This is a cake inspired by a Facebook reader asking me if I’d heard of a ‘Brussels Sprout cake’! She’d been watching an episode from last year’s Dragon’s Den, where a lady secured £50k investment to produce her unusual cake en masse. Here’s her story if you’d like to read more.
Anyway, always interested in the weird and wonderful, I couldn’t resist the challenge to find a suitable recipe to tweak and adapt to gluten and dairy free. This one is inspired by the Guru Magazine and Honestly Healthy Food’s GF carrot cake recipe. There are more (disguised) veggies than (unrefined) sugar in this – what’s not to like?!
Pre-heat oven to 180 degs.
Add to the TM bowl and mill 1 minute / speed 9:
- a knob of fresh ginger, sliced into coins (or use 1 tsp ginger powder in next step)
- 40g rice (brown/white or a combo)
- 40g buckwheat (use extra rice, if you wish)
- 20g sorghum/jowar/juwar (or millet, if you wish)
Add and sift 6 seconds / speed 6:
- 20g tapioca flour
- 20g potato flour
- 1 tsp xanthan gum
- 1 tsp mixed spice
- 1/2 tsp vanilla powder – or use 1 tsp extract when you whisk the eggs
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 25g desiccated coconut
Set aside.
Add and whizz up 10 seconds / speed 9:
- 100g dates (or substitute with unrefined sugar from 100-150g – or use other preferred sweetener – this depends on your taste – see note at the end)
Add to the bowl and chop 5 seconds / speed 7:
- 60g carrots
- 70g parsnips
- 120g Brussels sprouts
Set aside.
Insert butterfly and whisk 2 minutes / speed 4 / MC off:
- 2 eggs
- 100g almond or macadamia oil (for nut-free, use olive oil)
- 50g milk of choice (I used coconut milk)
- (1 tsp vanilla extract, if you don’t have vanilla powder)
Remove butterfly and blend in until combined / speed 5-6:
- date and veg mixture
- flour mixture
Add and blend in until combined / reverse / speed 5:
- 30g walnuts (for nut-free, use sunflower seeds)
- 30g cranberries
Pour into a grease-proof lined round cake tin and bake in your preheated oven at 180°C for 50 minutes, covering with foil after 25 minutes, to prevent scorching.
Leave to cool for a little while.
For the Chestnut Frosting
Whizz up on speed 5, scraping and repeating a few times until smooth. I also popped in the butterfly and whisked for another 15 seconds / speed 4:
- 200g whole cooked chestnuts or chestnut puree
- 3 tbs (50g) maple syrup
- 3 tbs (50g) coconut milk
- 1/2-1 tsp cinnamon powder
- Pinch of sea salt
Once your cake has cooled, slice in half carefully and spread over a layer of chestnut frosting on the bottom half. Sandwich the two layers together and spread the rest of the frosting over the top. Sprinkle with desiccated coconut and serve!
Note: I’m quite stingy with sweetener and like to take it to just to the point of ‘enjoyment’. I often substitute sugar with dates for the same quantity listed in any recipe, but if I’m using unrefined sugar (eg for a light-coloured sponge), I tend to halve the amount listed in a recipe and it’s generally enough for us. Sweeten according to your family’s taste requirements.
Me and My Thermie 
Brussels sprout cake???? Only you could make it sound so delicious, Lesley! Many thanks for this. It is definitely going into my file of weird and wonderful recipes… 🙂
Lol, Jane! I must be getting a bit of a reputation for whacky gluten free baking! 😜