Have Your Carrot Cake, and Eat it Too

I was faced with quite the predicament this afternoon: no (well, very little) food in the house, and a little bit of a dessert craving. I just about always have dates and walnuts, which I would usually throw together with raw cacao powder to make brownies, but I was running low on cacao, and I wanted to save the half cup or so I did have for an emergency. (Raw girls can have chocolate emergencies, too!)

The one thing I did have was carrots…they were the stubby ugly ones left in the bag, but they were there. I’ve thought several times of making carrot cake and how I would do it, so I seized the opportunity. I didn’t decorate the top with anything cute, but you could whittle Barbie-sized carrots and stick them on top of the frosting, with little pieces of parsley for stems, if you were feeling like a big food nerd.

Cake:

2 cups of raisins

2 cups of walnuts

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Pinch of salt

2 cups of carrots, finely shredded or grated (I used my spiral sliver to make very thin tendrils…remember, you aren’t cooking it, so you need a pretty fine shred so the carrots are soft enough – you don’t want to crunch when you bite in!)

Blend raisins, walnuts, salt and cinnamon in food processor until the mixture is very smooth…you will hardly see pieces of walnuts anymore, the nuts will be releasing their oils, and the whole thing will turn into a doughy ball in the food processor. Add carrots, and pulse chop a few times, until the carrots are incorporated but still visible. Spread onto a plate or tray, about ½ to ¾ of an inch high, in a round or rectangular shape, whatever catches your fancy. You may notice that the walnut oil and carrot juice create a slightly greasy goo around the plate. Don’t worry. You can either sop it up with paper towels, greasy-pizza-style, or transfer the cake to another plate before frosting. Chill the cake before frosting if you can.

Frosting:

½ cup dates (I used very soft Medjool dates – if your dates are hard, soak them for at least an hour, then drain before using)

1 cup cashews, soaked for 1-2 hours, then drained

4 tablespoons fresh orange juice (or lemon, if you prefer)

Blend in food processor until very smooth and a little fluffy – be patient! Spread on cake and serve in small pieces, as it will be very sweet and rich…raw appétit!