Eating foods that vibrate in harmony with themselves, our bodies and nature will help us to heal and to thrive.

Saturday, March 22, 2014

OMG Grain and Dairy Free Carrot Cake

There is a good reason for the name of this cake:  It is that incredibly delicious.  I literally uttered "Oh my god," while I was eating it.  I made this for myself as a special treat for making it through a challenging week.  It is inspired by a recipe from Elana Amsterdam of Elana's Pantry blog.  I tweaked it in several ways, including this dairy free cashew frosting.  I also only made one layer instead of two.  Remember that when you find a recipe you want to make, but have certain dietary conditions, just change it to meet your needs.  I do this all the time, and I will admit that I was really hesitant to try it at first.  Sometimes the results are not so good, but sometimes they are amazingly fantastic like this cake today!  So, be brave.  You never know how good it can be until you try it.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups of almond flour
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tblspn ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 cup safflower oil
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 organic eggs
1/2 tsp of ground chia seeds
1 1/2 cups grated carrots
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees
Grease a cake pan (or a pie pan) with some coconut oil (or other oil) and dust with almond flour.
In a large bowl, combine the almond flour, sea salt, baking soda, and spices.
In a medium bowl, mix together the safflower oil, maple syrup, eggs and ground chia seeds.
Stir the wet ingredients into the dry.
Add in the carrots, raisins and walnuts. (I actually ground the walnuts with a nut/coffee grinder.  It was like adding another flour.  And I left a few chunks, which are so delicious in the cake.)
Put the batter into the prepared pan.
Bake for 35 minutes until a fork or toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.  Let the cake cool off.

Cashew Frosting:

I love to experiment with different non-dairy versions of typically dairy foods to make with cashews.  You can adjust this frosting to your own sweetness level.  I made this one "too sweet" for my husband, so I got to eat the whole thing by myself!  :)
Blend together in a high speed blender on very high the following ingredients:
1/3 cup raw cashews
1 - 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 - 1 cup of maple syrup
1/4 cup almond milk

You really want to blend on high so that it is smooth and also less liquidy and runny.

Pour over the cake and spread evenly.  Cool in the fridge for a bit to set the icing.  I know it is hard to wait, but it is worth it for the total yum experience.

I hope you enjoy!!   This is by far one of the best things I have ever eaten.  :)

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