Vegan carrot pie

Ingredients (⌀ 20 cm)

For the pie

• 140 gr walnuts or pecans (or a mix of both)
• 120 gr caster or dark drown sugar
• 50 gr raw cane sugar
• 175 ml neutral oil (sunflower, peanut or coconut oil)
• 2 tbsp flaxseed gel (or 2 tbsp ground flaxseed soaked in warm water for 10 minutes)
• 70 gr applesauce
• 100 ml plant-based milk (soy milk or almond milk work best)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1½ tbsp lemon juice or apple cider vinegar
• 200 gr of patent flour
• 1½ tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp ginger powder
• ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
• ½ tsp salt
• 175 gr grated carrots

For the icing

• 60 gr vegetable butter at room temperature
• 150 gr vegan cream cheese
• 100 gr powdered sugar
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• pinch of salt
• 1 tbsp plant-based milk (optional)

Directions

For the pie

1. Preheat the oven to 180 °C. Line a large baking tray with parchment paper, aluminum foil or a silicone baking mat. Spread the walnuts on the baking tray and roast for 5 minutes.
2. Let the nuts cool and roughly chop them.
3. Grease the 20 centimer cake pan and line the bottom with baking paper. You can leave the oven at 180 °C.
4. Whisk the caster sugar, raw cane sugar, oil, linseed gel, applesauce, 70 ml of the milk, lemon juice and vanilla together in a large bowl until combined and there are no sugar lumps. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg with the wet ingredients.
5. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon until just combined. The batter should flow slowly from your whisk. If the batter is too thick, add the rest of the milk. Add the carrots and 100 grams of the roasted walnuts. (The rest of the walnuts are for garnish.)
6. Add the batter to the cake pan and bake for 35-40 minutes. Check whether the pie is really cooked by pricking the center with a skewer. If the skewer comes out clean and you don’t see a trace of batter, the cakes are ready. If not, continue baking until cooked through. Let the cakes cool completely before adding the icing.

For the icing

1. In a large bowl and using a hand or stand mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter together on medium speed until smooth, about 2 minutes.
2. Add the powdered sugar, lemon juice, vanilla extract and a pinch of salt. Then increase to high speed and beat for 3 minutes until fully combined and creamy.
3. Add more powder sugar if the icing is too thin and some milk if the icing is too thick. The icing should be soft, but not runny.
4. Add the icing to the pie. Refrigerate the carrot pie for at least 15-20 minutes before slicing. Then the cake will keep its shape while cutting.