Alistaire turned 2 over the weekend. So hard to wrap my mind around that! My baby isn’t a baby anymore! After all last week being below freezing (yet oddly arid and skin drying), we got to celebrate his birthday with snow flakes falling. And woke up to Sunday with white everywhere. The boys were very excited, I took them down to the lake and park to enjoy the snow, before it melted (gee, now we have a warming trend coming apparently!).
The lake was quiet and dark –
We even got a little snowman built!
Unlike last year’s fiasco where I made car cakes for Walker’s birthday and nearly ruined it with crappy cake pans, this year I came into it using decent pans. Last summer I picked up a set of Wilton Perfect Results 8-Inch Square Cake Pan
The cake? Delicious. You wouldn’t guess “gluten-free” at all!
Gluten-Free Carrot Cake
Ingredients:
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 Tbsp Ener-G Egg Replacer
- ¼ cup warm water
- 2/3 cup sunflower oil
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup Betty Crocker All Purpose Gluten Free Rice Flour Blend
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp Xanthan Gum
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp fine sea salt
- 2 cups finely shredded carrots
- ½ cup shelled sunflower seeds, preferably raw, finely ground
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°. Cut a piece of parchment paper to fit in bottom of a 8 or 9″ cake pan (round or square). Spray pan with oil, place paper in and spray paper.
Whisk Ener-G and warm water together till smooth. Add sugar and Ener-G to a large mixing bowl, beat with a mixer until light. Add in oil and vanilla, beat until smooth.
In a small mixing bowl, whisk flour mix, cinnamon, xantham gum, baking soda, baking powder and salt together. Add in slowly to wet, beating in till smooth. Add in carrots and sunflower seeds, mix in.
Spread in prepared pan, smooth out. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes, till a toothpick comes out clean in the center.
Let rest in pan for 15 minutes, turn over gently onto a cooling rack, discarding parchment paper. Let cool before frosting.
Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients:
- 1/3 cup unsalted butter or Earth Balance Buttery Stick, diced
- 8 ounces Nancy’s Cultured Cream Cheese or vegan cream cheese
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- Pinch fine sea salt, if using butter
- 4 cups powdered sugar
Directions:
Let butter and cream cheese soften at room temperature in a large mixing bowl.
Beat on medium until combined, add in vanilla, beat smooth.
Add in powdered sugar on low, 1 cup at a time, beating in. Depending on cream cheese used, you may need a little milk if too thick to spread. (Nancy’s is a softer cream cheese)
Decorate cake as desired.