Growing up, I was always taking pictures. Of everything. My love affair started with a classic pink Polaroid camera and I would save up my allowance to buy new film.
Once I got my first point and shoot digital camera, I rarely left home without it. My family would always teasingly call me, ‘the little tourist’ because I took pictures of EVERYTHING…every moment…everyone…nothing could escape my wrath!
I never expected that my love for photography would blossom into a real hobby in my adult life. Eric bought a Canon DSLR in 2007 and I was so intimidated by it, I didn’t start using it for my blog photos for over two years! Over time, he was able to convince me (and show me) the difference a professional camera (and lens) could make in a photo with the right knowledge.
Let’s take a look at comparisons of my Point and Shoot Camera (Canon Powershot SD800) vs. our Canon EOS 30D. These are unedited photos (except the very last one).
My Canon Powershot SD800 on the macro setting: (no tripod)
Canon EOS 30D with Canon 50 mm 1.4 macro lens: (no tripod)
Check out the colour difference!!! You may also note that the second picture is a bit blurry. That is because I was shooting without a tripod in very low light.
This is the Canon EOS 30D with Canon 50 mm 1.4 macro lens WITH A TRIPOD:
Much more crisp!
Tripods steady the camera when shooting and result in a sharper image. Once I saw the difference a tripod makes, I never went back! Yes, tripods are a pain in the butt and it does take longer to shoot, but to me it is so worth it.
Again, this is the Canon EOS 30D with Canon 50 mm 1.4 macro lens WITH A TRIPOD:
And because I shoot in RAW format, I edit my photos with Lightroom:
All I did was make tiny increases the clarity, contrast, vibrancy, and saturation.
So why all this camera talk? Well, after my carrot loaf shoot yesterday it really hit me how much I love food photography. Nothing is better than looking on the camera screen and getting excited by the shots.
Ok, ok, it also helped that I took a nibble of this loaf and it tasted great!
I kept telling myself, do not eat the slice, do not eat the slice…and then I was like ‘forget that’ and I took a bite! I think it gives the picture more character anyways. ;)
Oh She Glows
Whole-Grain Vegan Carrot Cake Loaf with Lemon Glaze
Lightly adapted from Sweet Freedom. Glaze from Blissfully Vegan.
Yield: 1 small loaf, eight 1-inch slices
Ingredients:
- 1.5 cups finely grated carrot, unpacked
- 1 tbsp ground flax seed
- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
- 3/4 cup almond milk (or other non-dairy milk)
- 1/3 cup light extra virgin olive oil (or oil of choice)
- 1.5 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 tsp freshly grated lemon zest
- 1.5 cups whole grain spelt flour
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 cup raisins, soaked for 10 minutes & drained
- 1/4 cup walnuts, chopped
- Lemon glaze: 1/2 cup icing sugar whisked with 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice (or to taste)
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350F and line a small loaf pan (20cm x11cm x 6cm) with parchment. Lightly grease the parchment and sides of pan with oil and set aside. Note that the original recipe used an 8”x8” square pan so that would also work.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together the grated carrot, ground flax, pure maple syrup, almond milk, oil, vanilla, vinegar, and lemon zest. Set aside for at least two minutes while you gather the dry ingredients.
3. In another large sized bowl, whisk together the spelt flour, cinnamon, ginger, baking powder & soda, and salt. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and stir until just combined (a few dry spots may remain). Fold in the raisins and chopped walnuts. Be careful not to overmix as spelt is a very delicate flour.
4. Pour into prepared pan and bake at 350F for 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes in the pan, and then transfer the loaf to a wire rack to cool completely. Drizzle on lemon glaze just before serving. Serves eight 1” slices. May be frozen.
I made this loaf for our family Easter get together this weekend. Ricki says that the loaf freezes well, so after the shoot, I froze the loaf (just until the glaze froze), and then wrapped it tightly two times with plastic wrap and placed it into an air-tight container. It should keep nice and fresh for Saturday!
I was also amazed at how much impact something as simple as a glaze could make in a photo.
The glaze just makes the loaf look so much more interesting, doesn’t it? I also love how it drips through the rack onto the parchment.
This is quite a dense loaf because spelt doesn’t rise much, but the nutty flavour really makes up for its short stature.
Once I drizzled the glaze over this loaf, the lemon really stole the show and I found myself almost forgetting that I was eating a carrot loaf! If you are not a lemon fan, I’m sure you can sub almond milk (or any milk) for the lemon juice and create a traditional glaze. I’m sure the glaze would also be very good with a pinch of cinnamon in it too!
Our power went out last night due to a CRAZY thunderstorm, so I need to go reset all the clocks!
