Low fodmap mini carrot cakes

I’ve been craving a good juice carrot cake lately with lashings of slightly tart cream cheese frosting. In good news, most of the ingredients have generous low fodmap serving sizes. However, oil, butter, cream cheese - these ingredients are high in fat which can affect gut motility and trigger gut health symptoms. My solution is to convert a traditional round cake into 14 mini carrot cakes - that way you can indulge in the fabulous flavours without going overboard. I added orange juice and zest to the frosting, but you could use lemon if you prefer extra tartness!

CAKE MIX:

• 100g raw caster sugar

• 75g brown sugar

• 175ml sunflower or canola oil

• 220g (2 medium sized) carrots, grated

• 175g gluten-free flour (I used White Wings Gluten-free Plain Flour)

• 10g baking powder

• 6g bi-carb soda

• 3g cinnamon

• 2g nutmeg

• 50g walnuts, chopped (the recommended low fodmap serving size is 30g per person)

• 50g pecans, chopped (the recommended low fodmap serving size is 30g per person)

FROSTING:

• 225g lactose-free cream cheese, softened

• 70g butter, cut into small cubes

• 195g icing sugar

• 1/2 orange, juiced and grated zest (Do you like an extra zesty frosting? If so, replace the orange with 1/2 lemon juiced and zested).

DECORATIONS:

• 20g walnuts

• 20g pecans

• Drizzle of maple syrup

• Pinch of rock salt

• A small fist of green pepitas & extra orange zest

METHOD

1. Preheat oven to 175C.

2. Whisk sugars and oil using an electric mixer. Add 1 egg at a time until well combined and the mixture goes thick and creamy.

3. Grate carrots. I didn’t bother peeling them first. Stir in the grated carrots to the egg mix.

4. Place a sift on top of your mixing bowl and tare the scales. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Sieve and then stir. The cake mix will look quite runny but don’t be alarmed.

   I used a 12-cup silicone mini loaf pan and the mix was enough to make 14 mini cakes.

5. Place in the oven for 18 mins. Test with a toothpick at 15 minutes.

6. While the oven is still on, candy some pecan and walnut bits (20g each) with a drizzle of maple syrup and rock salt. Cook in the oven for 10-12 mins or until golden.

7. For the frosting, combine ingredients in an electric mixer and beat for 3 minutes. If you can’t find lactose-free cream cheese, prepare the frosting and add 8 drops of Lacteeze (lactase enzymes), cover and refrigerate overnight. The frosting may go stiff overnight so take it out 15 mins before serving and beat it again before icing your cake(s).

8. Add decorations as desired.

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