Grain-free carrot, lemon & hazelnut babycakes

The change of season means I'm embracing warm spice in much of my cooking. Both sweet and savoury dishes feel that much more comforting with the addition of well-matched spices.

This recipe is one of my favourites from my first cookbook "Wholehearted'. It's the first one I've shared from the book and I'm looking forward to sharing a few others over the coming months. You can grab a signed copy of the book HERE or find it at all good book stores. I so appreciate all the support of the book thus far!

These lovely little cakes are great for morning and afternoon tea as well as for celebrations (Mothers Day is almost upon us!). The recipe incorporates traditional carrot cake flavours into a gluten and grain-free base of hazelnut meal, almond meal and coconut. My recipe has much less sugar too, which means I'm happy to share these with Bonnie (Miss nearly-five)

The ingredient list might look a little lengthy but truly the whole process is really straightforward. Most of the work is done in a food processor.

The cakes will freeze brilliantly when not topped with the cream cheese so if you don't think you'll eat the whole batch, just ice the ones you'll need and freeze the others until you need them. They'll last up to 1 month in the freezer.

Have a wonderful weekend. Keep warm. Kelly xox

Grain-free carrot, hazelnut & lemon babycakes

Makes 12 small cakes

100g room-temperature butter – cut into cubes

½ cup (100g) coconut sugar or light muscovado sugar

1 ripe banana – lightly mashed

5 free-range eggs

Zest of 2 lemons

1 teaspoon good quality vanilla essence

1 rounded teaspoon gluten-free baking powder

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

½ teaspoon ground cardamom

2 cups (220g) hazelnut meal

1 cup (110g) almond meal

½ cup (50g) desiccated coconut

1 ½ cups (140g) grated carrot

¾ cup (95g) sultanas or raisins

Topping

250g plain cream cheese

25g room-temperature butter – cut into cubes

½ teaspoon vanilla powder or seeds from 1 vanilla pod

1 rounded tablespoon honey

Preheat oven to 170c (335f).

Place the butter and sugar in a food processor and run until creamy. Add the banana, eggs, lemon zest, vanilla, baking powder and spices. Run the machine until thoroughly mixed, scraping the sides as necessary.

Add the hazelnut meal, almond meal and coconut. Process until well combined.

Spoon the batter into a large bowl and mix the carrot and sultanas through.

Place paper cupcake cases inside the holes of a 12-hole muffin tray. Spoon the batter evenly into each case. Bake for 30–35 minutes until a skewer comes out clean when inserted. Leave to cool completely before topping.

Use an electric beater or a food processor to whip together the topping ingredients. Spread over each cake using a palate knife or wide knife.

Store in the fridge in an airtight container for up to four days.