Raw Carrot Cake with Cashew Frosting {No sugar, flour, dairy, or gluten}

So, here's the deal. I love sweets. 
Probably a little too much. When the new year rolled around, I made quite an unbelievable promise to myself. For 6 weeks, I would cut out refined sugar and white flour. WHAT? Crazy talk right??
Yes and no. I want to drop a few pounds and I generally just wanted to see if I could do it.
Outside of my soy coffee creamer {which I'm not planning to give up}, I've done pretty well. I've avoided cookies, cakes, pies, candy.....all the goodies I day dream about and then create in my kitchen.
My sugar cravings come and go. I get a little cranky at times.
Some days are better than others. Drinking the turmeric tea at night seems to feel like a bit of a treat. And smoothies. Gotta still find some treats...just healthier ones.

Of course, I miss baking and making dessert and waffles {got a new waffle maker for Christmas and had just started experimenting!}. So, I've been looking for alternatives. My friend Gisel gave me a pretty awesome gluten-free recipe for waffles and they turned out very tasty. Loving the coconut flour!
I had a big-time hankering for dessert a few days ago and figured I ought to make something with the big bag of carrots sitting in the bottom of our fridge. I think I'm known {at least by my husband} for frequently buying carrots with good intentions. Then they sit and go bad before I think to use them. Not this time!

I made a raw carrot cake....with cashew frosting. Some of my favorite ingredients are in it, like coconut, cardamom, and nutmeg. Ah.
The nice part is that you don't even have to turn the oven on. No flour, no sugar, and no baking!
Whirl it all up in a food processor, let it chill a bit, and voila....carrot cake!

One tip: just because something is vegan, organic, raw, or gluten-free....doesn't mean it's calorie and fat-free and that you can eat gobs of it at a time! Enough said. I did get to share this cake with my husband, Jay, who gave it a thumbs up and our friend Chris, who I am told also enjoyed his slice!

Raw Carrot Cake with Cashew Frosting

Adapted from Gimme Some Oven

Carrot Cake:
3 cups shredded carrots 
8 ounces pitted dates
1 cup raw pecans
2/3 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
pinch of salt
1/2 cup golden raisins

Cashew Vanilla Frosting:
2 cups raw cashews, soaked overnight in filtered water
2/3 cup coconut oil, melted
1/3 cup water {use more or less as needed}
1/3 cup raw honey
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
Pinch of sea salt

To make Carrot Cake:
Pulse together all ingredients in a food processor
until well-blended. Press mixture into an 8-inch springform pan. Chill. Meanwhile, make the frosting.

To make Cashew Vanilla Frosting:
Pulse all ingredients together in a Vitamix or high powered blender until creamy and smooth. Add extra water to thin to your desired consistency if needed.
*You can use a food processor, but texture will be slightly grainier.

Spread the frosting on top and chill for at least 30 minutes.
*I like serving this chilled, but it is even more delish if you slightly warm the piece of cake in the microwave {like 15 seconds}. The frosting will just get a little soft and melty. Oh yum.