Oh, hello. Let me tell you about Otto, my sexy new friend. It’s true. I’m totally in love with Otto’s Cassava Flour from Otto’s Naturals … and I suspect we’ll be having delicious fun together for years and years to come.
I’ve had a like/love/hate relationship with gluten-free cooking for the last two years. I really love how I feel without gluten, and it’s been very kind and generous to me … but, but … but … Bread. Cake. Flour tortillas. Crepes. I miss them! They just haven’t tasted quite right with the gluten-free flours I’ve been using.
I did my best to get used to it. Tried to see past the shortcomings and not miss the deliciousness of … :::sigh::: I turned the other way when the incompatibilities were just too overwhelming and the temptations of others were too great. Cried in my pillow at night. You know what I mean? Wait … what do I mean?
We’ve just met, Otto and I, so I really can’t say for sure where this relationship is headed … but my, oh, my are we having fun! This Vegan Carrot Cake recipe turned out light, with no weird taste or texture surprises. Just fluffy, moist, sweet cakey goodness. It turned into a lovely, light, delicious gluten free vegan carrot cake. Exactly what I wanted, but really didn’t anticipate at first glance … :).
So far, Otto makes me feel great .. about myself and about the delicious possibilities in the future … and has qualities, like excellent taste, that I’ve looked for a long time. In addition to being super sexy and fun, Otto’s Cassava Flour (we ARE talking about flour … aren’t we?) is almost indistinguishable from all-purpose wheat flour, is gluten-free, made from the ground cassava root, so it’s also vegan.
But get your own. I’m kinda possessive …

Carrot Cake: Gluten Free Vegan Dessert Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cup Otto's Naturals Cassava Flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons ground chia seeds
- 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
- 1/4 cup applesauce
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or 1 vanilla bean
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 cups grated carrot
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 325F.
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Grease and flour one 9x9 baking pan, or equivalent. I used coconut oil for greasing.
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Sift together the cassava flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, sugar, and chia. If you don't have cassava flour, any gluten free flour will work well.
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Mix the applesauce, coconut oil, vanilla, and water into the dry ingredients.
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Mix for about two minutes, until everything is smooth.
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Stir in the grated carrot until well incorporated.
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Pour into prepared baking pan and spread evenly.
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Bake at 325F for 35 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean.
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Remove from oven and cool for several minutes.
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Remove cake from pan and let it finish cooling on rack.
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Frost with any vegan vanilla frosting. I used a Duncan Hines one.
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Enjoy!
What have you been doing to make it through the winter? I’ve been hanging out at a local conservatory, at Hidden Lake Gardens. It’s a beautiful place, with lots of awesome plants. It smells like summer in there and I love it. Otto and I even ran into a poet who was busy writing while enjoying the new tropical dome and were treated to a few lines …
Did I say Otto?
Just made this cake, I was excited to try it out. It was really gelatinous in texture, I didn’t care for it. However, my kids loved it, so that makes it a win. Did I do something wrong to get the gelatinous texture?
It does use flax which can feel a bit gelatinous when it’s in the batter, but that should go away when it’s baked. So I don’t think you did anything wrong. Glad your kids like it!!
I’ve been trying to go vegan. Do you have any tips or resources I can start reading?
Hi Dana, congrats on going vegan!! I became vegan after reading The World Peace Diet by Will Tuttle. It’s excellent for the reasons to go vegan. There are lots of vegan food blogs out there in addition to this one. And there are others, like http://www/vegansaurus.com and http://www.mainstreetvegan.com that go into more than just food. If you have any questions about it, just shoot me a message :). All the best!! xoxo