosting on the cooled cake.

ENJOY!