Paleo Raw Carrot Cake is a spin on a traditional favorite! Made with a carrot, date and walnut base, this delicious cake is topped with a silky cashew maple coconut icing that’s surprisingly healthy and good for you. This is what carrot cake dreams are made of!
Remember when I said I would never make a cake?
Well, I lied. I made you a cake.
If there’s one thing that will bring me to my knees (other than chocolate of course), it’s carrot cake. In fact, if a guy wants to win me over on a date then all he needs to do is bring me carrot cake. I would take carrot cake any day over chocolate. Okay, so maybe not any day. I would still gladly accept chocolate anytime.
But there’s just something about carrot cake.
Maybe it’s the carrots. Maybe it’s the coconut. Maybe it’s the sweet cinnamon-y bread. Or maybe it’s that sweet, sweet vanilla icing. Whatever it is, carrot cake is what my dreams are made of.
The thing about carrot cake is that it’s a lot harder to make healthy than you think. I should know. I’m pretty sure I’ve made at least 50 different versions of carrot cake for months and have never been able to get it just the way I wanted. Don’t get me wrong.
They were all good, but none of the versions turned out the way I imagined in my head. You know when you have something in your mind a certain way and everything else is just well, okay? Because not only am I a perfectionist, but I also have to get whatever it is just right before it meets my expectations.
Finally I gave up on making a “cake” and thought what if I just made the base out of walnuts and dates? Enter Raw Carrot Cake.
For the icing I wanted something lighter and with less sugar, but that was healthy. I know, I was asking for a lot here! So sticking with the raw theme, I knew I wanted to blend something with soaked cashews to get the consistency I wanted but that something was the question so I slept on it, went to the gym and the next morning it came to me. Coconut milk! After my workout, I picked up the coconut milk and blended it with the soaked cashews, some almond extract and maple syrup and voila! Best. Icing. Ever.
It’s just the way I wanted it. It’s thick and lightly sweet, but not overly sweet. I actually doubled the icing so I could dip Raw Carrot Cake into it. Something I highly recommend by the way!
This Raw Carrot Cake is guaranteed to win any heart. It sure won mine! I’m already on my third batch and I have no guilt eating it either with all it’s healthy ingredients. Maybe one day I’ll make a plain old, regular carrot cake but until then, Raw Carrot Cake it is!
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- 1 cup shredded carrots*
- 1 cup tightly packed pitted dates
- ½ cup unsweetened coconut flakes
- 1 cup walnuts
- ¼ cup melted organic coconut oil
- ¼ cup coconut flour
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp nutmeg
- ½ tsp ginger
- ½ cup soaked cashews**
- ⅛ cup unsweetened coconut milk
- 1 tbsp maple syrup***
- 2 tbsp melted coconut oil
- 1 tsp almond extract
- 2 tbsp walnut pieces for topping
- To make the base, mix dates in a food processor until it forms a paste. Break up the paste into a few chunks to spread it evenly throughout the food processor.
- Add the walnuts, carrots, ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, coconut flour, coconut oil and coconut flakes together to the food processor with the date paste and combine until mixed together.
- Line a loaf pan with parchment paper vertical and horizontal so you can pull up the cake easily once set.
- Place the base mixture in the loaf pan and place in the freezer while you make the icing.
- To the food processor, add soaked cashew, coconut milk, maple syrup, almond extract and coconut oil. Blend until a silky smooth icing forms.
- Remove the loaf pan from the freezer and using a spatula spread the icing over the base covering all the corners and edges. Sprinkle with walnut pieces and gently push into the icing with your finger to secure.
- Place the loaf pan back in the freezer, 4 hours minimum (overnight is best).
- Remove and slice into 16 mini carrot cake bites.
- Keep carrot cake bites in a container in the freezer.
*Roughly shred carrots in a food processor or blender
**Soak cashews 3-4 hours, for best results soak overnight
***For a sweeter icing, add 1-2 tbsp more
****For cheaper healthy foods, I buy mine through Thrive Market.
What I Used For The Recipe
What are you a perfectionist about? What is your FAVORITE cake?
