Courgette and Carrot cake - the tray bake!

Apart from eating fondue I spent last week messing around with more carrots and courgettes to see if I could 'big-up' my mug cake into a tray bake. I'm pleased to say it worked and after inflicting the results on various friends and a few of my husband's work colleagues I now have a recipe for you!

Who can eat it?

This recipe is gluten and wheat free, dairy free, egg free and nut free. It is suitable for vegetarians, vegans and coeliacs and anyone in need of a tray bake!

Who can't eat it?

It's cake and therefor not suitable for those needing a reducing diet however I have tried to keep the sugar content low and I think it would probably work OK if some of the sugar was substituted with a powdered sugar substitute. This recipe is rather high in fibre so it may not be suitable for those with Crohn's, colitis or IBS but it will depend on their condition at the time.

You will need a 9inch by 13 inch tray, fully lined and brushed with oil. Gluten free cake sticks like crazy and with out oiling the paper it wont rise and will fall apart when you try to take the paper off.

Ingredients

Dry mix
2 cups of rice flour
1 cup of sugar (white or light brown)
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 teaspoon of mixed spice (or pumpkin pie spice if you are in the US)
2 teaspoons of GLUTEN FREE baking powder
1 teaspoon of baking soda/sodium bicarbonate
1 teaspoon of salt

Wet mix

2 large carrots and 2 medium sized courgettes, finely grated. Together this should make 2 cups if you compact it (don't lose any juice, it's tasty!)  
1/3 of a cup of ground flax powder (yes I know this is technically dry but bare with me!)
2/3rds of a cup of sunflower oil 2 teaspoons of natural vanilla essence   
2 teaspoons of cider vinegar (or 'white vinegar' if you don't have this)
Some water, between 1/2 and 1 cup full.
2/3rds of a cup of raisins - remember raisins are often coated with palm or coconut oil (which I'm allergic to) to make them shiny so if you are making this for me you'd better get organic ones unglazed of glazed in sunflower oil.

Heat your oven to gas mark 5 or 190 C

Sorry if the next bit sounds a little familiar....

Prepare your dry mix and stir well. 
Grate your carrot and courgette really finely into another bowl. Add the flax and other wet mix ingredients and stir well. The flax powder is now absorbing the moisture and will act like an egg. I chose to use flax because its vegan, I have plenty in the fridge and its has some outstanding health benefits.
Now tip the wet mix into the dry mix and combine quickly to an even consistency then add the raisins. Now you'll have to look at the mix and decide how much water to put in. If your veg were really juicy you might only need half a cup, if they were dry you may need the whole cup. You are aiming for a consistency that's a bit like wet mud, not runny but not like the sandbox on a damp day either.
Give it one more quick stir and quick as a flash tip the whole lot into pre-lined and greased tin. Now pop it in the oven for about 40minutes. After the 40 minute mark keep checking the cake, gluten free flour goes from under-baked to burnt more quickly than regular flour so if you are not used to it check every 2 minutes or so, when it has risen, changed colour and has lost it's stickiness on top it is done! Over all this cake takes around 50 minutes in my gas oven.

Testers for trial cake 1 will have noticed it had icing on the top, this is just a large scoop of butter with a squirt of maple syrup and as much icing sugar as I had in the cupboard whisked together. This is because I forgot to pop in the raisins which made the whole cake under sweet (I blame my parents who phoned at a crucial point it it's construction!)

Shopping tips

I don't like to plug particular supermarkets but my local 'big 3' have stopped selling ground flax. This is a shame BUT I have found it in Aldi at a reduced price. Aldi also had raisins glazed in sunflower oil.
If you don't have a baking tray 9inches by 13 inches don't panic, I don't either. I have been using an old grill pan with the handle taken off! So before you go and buy one check if you can do the same. Alternatively two 8inch sandwich tins will give you two good sized cakes but make sure you can fit both in the oven at the same time.


No photos yet but I'm sure I'll be making it again soon, so keep your eyes peeled on the facebook page. Enjoy!!