{ 149 comments… read them below or add one }
This was absolutely AMAZING! Thanks for sharing.
You truly rock. I am going to make this as soon as I get home from my vacation! Love that it’s whole grain and not overly sweetened.
Awesomeness in a loaf! I made this last night and it went down a treat. I really love the lemon zest in the mixture.
Thanks for such a wonderful and inspiring site, Angela :)
Absolutely delicious recipe. I just baked a loaf and I’m eating it while it’s still steaming (don’t think it even needs the glaze, though that would probably take it to an even higher level of deliciousness). I’m definitely going to be making this again! Love how moist and dense the bread is. Pairs really well with non-fat greek yogurt as a spread btw. :)
So I’m just going to skip ahead to the recipe part. This was absolutely delicious. It came together so fast and disappeared in less than a day. You cannot break this recipe. Maple syrup is ridiculously expensive where I am (Australia) so I used 1/4 cup maple syrup and 1/4 brown sugar – I might try it with all brown sugar next time. I didn’t have flax so added a teaspoon of commercial egg replacer (just a mix of potato starch, some other starches and xanthan gum), used soy milk and very fine whole wheat flour, and skipped the walnuts and glaze. Crazily moist and rich tasting. I think the walnut would have added a little something though, I’m buying some today to give this another go.
glad to hear that!
I love the ingredients in this recipe. It is difficult to find a wholesome recipe for carrot cake. Your photo with the glaze dripping down the sides of the bread is making my mouth water. I cannot wait to make this recipe. It will be on my list for the weekend and I know it will get eaten fast, I can tell!
I hope you like it, it’s a fav of mine
Can I substitute all purpose flour or whole wheat flour for the spelt flour?
Hey Lindsay,
Sorry for the delay in reply – I missed your comment somehow. I havent tried subbing a different flour, but I would assume it works. I suggest reading the comments to see if anyone else tried it out. Goodluck!
So I attempted to make this tonight…:( it was burnt on the outside and gooey in the inside :( I give up on cooking lol
Sorry to hear that! Have you tested your true oven temp recently? Sometimes that causes huge issues. You can pick up oven ther. in most kitchen stores.
I made this and it was soooo good! The only thing is that it did not raise llike shown in the pic. It kind of sunk a bit in the middle. Any suggestions? I didnt forget anything.
Hey Jenna, Sorry that it didn’t rise for you! I would check your baking soda to make sure it’s active (just combine a bit with vinegar and if it fizzes, it’s active). You might want to also check your oven temp. Pick up a thermometer and just made sure it’s heating at the temp it says it is. Many ovens are off by quite a bit. Hope this helps & better luck next time!
going to try this TODAY! Can I use honey instead of the maple syrup?
Hey Joy, Im not too sure! Honey is thicker than maple syrup so it could impact the overall result. Let me know if you do try it out!
Hi Angela, I did try it. it tastes fine to me. I don’t know what the one with the maple syrup is like so i have nothing to compare. Just eating another piece now and even cold it still tastes nice. Thanks!
glad to hear that it worked for you!
I love your recipes. I have been enjoying them for several months. I find your site is the one I keep coming back too. I made these with my 2.5 year old. He wanted to make muffins, so we put them in a muffin tin. They came out great. It was the first muffin/cake item that I gave my 10 month old too. I found them plenty sweet, so the next time we make them, I will cut back to 1/4 cup maple syrup. We try to keep the sugars low in our family. I would love any ideas you have for vegan kids snacks and kid-friendly family meals.
ANGELA, seriously, you are my hero. I wanted to cut down on the oil (ended up using about 2TB), so I added some extra almond milk and flax, and replaced some of the maple syrup with sucanat. LET ME TELL YOU, my partner, who is by no means vegan, proclaimed this as the Best Thing Ever and practically ordered me to make it again as soon as we devoured the first loaf. And I even left off the glaze. A year ago, he would have probably choked at the idea of a vegan, spelt flour, no-real-sugar carrot cake, but today he’s gobbling up every last bit! Thanks for always providing such healthy, interesting, delicious recipes that don’t make me feel like my diet is “missing” something.
I just made this cake and it tastes SO good! can’t wait to have another piece for supper. :)
Mmm! Thank you for the AMAZING RECIPE! I saw this and I knew it is the carrot cake of my dreams! I subbed apple sauce for oil, but everything else I made exactly as in the recipe. The result is soooo tasty! I already ate more than 1/4 the cake myself! The glaze is also delicious. Thank you so much! I just discovered the OSG blog last week, and I am thrilled for all of these fabulously creative vegan recipes! Thank you Angela!