The Best Raw Carrot Cake with Maple Cashew Frosting

Hi Fellow Foodies!

I realize it’s been a long time since I posted a recipe, but, better late than never, yes? So, here we go. I have a gem for you.

This one is super easy to make. It’s delicious, with a fun texture, and is way healthy to boot.

No wheat or gluten, very little sugar, no dairy, and made with raw ingredients which are excellent for your health.

Yes, it’s raw, which means that texture-wise, it will not be comparable to cake made with flour, however, this aside, the taste is fantastic. Don’t take my word for it, though. Whip it up and taste yourself. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

This is a cake you need not feel guilty about eating!

Wheat-Free Carrot Cake

Autumn is my favorite season. I love the subtle downturn in temperatures, though the air isn’t quite cold enough to prevent people from still wanting to be outdoors just yet. That smell in the air of something sharp, crisp, of leaves and chill.

The foliage- don’t even get me started. At least 20% of why I came back from Europe when I did. Sure, the leaves turn elsewhere around the world of course, but they don’t quite catch flame with the same vibrancy as here in New England. Leaf peppers are onto something (for those who haven’t heard that term, these are people who travel from all over the US during fall to revel in and spectate over the changing colors here in New England). I have yet to encounter anywhere else where the shades are as vivid as they are here. Guess I’ll have to do some more traveling to find such a place, or, just accept that back home is where it’s at in terms of autumn.

Autumn is the perfect time for thick books. A towering, layered, gripping plot, allowing it to suck you in and keep you hooked, blowing through the pages while (ideally) sitting in a cozy café, cuddling up on your couch in front of a roaring fire, or lounging in a park somewhere as red and orange leaves dance in the air above.

More awesomeness about autumn: the re-emergence of boots, scarves and wool coats (especially cute red ones- my top pick). A welcoming back of comfort foods- macaroni and cheese, butternut squash soup, carrot cake, pumpkin pie, stuffing, oh man. Don’t even get me started.

Speaking of carrot cake, this recipe is subtly spiced, fluffy and light, scrumptious to be sure.  All while it’s wheat/gluten-free, and lower in sugar than usual carrot cakes. It’s also easy to whip together.  Happy autumnal baking!

Raw Carrot Cake with Maple Mascarpone Frosting

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.

Carrot Cake Cupcakes

Along with pumpkin, butternut squash, cinnamon and sweet potato, carrot is another top contender for flavors of fall (though I realize at this point, we have segued into winter.  But carrot cake is fitting for all cold months).  Carrot cake, bread, muffins, cookies, its all delectable.  There is something so homey, down to earth and invitingly earthy about a slice of this flavor of cake.  I love the slightly spiced taste that this sweet bread lends.

These carrot cake cupcakes are refined sugar-free, gluten-free and dairy-free (though the frosting I recommend is not dairy free.  But man oh man, a carrot cake sweet bread just isn’t the same without a cream cheese flavor of frosting).

Healthy Carrot Cake

Here it is folks.  Breaking into the double digits with recipe #10.  This one is a fitting followup to the previous pumpkin recipe.  Carrot being another quintessential fall flavor.  Though its funny, I didnt always think that.  When I was younger, I thought carrot cake was repulsive.  Carrots in a cake?  Who would consider such a thing.  Vegetables were the vile things our parents forced us to eat in order to “be healthy.”  Not interesting, fun, nor tasty to a child.

Another one of the many great changes that come with age.  Embracing desserts made with vegetables, like this delectable carrot cake.  This version is a signifigantly lighter and healthier version as opposed to traditional carrot cake.  As you can see from the barrage of photos, I am particularly pleased with how this one came out!