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Gahhh!!! I’m seriously drooling over this “cake”!!! It’s so dense and sweet and filling, I’m sure! Love all the great nutrients in it!
Thanks Blair!
This reminds me of the carrot version of the cranberry bliss bars that starbucks has at Christmas. I used to be so perfectionist. Then I had calculus. That cured me.
Funny you mention calculus, it nearly killed me. Made me so crazy. Obviously it didn’t cure me though. Oh yeah, those cranberry bliss bars I make a ball version of those here (don’t look at the pictures though): https://skinnyfitalicious.com/cranberry-almond-bites/
I promise they’re amazing!
Oh my goodness, this looks dreamy. I’m in love with the ingredient list, too.
Thank you!
This is genius. Totally genius 😉 Pinned!
Thanks girl!
Oh my goodness!!!! This looks sooo good!! I love dates! and I love that you used so many ingredients I already have on hand!! Will definitely be making this!!!
You will love!
This looks absolutely perfect and I’m dying to trying it! The icing especially!
Oh you will love it Michele!
O well this is a cake I would gladly eat! Carrot cake is my favorite thing..ever!
I gladly ate it! You will love. 🙂
ooo saving this for later!!! I love how moist and thick the cake itself looks, without being unhealthy at all! can’t wait to try this 🙂
Let me know what you think!
This looks amazing!! I can’t believe it’s raw, it looks so much like real carrot cake!
I’m like you in that I love chocolate cake but there’s just something about carrot cake that steals my heart. I always requested it for my birthday growing up. Plus you have to have it for Easter because the Easter Bunny loves carrots, duh. 😉
Haha! Thanks, Sarah! I’m hoping the Easter bunny brings me more walnuts so I can more of this.
This looks so good! And packed with healthy ingredients and fats too! This looks like it would be a great afternoon snack that would satiate my sweet tooth and actually keep me full until dinner (not an easy task haha…)!
It’s not overly sweet, but just sweet enough to tame a sweet tooth. You will enjoy this!
Oh man… I knew this was going to be good when you teased it last week. I’d down this whole thing in like 5 mins! I love chocolate cake, but carrot is a verrrrrry close second.
Thanks Laura! FYI – it’s the best right out of the freezer.
Ok..Somehow on my Bloglovin App, I saw this recipe this past weekend and I just made it–And it’s AMAZING!
THANK YOU!
It somehow published yesterday morning by mistake. I swear WP has ghosts. BUT YEAH! I’m so excited someone loves it as much as I do.
I’ve never made raw cake before because I thought it would be too hard but you totally proved me wrong! This looks so easy and delish! Carrot Cake all the way!
It’s as easy as putting everything into a food processor. Haha!
I love love love carrot cake. It’s on the menu for the “final meal of my life” – if I get to choose it! This makes it accessible and less of a “treat”. Yum!
I love it…final meal of my life! I hope I get to choose to.
You made me CAKE!!! And it’s carrot cake my favorite and this looks better than most of the carrot cakes I’ve had in the past. Most certainly making this one ASAP maybe for easter 🙂
I DID & it’s pretty great if I do say so myself!
I definitely need to try this! Yes, not even carrot cake comes out nice but this one looks like a charm! Thank for sharing this fantastic recipe!
Zaria
Thank you! Hope you love it.
Hi,
Can you help me out with an alternative for dates and maple as i’m on a sugar free cleanse at the moment. I can use stevia but no fruit or anything that produces sugar in the body.
I would looovveee to make this!!!
The dates are necessary. They hold everything together with their sticky consistency. There really isn’t a substitute for that. You may want to try almond butter with stevia, but I have no idea if that will work. I’m surprised you can still have stevia on a sugar cleanse. Stevia has the same affect on the body as any other sugar.
How do you soak the cashews, in what?
Thank you!
In water
Thank you for the recipe. May I please ask how long it takes to defrost once out of the freezer? I’ve made a fair bit extra for rainy days but I can be a bit impatient when it comes to carrot cake. 🙂
You don’t thaw it. You slice and eat frozen.
