A Cool Carrot Cake for Warm Weather

Coconut flour varies greatly between brands. We prefer Bob’s Red Mill coconut flour for these cakes because it is moister. Since unsweetened, shredded coconut is also dry, you may need to add the water gradually or add more water to get to the desired texture. It’s Gluten Free and Dairy Free, too.

Ingredients:

FOR THE RAW CASHEW FROSTING:

• 1½ cups raw cashews, soaked at least 2 hours and up to 12 hours
• ½ cup almond milk
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• ¼ cup honey
• Juice of 1 lemon
• Pinch of sea salt
• ¼ cup raw coconut oil, melted on low heat

FOR THE CAKE:

• 10 dates, pitted (about 1 cup)
• ½ cup purified water (plus more for blending)
• 1 cup raw walnut pieces and halves
• 1 cup raw coconut flour
• 1 Tbs. ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp. ground ginger
• 1½ tsp. sea salt
• ¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon raw coconut oil, melted on low heat
• 1½ cups finely grated carrots (2 large)
• Zest of 1 orange
• 3 Tbs. orange juice
• 2 Tbs. raw honey, raw coconut nectar, raw agave or maple syrup
• ½ cup shredded unsweetened coconut
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

1. To make frosting: In a blender, puree cashews, almond milk, vanilla, honey, lemon juice and salt until smooth. Slowly add melted coconut oil, blending until combined; refrigerate.
2. To make cake: Place dates and ½ cup water in a bowl; soak for 10 minutes. Drain dates, reserving water.
3. Pulse walnuts in a food processor until they resemble coarse flour. Add coconut flour, cinnamon, ginger and salt. Give the mixture a few pulses until combined. Transfer mixture to a bowl.
4. In the food processor, blend soaked dates with 1 tablespoon reserved date water until a paste forms. Scrape date paste into a separate large bowl and add melted coconut oil, grated carrots, orange zest and juice, sweetener, shredded coconut and vanilla. Add ¼ cup reserved date water; stir until combined.
5. Add flour mixture to carrot mixture and stir to combine. (Add more date water as needed until batter is moist.)
6. To form cake or cupcakes: Press “batter” into a plastic wrap–lined cake pan or muffin tin. Then pull sides of plastic wrap to lift cake out of mold. Ice the top of the cake or cupcake. To make miniature layered cakes, use a 4-ounce cylinder juice glass to cut out small cake-layer rounds. Frost and stack the layers. Garnish with additional raw walnuts, cinnamon and/or a bit of grated carrot.

PER LAYERED CUPCAKE: 371 cal, 26g fat (5g mono, 6g poly, 14g sat), 0mg chol, 248mg sodium, 29g carb (7g fiber, 17g sugars), 7g protein

SOURCE: The recipe by Carsen Snyder is posted by permission Delicious Living (and its parent company New Hope Network), a trusted voice in the natural living community for 30 years.