Gluten Free & Vegan Carrot Cake

A friend posted this recipe on facebook and advertised it as the “best gluten-free vegan carrot cake sweetened with honey and maple syrup, with a raw cashew frosting!” Of course I had to try it…

I shared the muffins with a few people and everyone agreed that they were quite tasty! I used Bob's Red Mill all purpose gluten-free flour again, and I could taste the garbanzo bean flour. I am still hoping to find a convenient and affordable alternative.

The part of this recipe that was most interesting to me was the cashew frosting. I had no idea that such cool things could be done with cashews until this month!

Sorry I don't have any pictures, but I refrigerated my muffins and the frosting discolored slightly. I think it is because of the maple syrup in them. They don't look amazing right now but they do still taste great.

Carrot Cake

Dry Ingredients

2 ½ cups gluten-free flour
2 tsp xanthum gum
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda
4 tsp baking powder
1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg

Wet Ingredients
1 cup almond milk
3 Tbsp flax meal
1 1/2 cups honey/maple syrup
1 cup melted coconut oil
1 Tbsp grated fresh ginger
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
3/4 pound carrot juice pulp/grated carrots (about 3 cups)

Other Ingredients
1 cup walnuts or pecans, chopped
1/2 cup chopped dates

Directions:

Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl.

In another large bowl, mix wet ingredients.

Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix well.

Add other ingredients and mix well.

Grease pans with coconut oil.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes, depending on how many pans you put the mix in. I made muffins.

Once muffins are cool, frost them with recipe below:

Frosting – Mix all ingredients in blender.
2 cups soaked raw cashews
approx 1/4 cup water (add more if needed)
pinch salt
2 tsp. vanilla
2 Tbsp. maple syrup