Raw Vegan Mini Carrot Cakes + Maple Vanilla Frosting
When I first started learning about raw vegan food the most exciting thing I discovered was that you can make decadent desserts without refined sugar, butter or eggs that taste just as good (and most of the time better) then their traditional counterparts. You know I’m all about my raw vegan cheesecake (I’ve made quite a few variations of it this summer) so today I’m excited to share a totally new dessert recipe with you- Raw Vegan Mini Carrot Carrot Cakes with Maple Vanilla Frosting.
I’ve always gravitated towards mini-style desserts because having a whole cake to yourself feels extra special. I made 4 mini cakes but you can easily skip the steps where you cut out the round cake layers and make one large cake with 2 layers. Each mini cake is meant to be 2 servings- so share with a friend!
Also, I would like to take a minute to talk about the frosting on this cake. It’s seriously delicious so don’t be surprised if you find yourself eating it by the spoonful…
- ¾ cup roughly chopped carrots
- 1 cup rolled oats
- 6 dates, chopped
- 1 tbs coconut oil
- 1 tbs water
- ½ cup shredded coconut
- 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice (cinnamon, ginger, clove, nutmeg blend)
- dash of salt
- 1 cup cashews, soaked at least 4 hours
- 2 tbs maple syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ cup coconut butter
- dash of salt
- optional topping- chopped nuts
- To prepare cakes, pulse roughly chopped carrots in blender or food processor so that they are finely shredded. Transfer to medium bowl.
- Pulse oats in blender until fine powder is formed. Add dates and coconut oil and water and pulse until doughy texture is achieved.
- Transfer mixture to bowl with carrots. Add shredded coconut, pumpkin spice and salt. Use hands to knead until batter is thoroughly mixed.
- On a clean surface (or on top of a piece of parchment paper) use hands to flatten dough until it's ⅓"- ½" thick. Use a circular cookie cutter (I use a mason jar lid) to cut circles out. Repeat until you have 8 circles.
- Prepare frosting by draining and rinsing cashews, then blending with maple syrup, vanilla extract, coconut butter and salt until smooth. You'll have to scrape the sides down a few times.
- Assemble 4 mini cakes by spreading an even layer of frosting over half the circles, then layering with another circle and layer of frosting. Top with nuts.
- Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving.
Seriously- half of one is a serving?????
The cake is quite rich and filling, most people who have tried it felt like half was more than enough! 🙂