Hmmm did that and it is like having a frozen carrot block in your mouth.
I can’t say specifically how long it will take because it depends greatly on your climate and the the time of year too. I live in Arizona so things come to room temperature within minutes. Maybe you need to freeze for a shorter period of time or let it come to room temperature for awhile. It shouldn’t be hard as a rock. It should be soft. You’ll have to use your own personal judgement here.
Thanks for the tips on your recipe. I did manage to use my own personal judgement in the end. Thank you so much for pointing me in the right direction.
Unbelievable !! Thank you so much my daughter needs to have a Paleo diet and this makes her is and her therapist so happy just to have a little sliver of this cake is heaven !!! Thank you for being such a perfectionist !!!!!
Isn’t it amazing? Glad she liked it!
I made this today. So amazing! Thank you.
Glad you liked it! One of my personal favs.
I made this exactly like the directions. I tasted the base…AH-mazing… before putting it in my loaf pan. I just made the icing…AH-mazing. And now I have to WAIT four hours for it to set up in the freezer. This is going to be hard. Thanks for a wonderful treat. I love this and I will be making it and sharing it often.
That is just awesome! That is hands down my favorite dessert and it’s so easy. Thanks for letting me know you like it. People usually only right in when they hate something. lol
Walnuts are gross. Any substitutions??
Well, you can omit them from the top. The walnuts in the crust you can’t taste. You could try almonds. I haven’t tried it, but I’m guessing the consistency would work with a similar flavor.
Hi Megan.
Love your site and recipes!
Unfortunately I’m allergic to cashew nuts…can I use almonds and get the same result for the topping?
It’s unlikely almonds or any other nut would work. They don’t get creamy when soaked in water the way cashews do. Have you ever heard of aquafaba? It’s the water from canned garbanzo beans. If you whip it up for a very long time it become a cream like substance. Coconut cream may be another substitute. I haven’t tried any of these, but I’m guessing they would work.
Could I make this in a large round tin so it is like a raw carrot cake cheesecake? If so would I need to double the recipe?
I haven’t tried it, but I’m guessing you would have to.
Not sure why, but my icing looks nothing like the pic! What kind of coconut milk did you use? I used Pacific Organic that comes in a box. Was I supposed to use the thicker kind in a can?
I used the regular kind of out of a carton. The icing get really creamy from the soaked cashews not the coconut milk.
Strange. My Vitamix didn’t blend it well even though I soaked the cashews overnight. I think a double batch would help. There just wasn’t enough quantity in the mixer
Weird. I’ve had tons of people make this and love it. You’re the only one who’s ever mentioned it.
The cake part turned out great and it is still super yummy even with the crunchy “icing!”
Awesome! So glad you liked it. Yeah, the crunchy topping isn’t necessary.
What can I use instead of coconut flour, and what would be the amount needed for the substitute?
I have not tried another substitute. You could try almond flour, but I’m not sure on the amount. It’s hard to say because the consistency of coconut flour is very absorbent.
Although, nuts and coconut products (flour, meat, oil) have some very impressive health benefits, ie: coconut oil can increase metabolism, reduce hunger and boost HDL (the “good”) cholesterol, there are limits to how much fat should be consumed on a daily basis. And although medium-chain triglycerides may boost metabolic rate slightly, eating more calories and fat than needed could still lead to weight gain.
At 180 calories per bar, 65% of those calories come from fat, 50% of which are saturated and then add 8 gms of sugar to that. I am confused. Is this really considered a healthy option?
Yes, it is a healthy option as long as there is no health status requiring fats to be limited. There’s only 5.7 grams of saturated fat. Anything less than 5 per serving is the general recommendation. The sugar is natural sugar balanced by high fiber which means there’s very little blood sugar spike. Furthermore, those wanting to lose weight should be eating higher fat and protein diets. If someone eats above their daily caloric requirements sure they will gain weight; however, there are plenty of studies showing that it’s more than just calories when it comes to weight loss. The belief that high fat diets causes weight gain is an old one. Macronutrient content and timing is actually more important.