Raw Carrot Cake with Lemon Cashew Creme

Raw Carrot Cake with Lemon Cashew Creme

I love carrot cake. I mean, its a cake made of a vegetable, what's not to love?!
Sadly, most carrot cakes are drowned in sugar, butter, and eggs and thus lose any nutritive qualities that those tasty orange vegetables may have contributed. 
In developing this recipe, I knew I needed to end up with a carrot cake that was healthy.  I needed a carrot cake that I could snack on at 2 am and not feel guilty about. I needed a carrot cake that had zero added sugars. But what I really needed was a carrot cake that tasted so damn good, Alex would think it was the real thing.
SUCCESS!!

This is a raw, vegan, gluten free, soy free dessert that can be prepared in 10 minutes. And even better? Its good for you. I love that you can taste all of the REAL, delicious, from-the-ground ingredients that make this cake so moist and delicious!
And while the lemon creme frosting is totally optional, trust me when I say: 
ADD IT. 
It adds a whole new dimension to this cake; the lemon contrasts the 'fall' spices and the carrots and adds just the right amount of lemony flavor. 

Plus, we used carrots we grew in our garden to make it!

(Note: We used a mix of regular orange carrots and purple carrots from the Farmer's Market, so ours is a little darker than yours will be.)

Carrot Cake
Ingredients:
1 cup walnuts
1 cup dates
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 cups grated+strained carrots
1/2 cup raisins

Carrot Cake
Directions:
Process dates and walnuts until uniformly crumbly.
Add in spices and process again, just enough so that spices are incorporated- you don't want to turn your date/ nut mixture to mush, just to uniformly small pieces.
Pour mixture into a large mixing bowl and set aside. 
Grate carrots. Once grated, use cheesecloth to squeeze all of the excess juice from the carrots. 
We always get our cheesecloth from CheeseclothFabric.com 'cause they offer such great discounts when you buy in bulk- and even though cheesecloth seems like something you may never use, we are constantly finding new uses for it!  Feel free to drink the remaining carrot juice or toss it, but you won't need it for the recipe. 
Add the grated carrots to the mixing bowl and date nut mixture, using a large wooden spoon to mix everything together. Throw in raisins and stir again.
Once combined, put mixture into a 9-inch springform pan and refrigerate for 2-3 hours. Scroll down for Lemon Cashew Creme!

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Lemon Cashew Creme
Ingredients:
1 cup soaked cashews
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 dates
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Directions:
Throw it all in a food processor and process until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. After cake has been set in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours, frost and enjoy!

**Update**
We recently re-made this cake for a friends party and added a nut & date crust. To make the crust you will need:
1/2 cup dates
1 1/2 cup nuts (I used almonds and cashews)
3 tablespoons melted coconut oil

Blend all ingredients together in a food processor.
Line a cake pan or pie tin with non-stick or waxed paper.
Press mixture into the sides and bottom of pan.
Refrigerate to set, about one hour.
After crust has set, layer with carrot mixture, followed by lemon cashew creme.