Bolo e Bolas de Cenoura, vegan
These fine pastries made from carrots, are inspired by a typical portuguese cake called Bolo de Cenoura (Carrot Cake), and connect the “rusticness” of traditional portuguese cuisine with the moderness of american cake pops.
Living in Portugal, I just HAD to make a vegan version of this very commonly known cake … and as I had a veeeery big cake coming out of the oven, I was inspired to create some delicious bolas out of the top layer of the cake and cover them with chocolate. And this is how the Carrot Cake Pops were born. Enjoy this blend of traditional and modern cuisine made with LOVE!
Ingredients for the Carrot Cake:
- Carrots
- Flours (all purpose and whole wheat)
- Cane sugar
- Olive oil
- Orange (zest and juice)
- Baking soda
- Apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
- Water
- Salt
FAQ’s:
Can I make the Carrot Cake without food processor?
Yes, sure. Grate the carrots by hand (the finer, the softer the cake). Combine the wet ingredients and the dry ingredients seperately. Then fold in the dry ingredients into the wet mixture using a spatula. Bake and continue as instructed in the recipe.
What if I don’t find vegan greek style yogurt?
You can use normal vegan yogurt instead. Just slightly increase the amount of agar-agar to ensure the cream to thicken properly.
How can I cut the cake into two layers without breaking it?
There are two methods known to me for this procedure. First, if you don’t have a cake wire or flavorless dental floss at hand, try to use a sharp knife instead. Mark the line all around the side of the cake first with toothpicks, then cutting slightly into it. Take a long serrated knife and hold it parallel to the cake surface. Make sure the knife is long enough to reach through the entire diameter of the cake.
Cut and rotate the cake slowly while keeping the knife steady and level with the marked line/toothpicks. Gradually deepen the cut as you rotate the cake. Carefully lift the top layer off the bottom one using an offset spatula or large knife.
The second method uses a cake wire (or some other thin clean wire) or dental floss (maybe you want to use one that has no mint flavor … 😉 ). Mark the line with toothpicks all around the side of the cake. Hold the cake cutting wire or dental floss taut and wrap it arount the cake at the level of the toothpicks. Now pull the wire gently through the cake, keepint it level with the toothpicks and maintaining even pressure. Then carefully lift the top layer using an appropriate tool like a large spatula or knife.
However, in this recipe you can happily see the top layer break into pieces while cutting it. We are going to use it for the cake-pops later.
My cake is still moist inside, what did I do wrong?
If you wonder why your cake is still a little moist inside when you cut it, it is not a mistake! Normally, a cake is supposed to be fluffy and non-sticky. Well, in my household we love it nicely moistured and not too dry. So no worries!
It could be though that this is not the case with your cake. Our gas oven works with bottom heat only, which is a biiig challenge to prepare well cooked baked food … So we found out that sometimes cakes stay moist in the middle while in the outside they are starting to burn … You will very probably use an electric oven and I can imagine that your cake will turn out much more baked inside. In any case, please share your results commenting below!
Bolas de Cenoura (aka Carrot Cake Pops)
Ingredients for the Bolas de Cenoura (carrot cake-pops):
Bolo e Bolas de Cenoura, vegan
Equipment
- 1 food processor
- 1 cake tin Ø24 cm
- ca. 25 toothpicks or cake pop sticks
Ingredients
For the cake
- 400 g carrots
- 220 g cane sugar best raw cane sugar
- 90 g olive oil
- 1/2 orange zest and juice
- 210 g water
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
- 300 g all-purpose flour
- 75 g whole wheat flour
- 1 tbsp baking soda
For the lemon cream
- 350 g greek style soy jogurt
- 1 medium lemon zest and juice
- 1,5 tsp agar-agar
- 1 tsp curcuma powder
- 100 g agave syrup
For the fruit garnish
- ca. 1 bowl strawberries
CAKE POPS
- 1 layer carrot cake
- some plant milk
- 200 g vegan chocolate
- 1 tbsp peanut butter optional
- cashew granules, cinnamon or else for decoration
Instructions
Prepare the Carrot Cake
- Preheat the oven to 180°C and grease the baking tin.
- Peel and cut the carrots in small pieces (if you haven't done that yet). In a food processor, combine the carrots, the sugar, olive oil, orange zest and juice, water and vinegar and process until well combined. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl.
- In a seperate bowl sift together the flour and baking soda. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet miyture, stirring until just combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared baking tin and bake for about 30-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool completely on a wire rack.
Prepare the lemon cream
- Remove the ring from the tin. Carefully cut the cake horizontally a little bit above the middle line (please follow the instructions in the text above). In our recipe, it is not important if the top layer breaks … as we are going to use it for the cake-pops anyway. Place the tin ring around the bottom layer and lock. We want to make sure, the cream won't flow through the chinks …
- In a small saucepan, combine 2,5 spoonfuls of soy yogurt with the agar-agar. Heat over medium heat, stirring constantly until it begins to boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 3-5 minutes, continuing to stir.
- In a bowl, mix the remaining soy yogurt, lemon zest, lemon juice, turmeric powder, and agave syrup. Gradually add the agar-agar mixture to the bowl, stirring until fully combined.
- Pour the lemon cream mixture over the bottom half of the cooled cake in the baking tin. Shake it a little to even the surface. Place the cake with the lemon cream in the freezer for about 1 hour, or until the cream is firm.
Prepare the fruit layer
- Cut the strawberries in slices. Place them one by one on the cream layer. Feel free to do it in circles as I did, or create your own pattern!
- Voilà – the cake is ready to be enjoyed!
CAKE POPS
Prepare the bolas
- In a food processor, cut the top layer of the cake until crumbled. You might need to use a little bit of plant milk or water, but don't use too much!
- With your fingers, form balls of ca. 3 cm diameter. Place the balls on a plate.
- Having finished forming, chill the balls in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes to firm up.
- In the meantime chop the chocolate and melt it on bain-marie (in a heatproof bowl over simmering water). Prepare the set-up and ingredients for the decoration step of the cake-pops (I used cinnamon and granulated cashews for my decoration, feel free to choose whatever you love most!).If you like to have part of the balls infused with peanut flavor, you can seperate the chocolate and add 1 tbsp of peanut butter to one part, mixing well.
- Take the balls out of the fridge. Using two spoons, carefully dip the balls into the hot chocolate. Insert a stick (I used toothpicks as this is what I had at hand) into each cake ball. Let any excess chocolate drip off. For a plain chocolaty cake pop, place it immediately upright in a styrofoam block or, as I did, in a stable fruit like a pear or big apple. For a nutty or cinnamony one, roll it softly in the decoration ingredient of your choice, before placing the ball on the fruit or block.
- Having all the balls covered with chocolate or decoration, place the plate with the balls in the fridge to allow the chocolate to firm. For a quicker enjoyment you can place them in the freezer for ca. 10 minutes or until the chocolate has firmed nicely. Bravo! Enjoy your homemade cake-pops de cenoura!
