Pumpkin, carrot and walnut cake with cashew orange frosting

This one's gluten-free and comes from the Clean Cakes recipe book reviewed on my site by our resident recipe book-reviewer Lynn.  You'll love the flavour of this one and it's crunchy, soft texture.  Top Tip: buy several pumpkins, roast them up and freeze them so you've always some to hand.  If you're in a hurry, tinned pumpkin does the job

Pumpkins are brilliant at heart health because of their high fibre vitamin A content.  Vitamin A is also helpful for preventing cancers and ageing, is good for the eyes, lungs and mouth. Pumpkin contains useful phytonutrients such as cryptoxanthin, zeaxanthin and lutein that are free radical scavengers, in particular protecting the eye from macular degeneration.  

Cinnamon helps keep hunger at bay by controlling blood sugar levels.  Because this cake is also high in fibre and has good levels of protein in the pumpkin and cashews, it will help to keep you fuller for longer.

Serves 8-12 | Oven 170C/325F/Gas 3

18-20 cm (7-8”) loose bottomed cake tin lined and oiled

Ingredients

90g // walnuts or pecans, dry roasted on high heat.  Cool

70g //  teff flour 

70g // brown rice flour

15g // arrowroot

3/4 tsp // Celtic sea or Himalayan rock salt

1 tsp // bicarbonate of soda

1 1/2 tsp // mixed spice

1 1/2 tsp // ground cinnamon

95g // raw cane sugar

60g // sultanas

150ml // olive or coconut oil (for greasing)

210g // pumpkin puree (or good quality tinned)

60g // grated carrot

1 // orange zested

2 // eggs *

Ingredients: Cashew orange frosting

1 x recipe // cashew nut cream

2 tbsp  // clear raw honey

1/4 // vanilla pod split lengthways and seeds scraped out

2 // lemons zested + 2 1/2 tbsp of juice

1 // orange zested

Pinch of // Celtic sea or Himalayan rock salt

140g // coconut oil, melted

1 to 2 tbsp water

fresh dried // edible flowers e.g. marigolds

*Eggs or whites can be replaced with 1 tbsp ground flax seeds soaked in 3 tbsp water for 15 minutes. or half that if replacing whites only

Method

Make frosting first.  Combine all the ingredients except the coconut oil in a blender.  Then add the oil and blend until totally smooth.  Keep in a sealed jar in fridge 2-6 hours to thicken

Chop nuts into pea-sized pieces. In one large bowl mix all the dry ingredients 

In another bowl mix all the wet ingredients.  Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients, pour in the wet ones and combine well working from the centre outwards in widening circles

Slacken a little with nut milk (almond or cashew) if necessary to loosen mixture slightly

Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 30-35 minutes rotating halfway through the baking.

Test to see if a skewer comes out clean from the centre. Leave to cool in the tin

When cool cut cake in half and fill with cashew orange frosting.  Decorate with flowers

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Cashew nut cream

Makes about 380g   

200g  //  cashew nuts soaked 

130ml // almond milk

Method

Soak the nuts in 500ml filtered water and a pinch of Celtic sea or Himalayan rock salt for 3-4 hours

Drain and rinse thoroughly

Blend the nuts with the almond milk until completely smooth - scrape down sides of blender as necessary to achieve this

The cream will keep in the fridge for at least four days in a sealed jar