Drum roll for my second raw recipe…#25…and seriously?  Its a GOOD one.  One of the people I live with sampled it and said it was his “favorite thing” out of all the recipes I have made thus far!!!!  I don’t know if its the best but I have to say, its among the top.  This one came out shockingly great.  The flavors together are just awesome.  The texture is fun, the carrots giving it a nice crunch.  The coconut and coconut flour lend the cake a slightly hearty feel.  The sweetness just right.  This is a pretty bomb dessert if I do say so myself.  And it was all the result of an experimental whim.  The best part?  Its HEALTHY!!!  The recipe is refined sugar-free and gluten-free.  AND its raw!!!

(The cake itself is lactose free, though the frosting is not).

The recipe may look like a lot of steps.  It isn’t.  Half of the steps are simply regarding how to assemble it once the cake mixture is made.  So do not be intimidated!  This is one of the easiest desserts you will ever throw together, and with major taste payoff.  The actual making of the cake is just steps 1-5 in the recipe below.

Raw Carrot Cake with Maple Mascarpone Frosting

Ingredients

2.5 cups of shredded carrots (I use a cheese grader to shred them)

100 grams of finely chopped dates (that’s roughly 8-10 dates), pitted (I cut mine with a knife myself)

½ cup of shredded unsweetened coconut

½ cup of finely chopped/crushed almonds (I purchase these already crushed, in the baking aisle at the grocery store)

1/3 cup of palm sugar (aka coconut sugar)

5 tablespoons of coconut flour

1 tablespoon of cinnamon

1 teaspoon of ginger

¼ cup of pumpkin seeds

1/3 cup of honey + 3-4 more tablespoons

1/3 cup of coconut oil, melted

 

For the frosting

16 ounces of mascarpone

Maple syrup, to taste

 

1. Pour the shredded carrots into a large bowl.
2. Add the ingredients, in order as listed, to the bowl on top of the carrots. This is essentially a “dump” recipe, as in, just measure out each ingredient and dump it into the bowl on top of the next one.  Do this with all ingredients listed up until the honey.  Stop there.
3. Once you have poured all the ingredients into the bowl, in the amounts listed, on top of one another (excluding the honey and coconut oil), stir well to mix and distribute all ingredients evenly.
4. Add in the honey, stirring well to distribute and cover everything.
5. Once carrot cake mixture is well combined, add in the coconut oil. Mix well to cover all ingredients evenly with the coconut oil.
6. Make the frosting. Mix the mascarpone in a separate medium bowl with a fork, adding in roughly 1/3 cup of maple syrup.  Stir well.  Taste it.  If you feel it needs more maple syrup, add a couple more spoonful’s.  Mix well and taste again.  If you feel it needs a bit more syrup…you know what to do.  (Though be careful not to add too much or the frosting will get too liquidy.  You want it to keep the nice thick, whipped texture).
7. I recommend a spring foam pan for the cake. I used a small one, I believe 6 or 7 inches.  However, if need be you can of course improvise and use another pan.  Press half of the carrot cake mixture into the bottom of the pan firmly, creating an even base layer.
8. Use half the maple mascarpone frosting to spread on top of the bottom carrot cake layer. Once this is spread evenly, add the rest of the carrot mixture on top of the first mascarpone layer.  Press down this second layer of carrot cake firmly.
9. Top the second layer of carrot cake with the remainder of the maple mascarpone frosting.
10. Cover and place in the fridge for at least 2 hours for the cake to set.
11. Serve cold.

The cake will stay fresh for 2 days in the fridge.  Keep it covered.  Do not remove from fridge until just before serving or eating a slice.