Spiced Carrot Magic Bean Cake (includes Thermomix method)

Ohhh these magic bean cakes - they're so addictive...

Whether or not you're eating gluten free (and dairy free and grain free), this is just the most moist and delicious carrot cake! If you do eat gluten free, and you've ever bought any kind of gluten free carrot cake... you'll *know* how absolutely awful they are. Dry. Gritty. Tasteless. And just generally really appallingly bleeeeeuuurgh! (Which reminds me, I still haven't taken back the pack of GF carrot cake slices we bought a couple of weeks ago out of curiousity, and could not eat because they really were that bad... hence the inspiration to make my own. It was actually the first time in my whole life I've genuinely found a cake that bad I've considered taking it back to a shop...)

         

Anyway, I digress. This is definitely not bad carrot cake (although it might be naughty), it is goooood carrot cake! I made it for my son's birthday and he loved it! Now, I'm no Mary Berry, and so occasionally I may resort to unconventional techniques to get my cakes just as I want them. And I'm always open to tips from those more experienced than I am. But let's face it - who *is* Mary Berry? (Apart from Mary Berry of course, who you can always rely on for amazing recipes and elegant twinsets). Most of us go through life trying our best to avoid soggy bottoms and cracked tops and even more unspeakable things, and winging it along the way - and in my opinion, any tips to end up with a good cake, are good tips!

So here's my recipe for spiced carrot cake, a la magic bean cake. You can leave the nuts off the topping, and out of the cake if you want to avoid them (or substitute for a mixture of pine nuts / sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds, roughly chopped, for a nutty texture), and you can use an orange drizzle icing in a lacy pattern over the top if you want to avoid dairy (see options). Plus, instead of making a tray bake cake, you could make this as muffins or fairy cakes / cupcakes, using an appropriate tin lined with cake cases.

Makes 24 portions. 140 calories per portion of carrot cake, plus 37 calories for light cream cheese topping with walnuts (see below), or 46 calories if using full fat cream cheese and walnuts; or an extra 29 calories per portion for orange drizzle icing.

Raspberry Bakewell Magic Bean Cake (or Cherry Bakewell) - includes Thermomix method

Easy to make, moist and delicious, NO taste of beans (no, really!), and incredibly versatile.

And if you just can't decide whether to go for raspberry or cherry, the beauty of this is that you can make it half and half!

Cherry Bakewell on the top tier, Raspberry Bakewell below (all cooked in the same cake tin).

Moist and almond-y, this makes a great traybake cake and you'll have fun getting people trying to guess what the 'secret ingredient is'! (They won't).This would also be excellent with plums, apricots, nectarines or peaches (cut into quarters or eighths, depending on the size of the fruit) when they're in season, as stone fruits all go really well with almond flavours. The type of fruit you use will dictate how dense the cake is, and what kind of rise you get - e.g. cherries naturally sink towards the bottom and the top rises more, whereas raspberries sit on the top, weighing the cake down more and giving you a more dense, moist result - more of a 'slice' (as you can see above). This is best made in a 9 inch / 22.5cm square tin (or rectangular tin of a similar area).

Cherries to the left, raspberries to the right!

 Another great bonus of this cake, is that not only is it gluten free and grain free, you can also make it dairy free if you want, by using coconut oil (the solid white variety, preferably extra virgin) instead of butter. It's good as a hot dessert too, and needs less cooking time for this (see method).

 This cake gives you 16 portions from 210 calories per serving; or cut into 20, for 168 calories per portion.

If you wish to bake it as a round cake in a smaller,, taller tin, pour in half of the batter, scatter the raspberries over that (I'm not sure I'd recommend trying this with cherries), then pour the rest of the batter on top and adjust the cooking time accordingly. Alternatively, bake as individual little cupcakes / muffins and reduce the cooking time to around 20 minutes - pushing the raspberries into each muffin (or even stir into the mix) before baking rather than leaving them on top. [Calories in square brackets below]

Coconut and Lemon Magic Bean Cake (includes Thermomix method)

So, travelling beyond the original dark and decadent chocolate 'Magic Bean Cake', here is a more summery version...

Moist and zingy, with little crunches from the coconut and a slightly crumbly texture - if you love lemon cakes, you will love this and you'll have fun getting people trying to guess what the 'secret ingredient is'! (They won't).

Another great bonus of this cake, is that it's gluten free, grain free and nut free (coconuts are seeds, see here for more information regarding allergies and make sure you check with anyone with a nut allergy), and you can also make it dairy free if you want, by using coconut oil (the solid white variety, preferably extra virgin) instead of butter!

I find that because the cake is so rich and moist, you don't need much - between four of us, we only managed to demolish a quarter at the first sitting, having a couple of modest slices each. It's gorgeous served with fresh raspberries, blackberries or strawberries and a dollop of Greek yoghurt, whipped cream or creme fraiche - maybe with a little lemon curd swirled in if you're being naughty!

I'd say this serves 16, if you cook in a ring tin and cut into slices about 1.5 to 2cm (as in photo) and have a couple or so per serving. 188 calories for a 16th of the cake serving on this basis. Or if you just want a little treat, have the one small slice instead of two, for 94 calories! Alternatively, bake as individual little cupcakes / muffins and reduce the cooking time to around 20 minutes - you could even push a few raspberries into each muffin before baking, and sprinkle with a little extra dessicated coconut. [Calories in square brackets below]

Chocolate Buttercream / Icing / Frosting (includes Thermomix method)

Rich, chocolatey and best reserved for special occasions!

This will easily cover a cake up to 30cm / 12inches, and is delicious on fairy cakes / cupcakes etc. too. You can also use to sandwich a cake together - it should do two layers if you don't spread it too thickly. The cake won't need to be refrigerated, although you can do if you wish, and the icing will become firm if you do.

It's very quick to whip up and easy to spread or pipe. Here it's been spread rather generously on a chocolate 'Magic Bean Cake' (recipe here).

Magic Bean Cake

So, the mysterious and legendary 'Magic Bean Cake' has landed...

Dark and decadent, rich, moist and deeply chocolate-y, if you love chocolate, you will love this. It's a real keeper, and you'll have fun getting people trying to guess what the 'secret ingredient is'! (They won't).

This cake is a bit of a sensation - there are versions everywhere now. I originally started off with a version from the Australian Thermomix recipe community (there's even more than one there!) and wanted to convert it and share my version with my friends who don't have a Thermomix or similar (this method also includes the Thermomix instructions in italics - ignore anything in italics if you're not using a Thermomix).

I find that because the cake is so rich and moist, you don't need much - between four of us, we only managed to demolish a quarter, having a couple of modest slices each. It's gorgeous served with raspberries, blackberries or strawberries and a dollop of whipped cream, creme fraiche or thick and creamy yoghurt (we had it with home-made yoghurt made with creamy milk from Jersey cows and little wild strawberries picked from the back garden - yum!), and would be to-die-for with some dark cherries, especially if just simmered down a little with some of their juice and a little sugar... the possibilities are endless (see tips for more ideas and flavours for cooking the cake)!

I'd say this serves 16, if you cook in a ring tin and cut into slices about 1.5 to 2cm (as in photo), and have a couple or so per serving. 160 calories for a 16th of the cake serving on this basis. Or if you just want a little treat, have the one small slice instead of two, for 80 calories! [Calories in square brackets below]