Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Topping

Ingredients

• 350 g carrots
• 150 g dried dates (pitted)
• 30 ml plant oil
• 50 g unsweetened applesauce
• 1 tsp Baking powder
• 150 g Whole wheat flour
• 50 g ground hazelnuts
• 50 g chopped walnuts
• 1 tbsp cocoa powder (strongly defatted)
• 0.5 tsp cinnamon powder
• 1 organic orange (juice and zest)
• 3 eggs
• a pinch of salt
• 150 g cream cheese (13% fat)
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tsp lemon juice

Instructions

1. 1.

   Peel the carrots and grate finely; set aside 50 g for garnish.

2. 2.

   Cut the dates into small pieces and finely chop with a food processor. Mix the dates with oil, applesauce, baking powder, flour, nuts, cocoa and cinnamon, orange juice and zest, eggs, and salt to form a batter.

3. 3.

   Fold in the grated carrots and pour the mixture into a greased loaf pan. Bake in a preheated oven at 200 °C (180 °C fan; gas: level 3) for about 50 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow the cake to cool.

4. 4.

   Meanwhile, whisk together cream cheese, honey, and lemon juice until creamy. Release the cake from the pan, spread the cream cheese mixture over it, and sprinkle with the reserved carrot shreds and a pinch of cinnamon.