I’m not normally a raw-carrot person, but the above was as dreamy as it looks. And now I’m still dreaming about it! I almost didn’t make it, though. When I looked through the cookbook, Raw for Dessert, I folded down a lot of recipes! Cashew Cream, Crème Brulée, Chocolate Pudding, and on and on. These recipes seemed simple enough, with few ingredients and steps. And anyone who knows me knows that I am intimidated by long-winded recipes. But this time, I decided to challenge myself: find a long recipe that sounded good, and go for it! This is how I settled upon the Raw Spice Cake, a recipe I normally would’ve shied away from due to its extensive ingredient list.
Raw Carrot Cake
(Reprinted with permission, with CCK’s carrot-cake addition)
Yield: one 6-inch cake (8 servings)
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup raw almonds (unsoaked)
- 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded dried coconut (CCK omitted)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- Pinch ground nutmeg
- 1 cup raw walnuts (unsoaked)
- 1 cup raw pecans (unsoaked)
- 8 pitted medjool dates
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup or dark agave syrup (CCK omitted)
- 1/4 to 1/2c shredded carrot (CCK special addition)
Place the almonds, coconut, cinnamon, ginger, salt, cloves, and nutmeg in a food processor fitted with the S blade and process until finely ground. Add the walnuts and pecans and process until finely ground. Add the dates and orange zest and process until the mixture begins to stick together. Add the raisins, maple syrup, and carrots, and process briefly to incorporate. Line a 6-inch cake pan with a parchment-paper round. Pour the nut mixture into the pan and distribute it evenly. Press down with your hand to compact. To serve, run a knife around the edge of the pan to loosen the cake. Place a serving plate upside down on top of the cake pan. Invert, then lift the pan off. Remove the parchment round. Covered with plastic wrap, Spice Cake will keep for 5 days stored in the refrigerator or for 2 weeks stored in the freezer.
I frosted my carrot cake with Raw Cream Cheese Frosting and cinnamon.
I left a comment on the other post but maybe i should have left it here for the giveaway. But i would love to win 🙂 and im hoping to make the carrot cake when i visit home from college 🙂
OH I want this so bad! and an going to try and make it SOON!!! and would LOVE to win a giveaway 😀
I totally have eaten cake for breakfast. Even when it’s not pancakes or coffeecake, which are legit breakfast cakes. yummm if only I had a food processor right now to make this!!!
I live in a small town in Northern Ontario where no one’s even heard of coconut butter! If I won it would help the humanity of our whole town! 🙂
I think this recipe sounds most delicious – I am a HUGE fan of carrot cake and your recipe is so simple! Plus I would totally follow in your footsteps and have it for breakfast, mmmm!
I wanted to thank you, Katie, for your simple but innovative ideas. Since I can remember, I’ve preferred raw and meat-free foods, so when I made switch over from vegetarianism a year ago, I thought it would be super easy. I did find it easy, but I also found myself very bored of the foods I was eating, very quickly. I’m a teenager who still lives at home, and so when I decided to become vegetarian, that was also making the decision to cook all my own food. Little ideas like your melted banana trick (I had oatmeal this week with melted banana, peanut butter, pecans, cinnamon and a pinch of brown sugar mixed in… it tasted and smelled so perfect and gourmet that I’m probably going to have to have it again tomorrow!) which I never would of thought of, or your new vegan ice cream (today after school I had a strawberry version). I really appreciate your posts and I like how honest and down to earth you seem. Keep blogging!
Thanks so much, Emma, for your sweet words.
I must warn you: if you win, you won’t want to share with your town… or even your family ;).
I definitely want to try this stuff. You speak so highly of it. I also love carrot cake and have not had it in a very long time because I do the vegan and gluten-free thing now. I would love to make this and blow my family away with it these upcoming holidays. They always look forward to (and sometimes approach with hesitation until they try it) the different foods that I make. Thanks for the give-a-way. 🙂 🙂 Have a great day!
This recipe has been on my “to make” list for ages. Would you believe that I’ve never even tasted coconut butter before? I can’t wait until I finally manage to get a jar (getting any nut butter other than PB in my podunk town involves pleading with store managers and minor bribery)
Thank you so much for the giveaway.
you have done what i previously considered the impossible – made a healthy, great tasting carrot cake. i LOVE my carrot cake and this is a delicious take on it. now i really can have my cake and eat it too!
This is by far my favorite recipe of yours! I LOVE COCONUT BUTTER! And carrot cake is just too divine for words.
This carrot cake is AMAZING!
The cake looks delicious, and I would love to win some coconut butter!