Carrot Cake!

[sarahfae]

I have to give HUGE props to The Sage Avocado for this one.
Her recent post (in addition to our comments/conversation) on Carrot Cake made me almost instantly RUN to my kitchen because I wanted to try my hand at making my own version of raw Carrot Cake.

I have never considered myself to be anywhere close to a "baker", and have never been successful in the kitchen when it comes to baking sweets. Even boxed cakes have turned out horrible when in my hands.
But in spite of my fears I took on the idea of a raw Carrot Cake, and pulled out all the stops.

The results? Well, just wow...


   raw carrot cake - paired with frozen chocolate-banana fudge



Yeah. If you think it looks good, I swear to you it tastes even better! My Mom didn't believe me when I told her it was raw. Eeeeee! I just can't seem to stop being all giddy about this one!!


Not too bad for my first home-made from scratch cake eh?


This may look big, but it's actually only about a six inch cake. Perfect size because it's very decadent and rich.



Raw Carrot Cake with Vanilla/Coconut Frosting
 
2 C Finely ground Carrot - do this in a food proccessor, be sure to squeeze away any  access liquid from the ground carrot - set Carrot aside in a bowl 
1 C finely ground Sunflower Seeds - do this in a coffee grinder if you can - set aside ground sunflower seeds in a bowl

In a food proccessor place: 
5 Medjool dates - pitted
Half of a Coconut - just the meat - (You could sub 1 cup dried coconut instead of the fresh if you'd like to - I will next time because getting the meat out of a coconut is NO fun)
1/4 C raw cane sugar /// or 2-3 tbsp Stevia 
2 tsp All Spice
1 tsp Nutmeg
3-4 tsp Cinnamon
Dash of salt

- Blend/Chop all of the ingredients very well in the food proccessor. 
- Empty contents of food proccessor into a mixing bowl, add the Carrot and ground Sunflower Seeds, folding in until evenly mixed.
- Divide cake batter in half and form into equal sized patties, roughly one inch in thickness.
- Place cakes into food dehydrator for 5 hours, turn them over and dehydrate for another 5 hours.
- Place the cakes in the fridge over night to chill --- while they are chilling they will firm up perfectly.  

Vanilla-Coconut Frosting

2 C raw cashews
4 Medjool dates (pitted)
4 Tbsp Coconut Butter
2 tsp Lemon juice
1/4 C Agave
3 tsp Vanilla
Dash of salt
3/4 C water 

Blend well in food proccessor (for roughly 5 minutes)

 

Comments

[langelbleu.livejournal.com]

OH MY GAWD!
That looks DEEVINE!

[blushingmad.livejournal.com]

Ooh. yummmy. My mom loves carrot cake, I might just have to make this.

Do you also happen to have the recipe for the chocolate banana fudge?!

[pigeon-master.livejournal.com]

Ooooo that looks so yummy and I love how it's not very nut-based like a lot of raw things :)

Is there anything you can substitute raw cane sugar with?

[synchronaut.livejournal.com]

That looks amazing. Nice touch with the floral accent; it really complements the cake.

[http://users.livejournal.com/hajari_/]

Is there a way to make this without a dehydrator?

[lizardphunk.livejournal.com]

Holy crap!

And I even have the ingredients lying around! :D

[pippappip.livejournal.com]

hello! i hope you don't mind, but i just added you. not to be offensive, but i could never eat the way you do, however i just LOVE looking at your food photos. every time you post in food_porn, it amazes me how creative you are.

i will say one thing though - this carrot cake looks ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS!

[lyn-lyn.livejournal.com]

as soon as I get a decent food processor [come on, bridal showers!], i'm so making this!!! gosh, it looks DIVINE.
i second blushingmad... where can we find the recipe for the fudge?

[sotepetsenu.livejournal.com]

Hmmm, and I'd been wondering what to do with those carrots in the fridge! I only bought them because they had the greens attached and carrot greens are my bunnies' favourites...

I also want to mention, I've made two of your raw cheeze powders and HOMGZ are they delicious!!!!!

[laceyslostlove.livejournal.com]

does your dehydrator run constantly? which one do you have? how has it affected your electric bill?
also.
which food processor do you have? i have a cuisineart and though it's from Williams-Sonoma and has great consumer reviews, it sucks.

[xseitanistx.livejournal.com]

You are amazing.

[emilyrugbrn.livejournal.com]

Not to be a party pooper, but raw cane sugar does not fit into "raw food" as it is heated and processed. It's a nice recipe, but the cane sugar is what ruins it and makes it a cooked recipe.

[crescentmuse.livejournal.com]

This sounds so much better than Ani's recipe that I made mine from. I'm going to have to make your recipe and tell you what I think. I think using the whole carrot instead of the carrot pulp is a MUCH better idea. Also the coconut butter in the icing sounds so delicious!!

It looks absolutely divine too!

[dolmadez.livejournal.com]

I want this.

[beatle2102.livejournal.com]

I'm not big on random LJ friending, but you cook such amazing food that I can't help myself! It's so wonderful to see yummy food that is both raw and vegan AND is natural -- thank you!

[lilhappyfamily.livejournal.com]

That's your FIRST CAKE? Wow! It looks like it's out of a magazine. Gorgeous!

[anotherjen.livejournal.com]

I'm not remotely a raw-foodie, though I do try to eat healthy (lots of produce, whole grains, etc). I was cruising the LJ community out of curiosity, and I am going to copy your recipe to make myself. It looks delicious.

Edit: Oh whoops, I see it requires a dehydrator. Hmm, maybe I could borrow one.