Almost Done Right: Grain Free, Refined Sugar Free Carrot Cake (SIBO Diet Friendly)

The world appears to have a ton of GAPS, SCD, paleo and grain-free baking websites, books, recipes and Pinterest pins that go on for days.

But if you read the comments on these recipes, this is what you hear, over and over.

"Looks great! Can't wait to try it!"

BOO. You suck. Looks great? I can frost a pile of cat shit and it looks great. Those who comment before trying to bake it should be banned.

But then, it gets worse. I cannot find a recipe measured in weights. And as any person who bakes even once in a while knows, you need weights rather than measurements. Save yourself the dishes, and get it perfectly right. 5 grams of salt, thank you very much - not 1 teaspoon.

So I've been a mad baker the last month, and failing miserably. It's taking something I love and turning into something I hate. It's taking something I was very good at and suddenly teaching it in Cyrillic.

But I've made something good today, and the reason it's "almost done right" is that I didn't weigh my ingredients either! I measured, carefully, and with a bit of my mad baker estimation to round up or down on certain things - but tah-dah! A carrot cake of decent quality! It is, to be sure, VERY carrot-ey. It's not a sugary sweet cake, but it feels pretty close to a cake - a texture missing from my life the last six weeks - and has a nice honey-carrot flavor with the crunch of slivered almonds. Here is the original recipe, followed my version. I'm not crediting the recipe because I think if I made it as-is, it would have tasted like a carrot soufflé and been undercooked. My previous experience with these ingredients has me extremely confident of this pre-judgement.

Someone Else's Coconut Flour Carrot Muffins

• 6 eggs

• 1/2 c coconut oil, melted

• 1/2 c honey

• 2 TB vanilla

• 1/2 tsp sea salt

• 1/2 tsp baking soda

• 2 tsp cinnamon 

• 1/2 c coconut flour 

• 2 c carrots, shredded
• 1/2 c raisins or dried cranberries, optional

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Line 12 muffin cups with liners, or grease with coconut oil.
• Combine the eggs, coconut oil, honey and vanilla in a large bowl or in the bowl of an electric mixer.
• Add in the salt, baking soda and cinnamon.
• Sprinkle the coconut flour over the mixture and then whisk into the batter.
• Mix well so that there aren’t any clumps. Fold in the shredded carrots and raisins or cranberries.
• Use an ice cream scoop to divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups.
• Bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. YUM!

Emily's Coconut Flour Carrot Muffins

• 5 eggs (room temp!!)

• 1/2 c butter

• 1/2 c honey

• 1.5 tablespoons vanilla

• 1 tsp sea salt

• 1 tsp baking soda (leave this out for GAPS, and hope for the best)

• 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice blend 

• 1/2 c coconut flour plus 1 tablespoon

• 2 and 1/8 c shredded carrots (measure after shredding, not before)
• 1/2 c slivered raw almonds

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Grease a 10 x 6 pan with coconut oil.
• Whip butter with electric hand mixer on high for 3 full minutes, until white and fluffy.
• Whip in slightly-warmed honey for 1 minute on high.
• Add the eggs one a time, mix on medium speed, for 30 seconds each. 
• Mix in vanilla extract on high, for 30 seconds.
• Sprinkle in the salt, baking soda and spice mix; stir in well by hand.
• Sprinkle 1/2 cup of the coconut flour over the mixture and then whisk into the batter with mixer on low-medium for 30 seconds. Let batter rest a 3 full minutes. Then whisk again with mixer for 30 seconds on low-medium and if you feel like it needs the extra tablespoon of flour, whisk it in now. 
• Fold in carrot and almonds gently. Pour into prepared pan. 
• Bake 40 minutes or until firm to the touch in the center, and evenly brown underneath (use a glass pan). YUM!