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Written by Robert
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Friday, 08 August 2008 |
Serves
6-8
Ingredients
800g
(1 and 3/4 pounds/5½ cups) grated carrots
175g (6oz/1½
cups) walnuts, finely chopped
45g (1½ ozs/½ cup)
dessicated coconut
150g (5ozs) dried papaya or mangoes, roughly
chopped
2 tablespoons finely chopped orange zest
215g (7½ozs/1½
cups) dried dates, pitted and chopped
Juice of 1 large orange
1
teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons ground flax seeds
85ml
(3fl oz/1/3 cup) agave nectar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch
of sea salt
Grated coconut and grated nutmeg, to decorate
Cashew
nut purée frosting:
175g (6oz/1½cups) raw cashews,
or any other raw untreated nut
3 tablespoons agave nectar
85ml
(3fl oz/1/3 cup) fresh orange juice
½ teaspoon vanilla
extract
Directions
1. Take a 20cm/8 inch
cake tin or loaf tin and line it with cling film, leaving a little
extra hanging over the edge.
2. Mix the carrots, walnuts, coconut,
papaya or mangoes and orange zest in a large bowl.
3. Place the
dates, orange juice, vanilla extract, flax seeds, agave nectar,
cinnamon and salt in a food processor. Turn the machine on and blend
until the mixture becomes soft. Stop the machine and scrape down the
sides if you need to, until you get a nice smooth purée.
4.
Mix the purée with the carrot mixture. You may need to use
your hands. So go ahead and mix it all up until it clings together.
5. Place the mixture in the prepared tin, and spread it around
using your hands until smooth and level.
6. Cover with more cling
film and leave it in the fridge overnight.
Before
you serve:
7. Make the frosting by placing the cashews
in enough water to cover them, and let them soak for about two hours.
8. Drain off the water and place the nuts in a food processor or
blender with the agave nectar, orange juice and vanilla extract. Add
more sweetness if you need to.
9. Blend the mixture until creamy
and smooth.
10. Take the carrot cake out of the fridge and flip
it over onto a serving dish. Remove the cling film and shape it a
little with your hands if necessary.
11. Frost with the cashew
nut purée, decorate with grated coconut and grated nutmeg and
serve.
* Agave Nectar: Also called agave syrup. In fact it
looks like thick sugar syrup and is 25% sweeter than sugar. Use light
agave, not the dark molasses kind.
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