Bolo de Cenoura

• servings: 8-10
• active time: 30 minutes
• total time: 1.5 hours (+ cooling)

Ingredients

Cake:

342 g carrots, peeled and cut into 1 in chunks (12 oz, about 2 cups)

321 g white sugar (1½ cups)

260 g all-purpose flour

¾ cup coconut cream, not coconut milk (from a 5.4 oz can)

½ cup neutral oil (avocado, vegetable, etc)

3 large eggs

2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp grated orange zest

2 tsp vanilla extract

½ tsp table salt

Glaze:

113 g semisweet chocolate, finely chopped (4 oz)

¼ cup strained orange juice

1 tsp neutral oil

Chocolate sprinkles or cocoa nibs for garnish (optional)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 F with a rack in the middle position. Spray down a cake pan (I like a 12” bundt pan) with baking spray.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt until well combined.

In a blender, combine the carrots, sugar, coconut cream, oil, eggs, orange zest, and vanilla. Blend until smooth, 1-2 minutes. Pour the mixture into the bowl with the dry ingredients, and whisk gently until smooth. Pour into the cake pan when finished.

Bake until the cake is golden brown on the outside and a toothpick comes out clean, about 40-45 minutes. This will vary depending on your cake pan and oven.

Cool in the cake pan on a wire rack for 30 minutes, then loosen the sides with a rubber spatula and invert the cake onto the rack. Let it cool completely at room temperature for 2 hours.

In a small saucepan (or in the microwave), heat the orange juice until it’s just beginning to simmer. Add 3 tbsp of it to a medium bowl with the semisweet chocolate, and let it sit for about 2 minutes. The chocolate should melt by that time, so whisk it together and add the oil.

Let the glaze cool to room temperature and check the consistency. It should be similar to a pourable yogurt. If it’s too thick, add more orange juice 1 tsp at a time to loosen it up.

Transfer the cake to a serving platter and drizzle the glaze evenly onto the cake, allowing it to run down the side. Garnish with sprinkles if using, and let the glaze set for 15 minutes before serving. Enjoy at room temperature.

Notes

A Brazilian carrot cake, often made in the home. It’s a more recent creation, only appearing in cookbooks around the 1960’s. This is different from the American carrot cake in that it has a chocolate glaze, and uses orange to flavor both the cake and the glaze. It’s a great orange-forward not-to-sweet cake that can easily please a crowd.