Flourless Carrot Cake and Farewell 2010, welcome 2011

Reflecting on the Year that is almost drawing to a close i am reminded of a quote i read sometime back-- Life is not a matter of milestones but of moments !!

And what a Great Collage of Moments 2010 has been ! Thoroughly a mixed bag, 2010 for me has been one roller-coaster ride throughout 

As Deepak Chopra says ' The Greatest response to Life is Joy !" , I bid a joyous farewell to 2010 and give a hearty welcome to 2011 with open arms, hope and glee !

On this cheerful note i decided to indulge in my new found interest ----Baking ! I decided on baking this cake that has been bookmarked for quite some time. What piqued my interest was the absence of flour and butter in a carrot cake.

This cake is a good bye gift to the year gone by and a Toast to the many wonderful moments to come !

The original recipe can be found here

Ingredients:-

• Unsalted toasted almonds - 1 1/2 cups
• Raw brown (turbinado) sugar - 1/4 cup
• Baking powder - 1 1/2 tsp
• Salt - 1/8 tsp
• Cinnamon - 1 tsp
• Freshly grated nutmeg - 1/2 tsp ( put in 1/4 tsp)
• Grated lemon zest - 2 tsp ( i used 1 tsp)
• Large eggs - 4
• Organic white sugar - 1/3 cup ( used white sugar )
• Vanilla extract - 1 tsp
• Finely grated carrots - 2 cups

Here's How :-

Heat the oven to 175 C. Oil a cake pan, and line it with parchment. Lightly oil the parchment. Dry roast the almonds till they turn a golden brown and appear a little scorched at the ends. Grate the carrots as finely as possible . A look at the ingredients

Combine the almonds and the brown sugar in a food processor . 

Blend until the almonds are finely ground. Add the baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and lemon zest, and pulse together. 

Beat the eggs until thick.  Add the sugar, and continue to beat for some time till the mix turns frothy . Beat in the vanilla

Add the almond mixture and the carrots in three alternating additions, and slowly beat or fold in each time. 

Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan. Place in the oven, and bake one hour until firm to the touch . A fork inserted into the center of the cake should come out clean. 

Remove from the heat, and allow to cool on a rack for 10 minutes.  Dust with Icing  Sugar ! Allow the cake to cool completely, then wrap tightly in plastic.

The cake was perfectly moist, fluffy and very delicate tasting ! In fact it tasted even better after being refrigerated !


So here's wishing a very Happy, Prosperous  & Joyous  2011