Nut-free Carrot Cake with Sunflower and Pumpkin Seeds

Carrot cake with cream cheese frosting on top.

This lovely carrot cake with toasted pumpkin and sunflower seeds has no nuts but the crunch is provided by the addition of lovely toasted seeds. It's great both frosted and unfrosted!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword carrot cake with toasted seeds, nut-free carrot cake

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Servings people

Calories 516kcal

Author Eva | Electric Blue Food

Ingredients

350 g carrots
35 g pumpkin seeds
35 g sunflower seeds
4 eggs
300 g granulated sugar
250 ml vegetable oil
260 g flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tbsp vanilla extract

Optional

1 batch cream cheese frosting frosting recipe link

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Place mixed seeds over an oven-safe dish spreading them out well. When the oven has reached temperature toast the seeds for about 4-5 minutes, tossing them halfway. If your oven is fan-forced or particularly good, you may want to keep them a minute less or they may burn too quickly. Take out and let cool. When the seeds have cooled, crush and set aside.
Peel and grate the carrots and set aside. If you are using a food processor, you may consider to first crush the seeds, set aside, then grate the carrots.
Crack the eggs in a bowl and beat with a hand mixer until light and frothy. Mixing at medium speed gradually add the sugar (this will make the mixture thicken) and the vanilla, then pour in the oil in one slow stream. When incorporated stop the mixer.
In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt (the dry ingredients). Add half of dry ingredients mix to egg mixture and mix at slow speed. Once incorporated, add the second half and mix in, then set mixer aside.
Fold in the grated carrots and ground seeds. Pour batter in a springform pan lined with baking paper and bake at 180°C (350°F) for about 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.
Let the cake cool completely before adding the frosting. Here's a cream cheese frosting recipe that yields just enough to top this cake with a nice and thick layer.

Notes

Store refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

Please notice that the nutritional information provided refers to the cake without the frosting. Being made by an online calculator, the nutritional information in this recipe card is only meant as a guideline. See frosting recipe (linked above) for frosting nutritional information.

Nutrition