Carrot cake holds a special place in my heart-it’s my father’s favorite dessert so we would always have carrot cake on his birthday growing up. This year we even picked the restaurant for his 80th birthday celebration based on the carrot cake cupcakes they have on their menu!
Of course, those weren’t vegan or raw, so I decided to try a raw vegan spiced carrot cake this week. I especially loved the carrot cake layer, and thought it would make a great energy bar or bliss ball as well. Stay tuned, maybe I’ll try that soon as well 🙂
The little carrot spirals that I decorated the tops of the cake with are made by peeling a carrot lengthwise and curling up the strips in my hand and pressing them into the frosting.
Carrot Cake {raw vegan}
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Reimagining a classic dessert as a raw vegan treat, made with almonds, walnuts, raisins and shredded carrot.
Author: Rachel Carr
Recipe type: Dessert
Cuisine: Raw Vegan
Serves: 6-8 servings
Ingredients
Carrot Cake:
- 1½ cups walnuts, ground into a fine meal
- 1½ cups fine almond meal
- 2 tablespoons psyllium
- 2 tablespoons pumpkin pie spice
- 1½ cup raisins
- ½ cup shredded carrot
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- 2 tablespoons almond butter
Frosting:
- 3 dates, pitted
- 1½ cups cashews, soaked 2 hours or overnight
- ⅓ cup water (plus more as needed)
- ⅓ cup coconut oil, melted
- juice of 1 lemon
- 1 tablespoon agave, maple syrup, or date syrup
- 1½ tablespoons non GMO soy lecithin granules
Instructions
For the carrot cake:
- Line an 8" square cake pan with plastic wrap that goes all the way up the sides.
- To make the carrot cake, place the walnuts into a food processor with the S blade. Pulse until the walnuts have been turned into a fine meal. Add the almond meal, psyllium and pumpkin pie spice and pulse until well combined. Add the raisins, shredded carrot, coconut oil, and almond butter. Pulse a few more times until the dough begins to stick together. Make sure everything is well mixed.
- Press the carrot cake layer into an 8" square lined in plastic. Press firmly into the pan. Set aside.
For the frosting:
- Place the dates, cashews, water, coconut oil, lemon juice, agave, and lecithin granules in a blender and blend until smooth. This is a very thick mixture and you might need to add a little more water to help the blender work the mixture. When the mixture is completely blended, pour on top of the carrot cake mixture that is pressed into the pan. Place in the refrigerator and allow to chill for 1-2 hours, or until the frosting is set.
- Remove the carrot cake from the pan and store refrigerated on a tray covered with plastic. for up to a week. Garnish with carrot curls and chopped walnuts if desired.
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