Raw Carrot Cake

Today Rowan and I made carrot cake. She did her “Happy Dance” that she just naturally performs whenever she eats something that she loves and that resonates with her. It reminds me of the gratitude dance I saw once on YouTube. Hers is completely her own though—no one taught her.

I also LUV this carrot cake recipe. It is so soft and cake-like in texture, not like the cakes that use nuts. The secret (I think) is that I have a centrifugal juicer and I use the carrot pulp from one pass i.e. the carrots are only put through the juicer once. I tried using the pulp after re-running the carrot pulp through, but the cake turned out to be a hard lump, so I’m pretty sure the pulp texture is key. Well that and how hard you press the batter. I obtained this recipe online in my earlier raw days, and unfortunately haven’t a clue what site I found it at. An Australian site I think. Anyway, I don’t mean to step on anyone’s toes or not give credit, and although these are tweaked a little from what I originally printed off, if they were yours, dear reader, let me know and I will add your name to them.

Raw Carrot Cake
Ingredients:
pulp from freshly juiced carrots, about 3 cups
½ cup finely ground almonds
½ cup dates, chopped
½ cup psyllium husks
1 T. cinnamon, or other herbs of choice, like nutmeg
2 T. raw honey or agave
Icing

Directions: Put everything in the food processor (except the Icing of course!) and blend until well mixed. Gently press batter into a bowl to mold. I like to put ½ in, gently press, then the other ½ and gently press. That way, it really retains the softness of cake. Turn the cake onto a serving plate and frost. I also like to press the batter directly into storage containers with lids, frost it, put the lid on, and pop it into the fridge. Keeps GREAT—a few days at least.
Note: Psyllium husk causes peristalsis, the movement of the large intestine that helps to eliminate waste. My husband loves this cake, but I either have to omit the psyllium husk and up the almond flour, or he has to eat it when he doesn’t have to work the next day! LOL. I don’t notice any similar effect, but then he eats a SAD and I have access to a restroom anytime I need one.

Here’s a great Icing recipe:

Ingredients:
½-3/4 cup raw cashews, soaked. Or you can use raw cashew butter if you don’t have a high-speed blender. Or grind dry cashews in a coffee grinder. Or eat it lumpy. Whatever!
½ cup soaked pitted dates, or 3 tablespoons raw honey or agave
½ tsp. vanilla
squeeze of ½ lemon, maybe less

Blend it baby! The lemon gives it a reminiscent flavor of cream cheese, though it is definitely lemony.

Today Rowan ate:
banana
tahini milk
green smoothie—OJ (of course!), apple, banana, spirulina
salad—parsley with cukes, carrots, onions, apple, rosemary, thyme
raw carrot cake
coconut milk
carrot-orange juice

~~~Rowan & Sharilyn