Torta di Carote - Italian Carrot Cake

Spices are rarely used in Italian cakes. So what makes this carrot cake Italian is the lack of spices such as cinnamon that are normally found in a carrot cake.

I have also made this vegan by making it without eggs and using almond milk (you can, of course use regular milk). It’s really quick to make (as there is no whisking needed) and, having made this a few times now, it always turns out really moist.

For some extra sweetness and texture, I added raisins and topped the cake with vanilla icing before finishing it all off with a sprinkling of toasted hazelnuts for that crunch. You can of course just serve it with a dusting of icing sugar.

Mangia, mangia! 👩🏻‍🍳

Torta di Carote recipe:

2-3 medium carrots grated
250g plain flour (sifted)
125ml almond milk (use ordinary milk if not vegan)
125ml vegetable oil
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
150g granulated sugar
50g raisins

Vanilla icing:
125g icing sugar (sifted)
1 tsp vanilla extract
2-3 tbsp almond milk (use ordinary if milk if not vegan)

Toasted chopped hazelnuts for garnish

1. Preheat oven to 180°C Fan. Lightly coat or spray a 9-inch springform tin with oil.
2. In a large bowl mix together the sifted flour, baking powder, bicarb and sugar. Add the carrots, oil and milk and stir, finally adding the raisins making sure it’s well combined.
3. Pour mixture into your tin and bake for about 45 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.
4. Remove the cake and let it cool completely then turn onto a wire rack.
5. For the icing, put all the ingredients into a bowl and mix until smooth - add more milk if you want runnier icing.
6. Pour the icing on top of the cake and scatter over the hazelnuts.