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This Raw Vegan Carrot Cake is a no-bake paleo recipe that tastes natural and rich! This carrot cake is gluten-free, dairy-free and free of refined sugar. The base of the cake is naturally sweet and packed with delicious textures, topped with the most delicious chocolate frosting!
This raw vegan carrot cake was:
So Good!
Decadent
Healthy
Nourishing
Seriously Delicious
Packed with carrots
& Low in carbs
Naturally sweet and a bit sour
Creamy
Satisfying
Perfectly Balanced
What is a raw cake?
A raw cake doesn’t have to be baked and it’s usually made with unprocessed plant-based ingredients. We aren’t using traditional flours, refined oils or refined sugar and, for vegan cakes, the ingredients list doesn’t include dairy either.
Raw desserts are often sweetened naturally with dried fruit like dates (medjool dates), mango, raisins or figs, or natural sweeteners like coconut sugar, agave and maple syrup. When it comes to texture, we’re using a mix of nut flours, nut butters, some raw plants (think carrots or apples), plus coconut oil, chocolate and the like.
Why you’ll love this recipe?
- You’ll be using healthy unprocessed ingredients for this cake.
- This recipe doesn’t require baking and comes together in a bowl.
- It’s creamy and moist, and perfect to be served as breakfast, healthy dessert or quick snack.
- This cake is full of natural plant-based flavors and perfectly balanced sweetness.
- It’s low in carbs and high in good fats, making it perfect for low-carb and keto eating.
- Due to it being gluten-free, dairy-free and made from whole ingredients, it’s also great if you follow a whole30 reset.
- Our raw vegan carrot cake is packed with “good-for-you” nutrients like raw enzymes, healthy gut-friendly fiber, vitamins and minerals, plus lots and lots of phytonutrients (many antioxidants).
- You can store this cake in the fridge for up to a week or in the freezer for months (and eat directly from the freezer too).
Ingredients in this Raw Vegan Carrot Cake
Walnuts. A classic ingredient in almost any raw vegan cake, walnuts are part of the base for our cake.
Coconut Butter. Coconut butter is also a part of the cake’s base. We’re using coconut butter to keep all the ingredients together but also to give our cake that creamy texture.
Cashew Butter. Another one of the ingredients used to keep things together, cashew butter is rather solid in the fridge and creamy at room temperature (and make our cake creamy and delish!).
Coconut Oil. This recipe uses extra virgin coconut oil in the base and in the frosting.
Carrots. We can’t have carrot cake without raw carrots! For best results use organic carrots which are full of flavor.
Dried Dates. You can use classic dried dates or medjool dates. The reason for using dates is because they provide sweetness to our cake, but also due to them being sticky and perfect to hold the base together!
Dried Mango. We use a bit of dried mango to add a subtle sweet and sour flavor that perfectly balances all those healthy fats.
Himalayan Salt. We use a bit of salt to balance the healthy fats. When it comes to cakes and salt, a little salt goes a long way!
Vanilla Powder. Adds a subtle and delicate flavor to our cake. Make sure to use real vanilla powder! Alternatively, you can use cinnamon or cardamom powder, or use all of them if you’re feeling adventurous”.
How to make this recipe
Raw Cake Layer
- In a bowl, mix together walnuts and grated carrots. Add chopped dates and dried mango, and slowly incorporate them into the mix.
- In a separate bowl mix together coconut butter and coconut oil until combined into a coconut paste.
- Pour coconut paste over the contents in first bowl and mix to incorporate.
- Add in cashew butter and incorporate slowly into batter. Finish by adding salt and vanilla powder.
- Transfer batter in a small tray and place into the fridge until we work on the chocolate layer.
Chocolate Top
- In a double boiler, melt cacao mass and coconut oil into a cream.
- Set aside to cool down for a few minutes.
- Remove cake layer from the fridge and pour cacao cream over it.
- Transfer in the fridge to solidify (a few hours or overnight).
- Remove from the fridge when solid and cut into desired sizes. DONE!
Tips for making this recipe perfectly
- The mixture shouldn’t be too wet. Your cake layer should form into a paste but should not be too wet (liquid). If the mixture looks almost liquid, try adding more solid ingredients like carrots, nuts, dates or coconut butter. In an extreme situation, incorporate 1-2 tablespoons of coconut flour or almond flour into the mixture (not on the ingredients list).
- Use coconut butter and coconut oil at room temperature, as this is the easiest way to combine them into coconut paste (we use it as part of the bottom layer).
- Use dried dates for sweetness. You can use either regular dried dates or medjool dates. The important thing to remember is that dates will keep the cake together and will make it naturally sweet.
- Pay attention to salt. This recipe calls for cashew butter that doesn’t have added salt. In case yours has added salt, use only half of the salt quantity from the ingredients list.
- Taste the mixture! The best way to make sure that your cake turns out exactly as you like it is to taste the mixture before adding it to the tray (and into the fridge). Add more dates or mangoes if needed!
If you tried this Raw Vegan Carrot Cake or any other recipe on the blog let me know how you liked it by leaving a comment/rating below!
Have you made raw vegan carrot cake before? How do you feel about this recipe? Share below.
Easy Raw Vegan Carrot Cake
Equipment
- 2 Bowls
- Glass Tray
- Double Boiler
Ingredients
Raw Cookie Layer
- 70 g walnuts (chopped)
- 3 carrots (grated, remove any water)
- 5 dried dates (chopped)
- 20 g mango dried (chopped)
- 100 g coconut butter
- 4 tsp extra virgin coconut oil (at room temperature)
- 100-125 g cashew butter (at room temperature)
- 1/4 tsp Himalayan salt
- 1/2 tsp vanilla powder
Cacao Cream
- 70 g cacao mass (or 99% dark chocolate)
- 3-4 tsp extra virgin coconut oil
- 1/4 tsp vanilla powder (optional)
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon powder (optional)
Decoration
- handful coconut chips
Instructions
Raw Cake Layer
- In a bowl, mix together walnuts and grated carrots.
- Add chopped dates and dried mango, and incorporate them into the mix.
- In a separate bowl mix together coconut butter and coconut oil until combined into a white paste.
- Mix this coconut paste with the contents from the first bowl, forming a creamy batter.
- Add in cashew butter and slowly incorporate into batter.
- Finish by adding salt and vanilla powder.
- Transfer in a small tray and place into the fridge to set until the chocolate frosting will be ready.
Chocolate Top
- In a double boiler, melt together cacao mass and coconut oil into cacao cream.
- Set aside to cool down for a few minutes at room temperature.
- Remove raw cake layer from the fridge and pour cacao cream over it.
- Transfer back into the fridge to solidify (a few hours or overnight).
- Remove from the fridge when solid and cut into desired sizes.
- DONE! Enjoy without guilt and serve as breakfast or snack.
Looks like the perfect cake inspiration for me. There I was, looking for something different to try in the kitchen and this recipe appeared on my Google search … I can tell you that it’s already on my to-do list for this weekend.
One cannot possibly not LOVE this raw vegan cake. It’s low carb (no added sugar), loaded with plants, raw and vegan too, and has the perfect “eat with your hands” texture … tastes delicious too!
We enjoyed this raw carrot cake very much and even my two kids ate it and liked it,
Was easy to put together and turned out exactly as described … perfect as a healthy alternative to regular cake.
First time ever making raw cake and it turned out … well … almost as in your images 🙂
This raw cake has an amazing and I absolutely love the unique flavors that it brings to any meal. It’s also basically sugar-free which is WOW!