This cake retains all the goodness in the nuts and carrots as they are not cooked, it has the texture of a passion cake and is completely delicious, the main issue is not eating all of it in one go which is why it is great to make and share with with friends.
The recipe is gluten, dairy, grain and sugar free. It contains nuts and uses agave/maple syrup or honey in place of sugar, if you wish to make it completely sugar/syrup free omit the syrup and use stevia/erythritol or similar instead but make sure it’s a syrup or the mixture won’t bind together.
This recipe is adapted from my forthcoming book 500 Superfoods, due to be published by Quintet later in 2015.
Ingredients for 8-12 squares
300g carrots
250g walnut pieces
50g toasted hazelnut pieces
150g raisins
1 tbsp sunflower seeds
1 tbsp pumpkin seeds
1 tbsp chia seeds
1 tbsp linseeds
2 tbsp agave, maple syrup or honey
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp ground cinnamon
zest of an orange
a little water
for the cashew icing:
125g cashew nuts
2 tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice
2 tbsp agave, maple syrup or honey
1 tsp vanilla extra
a little water
- Place the carrots in a food processor and blitz until they become small chunks, add the rest of the ingredients and process in short bursts until you have a crumbly ‘carrot’ cake texture. DO NOT over process, it needs to be lumpy NOT smooth, you should be able to see the different colours of the carrots, pumpkin seed and nuts in the mixture.
- Transfer to a lined square cake tin or muffin cases and press the mixture down.
- To make the icing place all the ingredients into the food processor and blitz until smooth, adding a little extra water or juice if it’s too stiff.
- Ice the cake and refrigerate for 3-4 hours or overnight before serving to ensure that the cake and icing have time to solidify.