Raw carrot cake (paleo, vegan, gluten-free, egg-free, dairy-free)

We recently went on holiday to Mauritius, and while we were there we had an amazing dinner at an Indian restaurant called Amari. We went there to celebrate my birthday. As a spoil, the chef very kindly made me a small birthday cake. It was amazing! He made the cake a healthy one, and it was a raw carrot cake with a cashew icing. Since then, I have been trying to work out what he put in the cake so that I could replicate it at home. I spotted a recipe this afternoon on foodmatters.com which sounded like it might be a close match to what I have been looking for. I made their recipe (with a few tweaks of my own) and it was pretty close to my Mauritian birthday cake!



Ingredients:
For the carrot cake (a small one):
1/2 cup almonds
1/2 cup cashew nuts
1 cup of desiccated coconut
1/2 cup almond flour
2 medium carrots
1/2 cup raisins
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
zest of one lemon
5 medjool dates
1 tablespoon maple syrup
30ml coconut oil
a pinch of sea salt

For the cashew lemon icing:
1/2 cup cashew nuts, soaked overnight
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
30ml coconut oil

Soak the cashew nuts for the icing for a few hours (preferably overnight). Pour boiling water over them and allow them to soften.

I used my NutriBullet for the icing, but a food processor or small blender would work too.

Blend the soaked cashew nuts (without the water), lemon juice, syrup, vanilla and coconut oil until you get a smooth spreadable mixture. If it is too dry, add a tiny bit of water.

Let this cool and set in the fridge while you make the cake.

To make the cake: using a food processor, blend the almonds, cashews and coconut until fine and crumbly. Then add the dates, syrup, vanilla and coconut oil to this mixture and blend it until it is smooth and evenly combined.

Transfer the mixture to a mixing bowl. Peel and finely grate the carrots. Add the grated carrots, raisins, cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon zest and salt and mix together with a spoon or your hands until a firm doughy mixture forms.

Line a small baking tin or other dish with baking paper. Transfer the cake mixture into the baking tin and put it in the fridge for a few hours to harden.

Once the cake and the icing have both been in the fridge for a couple of hours, take the cake out of the baking tin and remove the baking paper. Spread the cashew lemon icing over the top and serve. Store in the refrigerator.