Rawvolutionary carrot cake

Prep: 60 mins
Rawvolutionary carrot cake
A healthy version of a family favourite!

For the frosting
1 cup (135g) cashews
½ cup (70g) pine nuts (or more cashews)
½ cup (125ml) light agave nectar or raw honey
3 tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice
2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tbsp finely minced fresh ginger
Scrape of orange zest
Pumpkin seeds, to decorate

For the cake

275g carrots, peeled and grated (2 big carrots)
1 ½ cups (135g) oat flakes
1 cup (140g) regular pitted dates, chopped
1 cup (50g) unsweetened dried pineapple
½ cup (40g) desiccated coconut
Palmful of raisins
2 tbsp maca
1 tbsp water
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground turmeric
Pinch of sea salt flakes
Squeeze of lemon juice

The frosting comes first. Soak the cashews and pine nuts in a large bowl of filtered water for 6 hours or overnight.

In the morning, drain and rinse the soaked nuts. Tumble into a blender with the remaining frosting ingredients (expect the pumpkin seeds) and puree until smooth. You may need an extra bit of juice to loosen it up to a spreadable consistency. Leave aside for now.

Then make the cake. Grate the carrots into your food processer (blenders are too powerful), then tip in the remaining cake ingredients. Pulse until it starts sticking. Taste and high five Mother Nature.

Scrape half of the cake mixture into an 18cm springform tin and press down firmly. Spread half of the frosting on top. Freeze for 30 minutes, until firm. Now spoon in the remaining carrot mixture on top of the frozen cake, press down and top with the remaining frosting. Freeze again.

Store in the freezer in its tin until ready to serve. At this point, carefully remove the cake from the springform tin by manipulating the sides and the base. I sometimes double up on frosting and cover the entire beast, parachuting some pumpkin seeds on top. Fandabbydoozy.

Serves
20

Preparation Time
60 minutes

Main ingredients
Fruit, Spice, Nuts

Recipe Type
Cakes & Baking, Dessert, Healthy, Classics

Cuisine
American

Special Info
Gluten free, Egg free, Vegetarian, Dairy free

Level of Difficulty
Medium

"I freeze the entire cake in nifty slices, ready for their call of duty. One slice will fill your sails. Expect an  afternoon glow to rival that of Saoirse Ronan at the Oscars.
Insoluble fibre has the crafty ability to police our bowels, improving congestion and reducing transit time like a tenacious traffic warden. Oats and dried fruit contain astral amounts of the stuff. Oats have additional bragging rights – all those B vitamins will help recharge spent batteries and frayed nerves, while slow-release carbs will have your toes cha-cha-ing all day long. For more rawesome inspiration, check out Emily von Euw faster than immediately."

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