My favourite carrot cake. With oat flour & plums in chocolate

Autumn. The beginning of October. This is the moment when I try to get the last tasty tomatoes from the grocery store, and on my way back from shopping, I’m starting to realize that the pumpkin I chose is too big, so every meal in the following days will be orange in colour. It’s also that time in the kitchen, while baking cakes, when I start adding a little bit of autumn spices to everything. There is no autumn baking without cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. And with this thought in mind, I decided to experiment a bit more with the carrot cake. So far I have tried a lot of recipes for it – some were very moist, others were fluffy. With creating my own version, I wanted the carrot not to be an addition, but the main ingredient. I wanted a moist cake that would hold the shape and not stick to your mouth. I was also thinking about a cake that can be eaten for breakfast without any guilt – that’s why I chose oatmeal. I also wanted to give the cake a specific autumnal, seasonal character – so I decided to combine it with a sweet plum layer covered with dark chocolate. Here it is: my favourite vegan, oat carrot cake with plums in chocolate.

Proportions for a taller cake in a baking tin with a diameter of 20cm (or lower in a 26cm form)

• 1.5 cups of oatmeal (in my case, I simply grind oats in a coffee grinder)
• 1 tsp of baking powder
• 1 tsp of baking soda
• 1 tsp of cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp of powdered ginger
• 1/2 tsp of nutmeg
• 1 flat tsp of salt

•  2 cups of grated carrots
• 1 cup of brown sugar
• 3 tbsp ground flaxseed + 1/4 cup hot water
• 1/4 cup of any kind of oil
• 1/4 cup of any kind of plant-based milk (or even water, really!)
• 1 tablespoon of apple (or rice/wine) vinegar

• Extras: I used a handful of walnuts and two handfuls of dates. I would also recommend pumpkin seeds or cranberries.

•  Plum layer: 6-8 plums and 1 tablespoon of sugar

• Chocolate coating: 1/2 bar of dark chocolate, 3 tablespoons of plant milk and a pinch of salt

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

2. In a large bowl, combine all the dry ingredients. Then add grated carrots, sugar, oil and vegetable milk.

3. Combine ground flaxseed with hot water, stir and set aside for two minutes.

4. Add the flaxseed, vinegar and some extras to the bowl – nuts or dried fruits. Mix everything thoroughly, then put it into a paper-lined round baking tin.

5. Bake for about 45 minutes. The cake should be moist, but not liquid.

6. In the meantime, prepare the plum layer. Wash the plums, remove the stones. Cut the plums in half lengthwise. Place them in a pot/saucepan and fry for 3 minutes. Then add a tablespoon of sugar and fry for another three minutes, stirring occasionally. Set aside to cool down.

7. Pour the plum mixture over the slightly cooled cake. Before you wash the pot in which the plums were prepared, use it to dissolve the chocolate. Keep the chocolate cubes and the milk on low heat for a few moments until completely dissolved. Keep stirring the chocolate!

8. Pour the melted chocolate over the cake, covering the plums. In my opinion, carrot cake tastes best chilled, straight from the fridge. Enjoy your autumn cake!