My birthday is around the corner and my best friend of 10 yrs asks “What is my favorite cake”. She is wondering why she doesn’t know this. After all, she knows some of the most intimate details of my life. I remind her that I LOVE cake and do not discriminate. I tell her my dark secret: a weakness for the processed sugar laden Pillsbury strawberry cake mix with milk chocolate frosting. Something I most likely will never eat again.
Then I remembered that I love carrot cake. It’s my absolute favorite.
In the days when I used to be able to eat most things and the train from New London to Providence was $8, we would make the trip every few weekends. We would spend the day shopping at Providence Place mall and dinner at cheesecake factory. I would always get carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. For some reason the slice of cake was always humongous. We would always get dessert to go, steal a couple of bites and save the rest for “brunch”. I remember one such weekend we brought out treats to a football game and everyone was so jealous.
Later when I accepted my wheat allergy, I did not give up on carrot cake. As soon as I was satisfied that I could bake a decent gluten free bread, I moved on to gluten free carrot cake. I tried several recipes and ended up with several messes- too crunchy, too gooey but never just right- until one day I picked up the Babycakes cookbook.
Babycakes is this amazing gluten free vegan bakery with locations in LA and Disney, in addition to the flagship New York Store. In my mind, they started the whole cupcake store trend and made gluten free trendy. Their cupcakes are so delicious but somehow during my time living in NYC I never made it to the bakery.
Now I finally have my fix. Carrot cake that suits my special diet: free of wheat, dairy, soy, eggs and refined sugar. People who eat “regular” food all the time love it and have no idea that its gluten free and vegan. You can find the recipe here. I used Dove’s Farm self raising flour instead of Bob’s and skipped the xanthan gum, baking powder and baking soda. I haven’t tried the vanilla frosting as yet.
Now my love affair with carrot cake can continue unimpeded. What is your favorite treat?
