Raw food is well known for containing far more nutrients than cooked. While some foods have to be cooked before they’re eaten, those that can be eaten raw hold much more of an ability to provide us with vitamins when we allow them to stay raw….
‘Raw ‘til four’ is a popular lifestyle and way of eating, which is eating only raw food up until 4pm, and then consuming a cooked meal for dinner; this is mostly to aid digestion, as lightly cooked foods and soups digest better throughout the night than raw. With this way of eating, ‘raw’ technically means anything that is completely fresh and unheated or has been heated up to no more than 42 degrees C for 2-5 minutes (this is how long it’ll take for the food to become warm to touch), because raising the temperature any higher is likely to kill off good bacteria and nutrients in the food.
Of course many of us have eaten totally raw meals many times before; salads, fruits, smoothies, and even some dairy products are considered ‘raw’…. But cakes? Aren’t cakes meant to be baked….!?
Yes, most cakes are baked, but the ingredients for this cake are so nutritious it’d be a shame to cook them. Plus, this one has added benefits of being totally free of gluten, grains, dairy products and refined sugar, and if you swap the honey for pure maple syrup or agave nectar, it’s totally 100% vegan too. Not only that, but there’s no mixing bowl or oven required, and you won’t end up using hundreds of spoons (the only down side is that there’s no spoon to lick at the end….).
You’ll just need one blender and one pan or tin big enough to fit the cake!
Makes: A pretty substantial amount of cake (Mine was about an inch thick (or an inch tall, however you think about cake, and filled a 20cm x 20cm square Pyrex dish)
INGREDIENTS
CAKE:
2 cups of chopped carrots
2 cups of walnuts
1 cup of raisins
¾ cup desicated coconut
2 tbsp sunflower seeds
¼ cup honey or pure maple syrup
1-2 tsp vanilla extract
1-2 tsp cinnamon
FROSTING:
1 ½ cups cashews
juice of half a large lemon or 1 small lemon
¼ cup honey or pure maple syrup
1-2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp water (if needed)
HOW TO
- Place the chopped carrots in the processor or blender and pulse until finely chopped but still chunky.
- Add all other cake ingredients to a food processor or blender and pulse until everything is well blended but still with a few chunky pieces left in it.
- Take the mixture out of the blender and press firmly into a tin (if it’s too crumbly, you may need to add more honey or raisins)
- Place cake mixture into the fridge to set while you make the frosting
- Place all frosting ingredients into the food processor or blender, and blend until smooth. Wait until you’ve blended everything to decide whether to add water!
- Spread the frosting over the cake mixture, and if you can, cover with brown paper or cling film and something weighted (a book or something that fits in the cake pan) to press the mixture firmly together while it sets.
- This is probably best left to set over night or for at least a few hours.
- Once set, cut into small pieces and share! If you take this cake to a get-together or offer it to friends, make sure you have this recipe handy – as they’ll almost definitely ask how to make it!
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