Vegan Pineapple Carrot Breakfast Cake Oil-Free Fruit Sweetened

Subtly sweet, pineapple forward, whole food plant-based version of classic carrot cake. Unfrosted, this nutritious cake is terrific as a stand-alone continental breakfast or on-the-go snack. Top it with frosting and you have a dessert worthy of special occasions. No refined sweeteners or oils are used.

WHY I LOVE IT

I’ve always loved carrot cake and all manner of fruity nutty bakery items. Fortunately for me, these types of recipes are well suited to whole food plant-based (WFPB) adaptations. Since giving up sugar and other refined sweeteners my tastebuds have changed and most sweet vegan baked goods taste overly sweet to me. So aside from trying to be as WFPB adherent as possible for my health, I now get more enjoyment from lower intensity sweet experiences. This carrot cake is one of my favorite breakfasts. I usually slice it up before storing it in the fridge in an airtight container where it’s good for up to a week. In fact, it improves on the second and third day. This cake can also be a satisfying snack I can grab when I’m on the go. To ramp up the sweetness and turn this cake into a full fledged dessert that’s been omnivore tested and approved, frost it with Silken Tofu Based Vegan Cardamom Frosting or Kite Hill Cream Cheese Vegan Cardamom Frosting.

PLANT-POWERED MAXIMALIST FLAVOR

A cornucopia of plant-powered flavors and textures come together to maximize the yum factor in this recipe. I decided to call my blog Maximalist Vegan because I usually have a more is more approach to recipes. Not always, but usually. Creating flavorful recipes from ingredients that are minimally processed and lower in the food chain often requires using a large number of ingredients. I love to cook, and have a well stocked pantry, so I’m ok with that. I’m pretty sure there are others out there who feel the same way. You can replace some of the spices in this recipe with ready-made spice blends or leave a few of them out altogether. And of course, you can opt in or out of the nuts and coconut. But remember that this is a maximalist recipe where multiple flavors and textures are meant to harmonize.

MAKE YOUR OWN OAT FLOUR

If you want to use store bought oat flour, that’s fine. But making your own oat flour is easy, fast and economical. All you need is rolled oats, old fashioned or quick, and a food processor or high speed blender. Place your oats in your processor or blender and pulse until you get flour. Don’t over process your oat flour because it will become sticky and not work as well in your recipes. As far as flour texture goes, oat flour that’s a little coarse works better for most types of baking. Don’t try to make too much at a time. Small batches, no more than a cup and a half at a time, are better. I usually only process the amount I’m about to use in a recipe. One cup of oats makes approximately one cup of oat flour.

THE MAGIC OF DATES IN WFPB BAKING

My sweet recipes get most of their sweetness from whole dried fruits, and my go to dried fruits for sweetening recipes are dates. Dates are intensely sweet with a rich caramel-like flavor that blends in seamlessly with other ingredients. When pureed with liquid ingredients, preferably in a high speed blender, dates work as a binder, helping to hold batters together the way that eggs do in traditional, non-vegan, baking. Pureed dates also help to lock in moisture, acting as a substitute for added fats in whole food plant-based recipes. From a nutritional standpoint, dates are a whole plant food packed with fiber and a symphony of other nutrients. For this recipe, the dates are pureed with water and other liquid ingredients.

My favorite dates for baking are pitted Deglet Noor because they are sweet, flavorful, widely available and usually soft and moist. You can also use medjool dates by prepping and measuring them in the same way as you would Deglet Noor.

When I bake with dates I always begin by slicing them. I have found that dates that are supposedly pitted are, in fact, usually not all pitted. Pre-slicing my dates gives me the opportunity to remove any hidden pits and hard stems that may still be attached. In recipes like this one where the dates will be processed in a blender or food processor, slicing the dates allows them to be processed more quickly and effectively. Finally, slicing dates allows for greater consistency when measuring. Once the dates are sliced they can be pressed into measuring cups or spoons.

BLENDER NEEDED

For this recipe you’ll need a blender or food processor in order to transform the dates and liquid ingredients into a smoothie that will act as a sweetener, binder and oil substitute all rolled into one. The juice strained from the crushed pineapples can be one of the liquid ingredients in the smoothie. That’s how I do it, but if you don’t feel like taking the extra step of straining your pineapple, that’s ok too.

Electronic appliances like food processors and blenders allow us to quickly and easily harness the power of whole plant foods, eliminating the need for ingredients like oil, sugar, white flour and eggs which are calorie dense and comparatively low in nutrients.

CREATING THE CAKE BATTER

My technique is unusual in that I incorporate whole dates into the liquid ingredients, something that wouldn’t be possible without electronic appliances. The rest of my recipe proceeds in a way that’s pretty typical of traditional baking. I start with combining the dry ingredients. After that I add the wet and moist ingredients, some of which have been blended together into a single smoothie. Finally, I add the dry chunky ingredients, unsweetened grated coconut and walnuts.

Note that I treat ground flaxseed as one of my dry ingredients instead of mixing it with water to make “flax egg” as many plant-based recipes suggest. I just think pre-mixing ground flaxseed with water is an unnecessary step. Once flaxseed comes into contact with moisture, it turns into a binder just as easily whether it’s by itself or pre-mixed with the other dry ingredients.

CAKE PAN(S)

This recipe can be used to make a single layer 8 inch round cake. If you’re planning to frost it and want to create a small two layer cake, you could also bake it in two 6 inch pans. You do you! This batter would also be great for muffins, a square cake or loaf. You could even double the recipe and turn it into a big two layer frosted cake.

STICK PROOFING YOUR CAKE PANS

Home baking requires time and effort. The last thing anyone wants is for the fruit of all that effort to end up falling apart because it got stuck to a pan or baking sheet. Using oil or butter to grease pans is the old fashioned way to get things not to stick. It works, especially if you also add a layer of flour or some other starch, and I still do it sometimes. But because I prefer to avoid using added fats in my cooking, I like to use parchment paper liners whenever possible. You can get parchment paper and baking cups just about anywhere and that’s all you need for baking sheets and muffin pans. Cake and loaf pans are tricker because pre-formed liners for these pans are not available at most local grocery stores. You can make your own parchment paper liners by carefully folding parchment paper to fit the pan. However, I prefer getting preformed liners online. These liners not only help me avoid using added fats, they also save time.

When I’m out of liners, don’t want to deal with folding parchment paper, or if I don’t have the right size liner for the pan I want to use, I’m a stickler about greasing and dusting my cake pans even if it means being less whole food plant-based adherent Not only are cakes much less likely to stick if pans are greased and floured instead of just being greased, but the flour also acts as a protective barrier keeping the grease away from the cake itself. If not using a liner, springform pans are my preferred pans for cakes because they allow easier unmolding that is less disruptive to the cake. I also like to line the bottom of my greased cake pans with parchment paper. But if you do a thorough job greasing and flouring, regular cake pans without parchment paper will work fine so long as you allow the cake to cool down before unmolding. For grease you can use oil, vegan butter or even coconut oil. For dusting, white flour is usually recommended but almost any flour or starch works.

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