If you’re looking for a healthy carrot cake recipe, this is the one for you! This carrot cake is made with simple ingredients and it’s delicious. Also, it’s raw and vegan, so it’s perfect for those who are looking for a healthy alternative to traditional carrot cake.
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This cake is made with carrots, dates, almonds, cashews, and spices making it a perfect treat for those who are looking for healthier options.
So, if you’re looking for a delicious and healthy carrot cake recipe, this recipe from How To Eat More Plants: Transform Your Health with 30 Plant-Based Foods per Week (and Why It’s Easier Than You Think!) by Dr. Megan Rossi is the one for you!
Why This Carrot Cake Recipe Is a Keeper
- The cake and frosting are naturally sweetened. The cake gets its sweetness from dates and the frosting from honey.
- There are no “fake” ingredients like vegan butter. The cake is made with basic ingredients that you will find in the produce and spice aisles.
- Each slice has 6 grams of fiber which nourishes your gut microbes.
- No need to heat up the kitchen since this cake is enjoyed raw.
- The cake is made entirely out of plant-based ingredients. It’s vegan-friendly and gluten-free.
📝Ingredients
To make this delicious raw carrot cake, you will need a good food processor. In addition to that, you need the following ingredients, all of which are plant-based:
Cake Base
- 18 Medjool dates, pitted and roughly chopped
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 3 medium carrots, grated (I got about 2 cups shredded carrots.)
- 2 cups walnuts
- 1 cup pecans
- 1 cup almond meal
- ⅓ cup raisins
Whipped Cream Topping (option 1)
- 1 cup plant-based whipping cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 10 walnuts, crumbled
Coconut-Cashew Cream Topping (option 2)
- 2 ¾ cups cashews
- 1 cup coconut cream
- ¼ cup honey
- Juice of ½ lemon (about 1 ½ tablespoons), plus zest to taste
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
👩🍳How To Make Gut-Loving Carrot Cake with Vanilla Cream Frosting
1. Line a high-sided 9-inch cake pan with parchment paper on the base and sides, and set aside.
2. Place the dates, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg in a food processor and blend until the mixture forms a ball, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the grated carrots and pulse to combine roughly, then transfer to a large mixing bowl.
3. Blend the walnuts and pecans in the food processor and blend to form slightly chunky crumbs, about 20 seconds. Add to the bowl along with the almond meal and raisins. Use a wooden spoon to combine.
4. Transfer the batter to the pan and press down to compress and smooth the top. Chill in the fridge until you’re ready to make the topping.
🧁Frosting Recipes
5. To make the whipped cream topping, whip the cream with the vanilla extract until it forms soft peaks, about 8 minutes. Spoon the cream onto the cake, sprinkle with the crumbled walnuts, and serve.
6. To make the alternative, more luxurious coconut-cashew cream topping, cover the cashews with boiling water and set them aside to soak for at least 10 minutes. Strain the soaked cashews and place them in a high-powered food processor along with the coconut cream, honey, lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla extract. Blend at high speed until super-smooth, 5 to 6 minutes, scraping down the sides occasionally. Pour over the carrot cake and smooth out the top. Place in the fridge to set for about 4 hours.
Storage
This will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for 5 days.
💡Tip
If you have any cake mixture leftover, it’s great for rolling into raw carrot cake snack balls!
📖 Recipe
Carrot Cake
Equipment
- 1 9-inch cake pan with high sides
- 1 Food processor
Ingredients
- 18 Medjool dates pitted and roughly chopped
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 3 medium carrots grated
- 2 cups walnuts
- 1 cup pecans
- 1 cup almond meal
- ⅓ cup raisins
Whipped Cream Topping
- 1 cup plant-based whipped cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 10 walnuts crumbled
Coconut-Cashew Cream Topping
- 2 ¾ cup cashews
- 1 cup coconut cream
- ¼ cup honey
- juice of ½ lemon (about 1 ½ tablespoons) plus zest to taste
- 1 teaspon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Line a high sided 9-inch cake pan with parchment paper on the base and sides, and set aside.
- Place the dates, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg in a food processor and blend until the mixture forms a ball, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the carrot and pulse to combine roughly, then transfer to a large bowl.
- Blend the walnuts and pecans in the food processor and blend to form slightly chunky crumbs, about 20 seconds. Add to the bowl along with the almond meal and raisins. Use a wooden spoon to combine.
- Transfer the batter to the pan and press down to compress and smooth the top. Chill in the fridge until you’re ready to make the topping.
- To make the whipped cream topping, whip the cream with the vanilla extract until it forms soft peaks, about 8 minutes. Spoon the cream onto the cake, sprinkle with the crumbled walnuts, and serve.
- To make the alternative, more luxurious coconut-cashew cream topping, cover the cashews with boiling water and set aside to soak for at least 10 minutes. Strain the soaked cashews and place in a high-powered food processor along with the coconut cream, honey, lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla extract. Blend at high speed until super-smooth, 5 to 6 minutes, scraping down the sides occasionally. Pour over the carrot cake and smooth out the top. Place in the fridge to set for about 4 hours.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
🌱How To Eat More Plants
News flash: your gut health affects your whole body. It’s true and there is no time like the present to start eating more plants!
A plant-based diet has been shown to improve gut health, which in turn can lead to better overall health. Eating more plants does not mean that you have to adopt a vegan or vegetarian lifestyle, though those are good dietary options.
Dr. Megan Rossi is on a mission to help everyone eat more vegetables without having to radically shift their diets (including giving up meat!). Her new book, HOW TO EAT MORE PLANTS: Making Transform Your Health with 30 Plant-Based Foods Per Week (and Why It’s Easier Than You Think!)[The Experiment | August 16th, 2022 | US$24.95], introduces a new school of thought on how we approach our relationship to food: Don’t diet, diversify!
Dr. Megan says that the secret to a healthy gut (and a healthier body and mind) is all in the microbes: the trillions of microorganisms that live in our digestive tract. These microbes thrive on fiber, and as many different types as they can get. This is the core reasoning behind making plants the center of our diets, and it is crucial to our well-being and longevity.
The book is packed with useful information and the science to back it up. In addition to the science behind the approach, the book also includes a 28-day plan and 80+ plant-based recipes. The book and Dr. Megan’s approach have already captured ringing endorsements from luminaries in the health and wellness fields:
“How to Eat More Plants by Dr. Megan Rossi packs a whole lot of reliable and sound nutrition advice into one handy guide. Rossi explains why we should be eating more plants and how we can effortlessly get the job done. She also makes the case for diversifying our diets and – my favorite part – shows you how to add healthy foods to your diet instead of eliminating or restricting less healthy ones. The plan is smart, science-based, realistic, and totally manageable. This book is great for plant-lovers, plant-phobes…and everyone in between.”
-—Joy Bauer, MS, RDN, health and wellness expert for Today and #1 New York Times bestselling author
“Get your taste buds ready! Dr. Megan Rossi shares a simple, delicious plan to help you and your gut thrive through abundance, not restriction. A must-have guide to plant-based eating.”
What is your favorite plant-based dish/recipe?
Tonia Le Vangie says
Is there another kind of flour I can use? I’m allergic to almonds.
Lynda says
The recipe did not state, but I imagine you could use oat flour in its place.