About that Carrot Cake

I promised to share more about the anniversary raw carrot cake I made...

...and then of course I headed out to the party without my camera, so didn't get to show the cake in its beauty!
This pic is from after I'd already put it back in the box with the ring around it, which knocked lots of the frosting off...

 And here is a piece missing the frosting on the side...

 But here's a "repaired" piece I'm taking to friends tonight.

I think it's very pretty!

What I did
This is basically the Ginger Carrot Cake recipe from Matthew Kenney's Everyday Raw Desserts, with some tweaks, and I made up a lemon-cream (cashew) cheese frosting instead of the ginger frosting offered there.

The tweaks on the cake? As you can see, I used goji berries, whereas the recipe calls for raisins. I love raisins, but there were at least four raisin-haters around the table, so I respected that. I left out the walnuts and pecans because, just like some people don't like raisins, I can't stand nut pieces in baked goods. I put about a half cup of shredded coconut instead. Also, I mixed the spices with the wet ingredients, thinking that they would meld better that way, and used whole, grated ginger and nut milk instead of ginger and apple juices.

Here's my recipe--it's different enough from Kenney's that I feel ok posting it:
Gingery Carrot Cake
Dry Ingredients:
8 cups nut pulp (mine was a combination of almond, hazel and brazil nut milks, with a little sorghum flour because I only had 7 cups)
2 1/2 cups grated carrot
1/2 cup shredded coconut
3/4 cup chopped goji berries

Wet Ingredients:
3 cups date paste
1/3 cup irish moss gel
3/4 cup nut milk
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
3 inches fresh ginger, finely grated (even if you have a Vitamix, it's worth doing this)
1 1/2 tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon cardamom
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/8 cup melted coconut oil
1 tablespoon lecithin

Blend together until smooth all the wet ingredients save the last two. Then, add the coconut oil and lecithin, and blend again.

Mix together the nut pulp and carrot. Gradually add in the wet ingredients, mixing briskly but not too much. Finally, stir in the goji berries and coconut.

Divide the mass of batter into two, and arrange half on the bottom of a 9-in. springform pan. Frost with one third of the frosting (which you made earlier! Instructions coming up) and set in the fridge to firm up. Then, put the top half on, and when ready to serve, frost the cake.

So, what about that frosting? Two whole days advance warning?
Yes, I made a cashew cream cheese, just like the one I made for the mushroom pate, but gave it a sweeter twist. This is a super-heavy, rich frosting, so I made it lower in sugar to ease the overall digestive load while hopefully maximizing pleasurableness.

Lemon Cream "Cheese" Frosting
2 cups cashew "cheese" (recipe here)
juice and zest of one lemon (a quarter cup)
1/4 cup erythritol (could substitute coconut sugar, rapadura, whatever you prefer)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup coconut oil
1 tablespoon lecithin

Blend the "cheese," lemon juice and zest, erythritol, salt and vanilla until very smooth. Add the coconut oil and lecithin, and blend again.

It should be very well chilled when applied to the cake, but better not frozen. I actually made this on Tuesday, so it was frozen until Friday, when the party happened!

To my guilty surprise, I discovered something very long forgotten and deeply buried: there's a part of me that just adores the "cake and frosting" texture combination--the complex texture and crumb of the cake (and I love the _raw_ carrots in the mix there); the tart smoothness of the frosting. I'd also worried that the carrot cake should have had some lemon in it, but the frosting is lemony enough that they marry beautifully.

Now, I need to figure out a frosting recipe that doesn't involve two cups of cashews (although culturing lowers the fat a bit) and coconut oil--something delightfully smooth and decadent that doesn't sit so heavy or contain so many calories!

Here's the nut milk bag the cashew cheese sat in, with lots of lovely cultured "crumbs."

Am I weird that I made these residual bits last three days, rather than just enjoying them right away?

When the cake was served, I had a moment of anxiety about people not liking it because it's so far from the mainstream. But they're used to me by now! I was also embarrassed by how big it was--but that just means that I get to share it with more people! As dense as raw cakes are, though, I'm thinking that "next time," I might make a half recipe and try mixing the dry and wet ingredients in the food processor, but with the plastic "dough" blade instead of the S blade--I think that might be the closest thing to a mixer, which I don't have (nor do I have room for).

Well, there you go! Two recipes, and a way to make even my beloved carrots decadent!
Much love...

I'm sharing this on "Traditional Tuesdays" http://wholenewmom.com/traditional-tuesday/traditional-tuesdays-nutritious-and-delicious-february-28-2012/