This dairy-free carrot cake is a classic Swiss cake that is traditionally decorated with marzipan carrots, but you can of course omit them.
Ingredients
- butter: 1 tsp
- eggs, separated: 4 piece
- white sugar: 1 cup
- ¼ cups peeled and grated carrots: 2 piece
- ¼ cups ground almonds: 2 piece
- lemon, zested and: 1 piece (juiced)
- all-purpose flour: 0.5 cup
- baking powder: 1 tsp
- pinch salt: 1 piece
- ounces marzipan: 5 piece
- drop green gel food coloring: 1 piece (or as needed)
- drop orange gel food coloring: 1 piece (or as needed)
- confectioners' sugar: 1 cup
- lemon juice: 1 Tbsp (to taste, fresh)
Metric Conversion
Stages of cooking
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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9-inch springform pan.
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Beat egg yolks and sugar together in a large bowl with an electric mixer until fluffy. Beat in carrots, almonds, lemon juice, and lemon zest.
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Mix flour, baking powder, and salt together in a bowl and add to the batter. Stir well to combine.
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Beat egg whites in a glass, metal, or ceramic bowl until stiff peaks form. Fold into the cake batter with a spatula. Pour batter into the prepared springform pan.
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Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 40 to 50 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Run a table knife around the edges to loosen. Remove carefully and place on a serving plate or cooling rack. Let cool, about 30 minutes.
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Knead marzipan until soft and pliable. Pinch off 1/5 and add a little green food coloring using a toothpick. Knead until marzipan is uniformly green. Color the remaining marzipan orange using the same method. Shape orange marzipan into 12 little carrots and make tiny indentations on top with a paring knife. Shape the green marzipan into little leaves. Stick 2 leaves to the top of each carrot with a little water.
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Combine confectioners' sugar and enough lemon juice to make a thick icing. Coat cake with the icing. Place marzipan carrots on top around the edges in such a way that each piece of cake has a marzipan carrot. Let icing dry before slicing and serving.
