The ACE cake is a soft and delicate dessert, perfect for breakfast or snacks for the whole family. Inspired by the famous ACE fruit juice, this recipe combines orange and lemon juice and zest with grated carrots, creating a cake with a unique texture and a fresh and light flavor. As many know, the name ACE refers to vitamins A, C, and E, contained in the main ingredients of the juice, which are also present, albeit in much smaller quantities, in this recipe. It’s very easy to prepare: just a few ingredients are enough to bake a healthy and genuine cake that enhances the natural sweetness of carrots, a vegetable with a delicate taste. The same sweetness found in similar desserts like the carrot cupcakes or the carrot and almond cake. The ACE cake captivates with simplicity and genuineness, bringing a touch of color and joy to every moment of the day. Try it and be surprised by how good it is!
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- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very cheap
- Preparation time: 25 Minutes
- Portions: 8 People
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
- Energy 223.31 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 39.35 (g) of which sugars 18.82 (g)
- Proteins 4.79 (g)
- Fat 6.28 (g) of which saturated 1.01 (g)of which unsaturated 4.85 (g)
- Fibers 0.88 (g)
- Sodium 18.18 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 86 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients for a 20 cm diameter ACE cake
If you are celiac, instead of all-purpose flour you can use 180 finely ground rice flour + 50 g potato starch. However, make sure the following ingredients are labeled “gluten-free”: rice flour, potato starch, baking powder, powdered sugar.
- 2 eggs (medium)
- 150 g carrots
- 230 g all-purpose flour (or 180 rice flour + 50 g potato starch)
- 1 orange (unwaxed)
- 1 lemon (unwaxed)
- 130 g sugar
- 40 g sunflower seed oil
- 10 g baking powder
- to taste powdered sugar
Tools
- 1 Grater
- 1 Citrus juicer
- 1 Blender
- 1 Stand Mixer
- 1 Sieve
- 1 Spatula
- 1 Cake Pan 20 cm diameter
- Parchment paper
How to prepare the ACE cake – orange, carrot, and lemon
To prepare the ACE cake, first grate the zest of the orange and lemon, taking care not to scrape the white part which would be bitter (1). Then squeeze the juice with a citrus juicer (2). In total, you should obtain 90 g of juice, choosing the proportion between orange and lemon juice based on your taste: I used 60 g of orange juice and 30 g of lemon juice. Peel the carrots and cut them into pieces. Put them in a blender and chop them finely (3). If you prefer, you can grate them.
In a bowl, crack the eggs and add the sugar (4). Whisk them with the electric whisks or with the wire whisk of the stand mixer, until they are pale and frothy. At this point, add the chopped carrots (5), the grated orange and lemon zest, and the sunflower seed oil (6).
Also pour in the orange and lemon juice (7). Work the batter again with the whisks to perfectly blend all the ingredients. Then set the whisks aside and take a sieve and a spatula. Sift the flour (or rice flour and potato starch) and the baking powder into the bowl (8). Gently fold them into the batter using the spatula, with slow movements to avoid deflating it. At the end, you will get a fairly fluid mixture (9).
Line a 20 cm diameter cake pan with parchment paper, pour in the batter, and level it well with the spatula (10). Bake the ACE cake in the preheated oven at 356°F (static) for 45-50 minutes. Before taking it out of the oven, test the doneness with a skewer, which should come out dry. Take it out and let it cool completely before removing it from the pan (11).
Serve the ACE cake for breakfast or as a snack, lightly dusted with powdered sugar.
Storage
The ACE cake stays soft for 4 or 5 days if stored in a cake container or under a glass dome.
Tips and Variations
As mentioned, the ratio between orange juice and lemon juice can vary according to personal taste. Use more orange juice for a sweeter cake, while if you prefer a slightly tangy note, increase the dose of lemon juice. The essential thing is that the total sum of the two juices is 90 ml.
