Orange, Carrot & Almond Cake

A really great gluten and dairy free cake recipe; the orange keeps it nice and moist and using egg whites helps it not to disintegrate into crumbs when you pick it up and it includes veg!

'Recipe adapted from Eat Real and Heal'

http://eatrealandheal.com/wp/

Ingredients:

1 orange

4 eggs

250 g grated carrots

125 g ground almonds

150 g xylitol

3 tbspn rice flour

1 Tspn baking powder

1 tbspn chia seeds (optional)

1 Tspn vanilla extract

Pinch salt

Method:

Get all your equipment out - Square baking tin (8 inches or 20 cm), Food processor grater or box grater, Mixing bowl + 2 cereal bowls, Stand mixer or hand held whisk, Micro plane or zester, Measuring scales, Tablespoon, teaspoon, Spatula, Skewer, Citrus juicer

Put oven on to 180 degrees C

Line 20 cm square baking tin with baking parchment (I use one with a loose bottom)

Peel and grate the carrots. Use a fine grater in the food processor or do by hand on a box grater

Separate the eggs into your two cereal bowls

Beat the whites in a stand mixer or use a hand mixer and set aside

Beat the egg yolks together with 150g xylitol, zest from the orange and vanilla extract for a few minutes, until the yolks have gone pale yellow, thick and creamy

Stir in the 125g ground almonds, 3 tbspn rice flour, teaspoon baking powder, generous pinch of salt, 250g grated carrots and chia seeds

Take a metal tablespoon and put in a slightly larger spoonful of the egg whites and just mix in to loosen the mixture

Then add the rest of the egg whites and fold in carefully to keep the air in

Pour the mixture into the baking tin and use your spatula to gently level out

Bake between 40 - 45 minutes until a skewer comes out clean

Take half the juice of the orange; pour all over the top of the cake and leave to cool in the tin

Cut the edges off and then cut into 12 slices (or 9 bigger slices)

20 minutes to prep and 40-45 minutes to bake = 1 hour