Healthy Vegan Sweet Potato and Carrot Cake

(Yields: 4 slices, Serving: 2, Prep time: 25 mins, Cook time: 20 mins)

Ingredients

Sweet Potato Mash

• 1 large baked sweet potato

• 1/4 cup tightly packed pineapple preserves (recipe here*)

• 1 small shredded carrot

Cake

• 1 cup whole wheat flour/pastry flour

• 1 cup sweet potato, carrot and pineapple preserve mash

• 1/4 cup shredded carrots

• 1 tablespoon baking powder

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 2 tablespoons extra light olive oil

• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt

• 1 flax egg (1 tablespoon flaxseed meal & 1 tablespoon water mixed for 2-5 mins)

• 2 tablespoons almond meal

• 2 tablespoons crushed walnuts

• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

• 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup/honey

• 1 tablespoon almond milk

• 1 tablespoon white grape juice

Frosting

• Remaining sweet potato mash

• 1/3 cup cashews

• 1 tablespoon cocoa powder

Topping

• Sliced nuts of choice (optional)

Ingredient Notes:

Pineapple preserves should be cooked in advance as it can take up to an hour to make. It is my favourite natural sweetener.

Please know that the normal sized cake pan is way too big for this cake, so I use filled up half of it. You may like to double the ingredients to make the whole thing.

Instructions

Chop the sweet potato in flat circular pieces and bake it in the oven at 350F for 40 minutes to an hour. (It depends on how large the pieces are, just check if the centre is soft!)

Meanwhile, grate the carrot.

Once sweet potatoes are soft in the middle, try and remove as much burnt parts as possible, and peel off the skin.

Put it in the blender with 1/4 cup of pineapple preserves and half of the grated carrots you prepared earlier.

Blend until it becomes a mash that’s smooth and creamy, then spoon it out.

Preheat oven to 350°F (176°C).

Make the flax egg by combining a tablespoon of flaxseed meal with water.

In a bowl, add 1 cup of whole wheat pastry flour, 1 cup of sweet potato, carrot and pineapple mash (you will use the remaining for frosting), 1/4 cup shredded carrots, 1 tablespoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 2 tablespoons extra light olive oil (note: Not extra virgin, the light version is more suitable for baking), sea salt, flax egg, almond meal, crushed walnuts, vanilla extract, cinnamon, pure maple syrup/honey, almond milk and grape juice.

Mix until everything is well combined.

Spoon it into a cake pan and fill half of it. (You may also wish to try putting it in muffin pans).

Bake it in the oven for 17-20 minutes.

If you want it to rise a little higher, you may wish to bake it longer, but the longer the cake is in the oven, the less sweet it becomes.

Meanwhile, prepare the frosting. Add all the remaining sweet potato, carrot and pineapple mash into the blender, as well as the cashew and cocoa powder.

Blend until it’s extremely smooth.

Cut the cake and add the frosting!

Now, you can eat the cake!