Raw Carrot Cake

Lately I've been trying to incorporate a lot more raw food into my diet.  The reason is simple.  When you eat raw food it contains all the enzymes you need to digest it.  When you eat cooked food your body has to draw upon it's enzymes to do the work of digestion so organs like your pancreas have to work a lot harder.  Raw food will also make you feel much more energetic.  Who doesn't want more energy?

So, here's a delicious (might I say "healthy") dessert that you can eat whenever you please - even for breakfast.  I found it in The Everything Raw Food Recipe Book.  The raisins can be soaked in water for 10 minutes to soften them up, but I didn't do that and I enjoyed the "chewiness" that they added.  You can also add a cup of almond flour for a lighter texture, but I didn't do that either as I have an allergy to almonds and we enjoyed it without.  This recipe serves 2 people, so you can double it or triple it or make it as big as you need. The picture shows it doubled.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup pecans
1/4 cup dates
1 cup shredded carrots
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. grated fresh ginger
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. orange zest*
1/2 tsp. salt
4 tbsp. raisins or currants
1/2 cup cake frosting

*Be sure when you're using the zest of a fruit that you use fruit that hasn't been sprayed with pesticides.

How to Make It:

1. Place the pecans in a food processor with an "S" blade.  Process until they are fine.
2. Add the dates and continue processing until smooth.
3. Add the carrots, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, orange zest and salt and process until it becomes a chunky batter.  Stir in the raisins.
4. Place the cake batter into a buttered* cake pan or casserole dish.  I greased the sides and bottom of a spring-form pan so it looked fancier when I removed the sides.  Use a spatula to spread a layer of the frosting on top and refrigerate for a hour before serving.

*(you can use coconut butter if you prefer)

Dairy-Free, Cake Frosting:

In a blender, blend until smooth:

1 cup cashews, soaked

1/4 cup orange juice

2 tsp. vanilla

1 1/2 tbsp liquid coconut oil (if yours is solid, gently warm the amount needed in a small pot on the stove before adding)

pinch of salt (optional - I like it better without)