I’m not going to lie, I absolutely love carrot cake…who doesn’t? To me this is absolute soul medicine with every bite and although it looks spectacular, it’s super easy to make. Honestly!

I have been slightly mesmerised by raw and vegan cakes and their complex simplicity, I feel rather proud that I have perfected this scrumptious recipe – it’s a firm favourite at Soul Adventures.

I took all of the ingredients of my regular carrot cake recipe and then removed the oil, gluten, sugar and eggs. Don’t worry though, the sweeness comes from the cinnamon, sticky medjool dates, coconut and raisins! I honestly thought it wouldn’t be as good – it’s moist, texturally amazing and silly quick to make. I’m a raw carrot cake convert…please give this a go!

Tess’s recipe tips

This freezes beautifully, so perhaps this is a great one to make in advance of the retreat. I made this recipe to serve two because but you can double the quantities up and use a shallow sponge tin, this will then serve at least 6 people. I used a small cooking ring as a cake mould but you can use a muffin tin (lined with paper cake cases if you have). 

Ingredients (serves 2)

Cake mix 

1 large carrot– peeled & grated

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground ginger

Pinch nutmeg

60g approx. 3 Madjool dates – pitted

30g raisins

25g walnuts

15g desiccated coconut

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the creamy frosting

60g cashews

50ml almond milk or any non dairy milk

Zest half fresh orange

2 teaspoons agave/maple syrup to taste

Method

1. First start by soaking the cashews for an hour in water (you can do this overnight). Set aside.
2. Now for the cake – this is the dead easy part. Simply put all the ingredients for the cake mix into a blender and whizz, you don’t want to over blend as you need a crumbly texture.
3. Now for the creamy frosting. Drain the cashews and put into a high speed blender (or nutri bullet) with the almond milk and blend until really creamy, you will have to stop and scrape down the side a couple of times. Add the zest of the orange and agave to taste.
4. Use individual muffin tins to make two cakes – or a cooking ring if you have. Or even a small dish will do! 
5. I like to layer the carrot cake with the cashew cream to give a cakey texture and creamy texture.
6. Put this into a freezer for approx 1 hour before serving as it slices better – otherwise keep in the fridge.
7. I like to dust with ground cinnamon, a scattering of chopped nuts and fresh berries. But it’s up to you!

Bon Provecho!

Love Tess x