In all my years eating (American) carrot cake, it somehow never once occurred to me to put chocolate on it. But when I discovered that such a thing existed in Brazil (bolo de cenoura com calda de chocolate in Portuguese), it made nothing less than perfect sense to me. Here’s my vegan version of this tasty treat – try it for yourself and see what you think!

Traditionally, Brazilian carrot cake doesn’t contain raisins or walnuts, but I couldn’t resist adding them for nostalgia reasons (they’re totally optional though and can be omitted without the need to change the other ingredients). For the chocolate topping, I made a simple glaze from cocoa powder, maple syrup and a bit of salt. I recommend mixing up the glaze and applying it to the individual slices just before serving them, so the amounts given for the glaze are for two pieces of cake. You can double or triple this as needed however, if you’re making this after the Great Pandemic of 2020-2021 is over (fingers crossed it doesn’t last longer) and you actually have nine people eating this together in one place.

Carrot cake

Makes one 8 x 8 in. (20 x 20 cm) cake

• 1 packed cup (150 g) grated carrot
• 1/2 cup (118 ml) applesauce or other fruit compote
• 1/4 cup (59 ml) neutral-flavored oil
• 2 teaspoons apple-cider or white vinegar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1 & 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 & 1/2 cups flour
• 1/4 cup golden raisins (optional)
• 1/4 cup walnuts, roughly chopped (optional)

Begin by grating up your carrot into a medium or large mixing bowl. If it’s organic, you can just scrub it with a vegetable brush rather than peeling it. Preheat your oven to 350°F (180°C).

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Next, add your applesauce or other fruit compote to the bowl. I actually used apricot sauce (compote) as that’s what I had on hand, without it changing the flavor of the cake in particular.

Grate a bit of lemon zest to add some brightness to the cake. I used 1/4 teaspoon, but you could add a bit more if you’re partial to a lemony flavor.

Now add all the other ingredients apart from the flour, and stir thoroughly to combine.

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Finally, add the flour and stir gently until just combined (be careful not to overstir).

Transfer the batter to an 8 x 8 inch (20 x 20 cm) baking dish lined with baking paper or oiled. Place in the preheated oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Check for doneness by inserting a toothpick into various parts of the cake. If it comes out clean, it’s ready but if there’s some batter sticking to it, give it another 5 minutes and then test it again.

The nice thing about baking paper is you can just lift the entire cake out of the baking dish and put it on your countertop for easier cutting. Allow the cake to cool for 15 minutes or so before cutting or you might not be able to make clean cuts through it.

I cut mine into nine pieces, each measuring about 2.5 inches (6 cm) square. Now you’re ready to mix up some chocolate glaze!

Chocolate glaze

Makes enough glaze for two pieces of the carrot cake.

• 2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons pure maple syrup (add more for a thinner glaze)
• tiny pinch salt

You can hardly find a simpler recipe… just put these three things together and stir! At first the maple syrup will not seem to mix into the cocoa powder, but keep persisting and it will suddenly become a frosting/glaze. If you want it to be thinner and more drippy, add a bit more maple syrup.

Apply the glaze in whatever amount you like.

And there you have it!

Time to take a bite…

Looks moist and yummy. But how will it taste?

Two thumbs up!

And as you may be aware, Valentine’s Day is just around the corner! This dessert may not seem very Valentine-y at first glance, but stick a heart on it and it suddenly is. 🙂