Raw vegan carrot cake bars are the perfect sweet treat for spring! Made with only 10 ingredients in your food processor and topped with cashew cream cheese frosting! This ‘cake’ is naturally sweetened and topped with a swoon-worth cream cheese frosting. Serve this as a spring dessert or eat for breakfast!
This week has been has been beyond surreal.
I haven’t said much about the current situation because I don’t think any of us need to be hearing extra noise. We have all seen the news. And I, like all of us, are listening to the experts and taking things day by day.
But I wanted to let you know a few things that I have been doing this week to stay sane and productive while staying at home and doing my part to flatten the curve.
1. Practicing daily gratitude. Each morning I share three things I am grateful for on my Instagram stories and I love hearing what you are grateful for each day too!
2. Yoga
3. Cooking/baking.
4. Puzzles! I bought a few puzzles on Amazon and I forgot how therapeutic they are.
5. Reading.
6. Rewatching The Americans.
7. Practicing my photography.
And all this time at home as led me to create the most insane…
RAW VEGAN CARROT CAKE BARS WITH CASHEW CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
Pin this recipe for later!
Let’s talk ingredients. What do you need to make this raw carrot cake?
These bars have all the carrot cake staples (plus a few extras too!)…
Carrots. What’s carrot cake without carrots?? Well, it’s not carrot cake actually.
Walnuts. Another carrot cake staple. Walnuts (and cashews in this case) are ground down to make the base of this recipe.
Spices. All the warming spices please! We’ve got cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg.
Raisins. Does this need an explanation? Definitely not.
Cream Cheese Frosting. I couldn’t make carrot cake and not top it with cream cheese frosting! We’re keeping this version vegan with a blend of cashews, coconut milk, vanilla, and maple syrup.
How do you make raw vegan carrot cake?
The making is easy! All you need is a food processor. (This one is my favorite!)
- Shred the carrots. Using a food processor with the shredding blade or cheese grater, shred carrots until you have 1 cup. Remove from the food processor and set aside.
- Create your flour. Using the S-blade in your food processor. Process cashews and walnuts until they are almost ground into a flour, but stop before it begins to form a nut butter consistency.
- Add in your spices. Add cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg to the food processor. Pulse a few times to incorporate.
- Add in the dates. Drain the dates from their soaking water and squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Add them to the food processor, pulsing until fully incorporated.
- Finish with the mix-ins! Add in the shredded carrots and raisins. Pulse a few times until they are evenly mixed throughout. You do not want to over processes here because you want little chunks of carrot and raisin throughout.
- Store and chill. Line a 4×8 inch loaf pan with parchment paper and add in your carrot cake mixture. Flatten with a spatula and place in the fridge to set while you make the frosting.
- Make the frosting. Drain the cashews and add them to the basin of a clean food processor or high powered mixer. Add in the coconut milk, maple syrup, and vanilla extract. Process for a few minutes until completely smooth.
- Top the carrot cake. Remove the cake from the fridge and top it with the cashew cream cheese frosting. Place the raw vegan carrot cake into the freezer for at least 30 minutes until set.
- Serve. Remove from the freezer and let it come to room temperature for 5 minutes before cutting and serving.
Looking for more raw vegan dessert recipes? Try a few of these!
Raw Peppermint Cheesecake Bites
But for now, let’s stick with our Raw Vegan Carrot Cake Bars with Cashew Cream Cheese Frosting!
When you make this raw carrot cake recipe, post a picture on social media and use the hashtag #imhungrybynature for a chance to be featured!
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Raw Vegan Carrot Cake Bars with Cashew Cream Cheese Frosting
- Prep Time: 30 mins
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 8 bars 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Food Processor
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
Raw vegan carrot cake bars are a sweet treat for spring! Made with only 10 ingredients in your food processor and topped with cashew cream cheese frosting!
Ingredients
For the carrot cake bars:
1 cup carrots, shredded in a food processor
1 cup cashews
1 cup walnuts
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
3/4 cup pitted dates (about 8), soaked
1/2 cup raisins
For the cashew cream cheese frosting:
2/3 cup cashews, soaked
1/4 cup full fat coconut milk or cream
1 Tablespoon maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Shred the carrots. Using a food processor with the shredding blade or cheese grater, shred carrots until you have 1 cup. Remove from the food processor and set aside.
- Create your flour. Using the S-blade in your food processor. Process cashews and walnuts until they are almost ground into a flour, but stop before it begins to form a nut butter consistency.
- Add in your spices. Add cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg to the food processor. Pulse a few times to incorporate.
- Add in the dates. Drain the dates from their soaking water and squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Add them to the food processor, pulsing until fully incorporated.
- Finish with the mix-ins! Add in the shredded carrots and raisins. Pulse a few times until they are evenly mixed throughout. You do not want to over processes here because you want little chunks of carrot and raisin throughout.
- Store and chill. Line a 4×8 inch loaf pan with parchment paper and add in your carrot cake mixture. Flatten with a spatula and place in the fridge to set while you make the frosting.
- Make the frosting. Drain the cashews and add them to the basin of a clean food processor or high powered mixer. Add in the coconut milk, maple syrup, and vanilla extract. Process for a few minutes until completely smooth.
- Top the carrot cake. Remove the cake from the fridge and top it with the cashew cream cheese frosting. Place the raw vegan carrot cake into the freezer for at least 30 minutes until set.
- Serve. Remove from the freezer and let it come to room temperature for 5 minutes before cutting and serving.
Keywords: carrot cake, dessert, raw, vegan
I am trying this for the first time. How long should you soak the dates for?
I soak mine in hot water for 30 minutes! You want them to be really soft. Let me know how they turn out!
I thought it tasted great, but the texture of the frosting was grainy. I used lite coconut milk. Maybe the difference?
Thank you for the recipe!
★★★★