No bake carrot cake with a silky cashew cream cheese frosting? If you like carrot cake, you will love this cake that has zero consequences. You can eat this Two Story Vegan Carrot Cake for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Guilt free!
I just got done juicing a big thing of carrots and I needed something to do with the pulp. There are so many things you can make with juiced carrot pulp and with grated carrots. You can make morning glory muffins, boil it with honey and make an Indian carrot dessert, add it to your veggie broth, blend it into sauces, and so much more. I’ve learned a valuable lesson…never throw out veggie scraps! There is always something amazing you can do with them.
With the help of my mom (thanks mom!) I have had the opportunity to test this recipe with both juiced carrot pulp and with pureed carrots. I was going to call it Carrot Cheesecake until I had her make it over on the East Coast.
Me: “Do you have an 8 inch springform pan?”
Mom: “No.”
Me: “Okay, just make it in whatever.”
Mom ended up making it in a really really big pie pan…needless to say, it turned out like carrot cake with a cream cheese frosting because it was so spread out. Even so, this carrot cake is a hit! She made it with grated carrot and canned pineapple.
THE PARENT VERDICT
Mom: “The cream tastes awesome” (picture mom eyes getting wide with delight)
Dad: “oh yummy” (picture cute dad vocal inflections)
I made it completely raw, then it got tested on my friend:
She also thought it was yum. “You should call it Two Story Carrot Cake”
And so it was born…the Two Story Vegan Carrot Cake that I made with my leftover juice pulp. Doesn’t sound very sexy when I say it like that, but you’d never know…
The Nutrition behind the Two Story Vegan Carrot Cake
A lot of people look at carrots as a high-glycemic index veggie, which I won’t disagree with, but a lot of people also don’t realize the benefits they are missing out on. My favorite carrot memory was when I went into a Sephora one day to buy an overpriced eye cream for my deep dark under eye circles. When I asked her about it, she told me the eye cream would probably work, but if I wanted a sure thing, her friend who does TV soaps swears by carrot juice every day. That may have been part of my start to always finding nutrition a better solution than anything else. Why buy a hundred dollar eye cream when you can do the same thing with a pound of veggies every week? And don’t judge me! If you had black eyes through your genetics, you’d spend a hundred dollars fixing it too. ;op Or buy carrots. Your choice.
Ingredients
- 8" springform pan
- 2 cups soaked cashews
- 1/4 cup coconut oil
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 1/2 cup whole coconut milk (from the can)
- 1/4 cup fermented coconut water or lemon juice
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp pineapple juice
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 4 cups carrot pulp or grated pulp
- 2 cups pitted dates
- 1 cup frozen, fresh or canned pineapple (canned will be slightly sweeter but you sacrifice the raw)
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
Instructions
- **Soak cashews for about 4 hours, rinse them**
- 1. Combine all the carrot cake ingredients in a high-speed blender and blend until completely smooth. Scrape down the sides for even blending every minute or so.
- 2. Press into a pan (I used an 8" springform)
- 3. Blend all of the cheesecake ingredients in a high speed blender on high until completely smooth. I usually do this on smoothie mode in my vitamix. This will take a couple minutes blending on high to make completely smooth.
- 4. Pour on top of carrot cake
- 5. Refrigerate for more of a frosting consistency or freeze for a more cheesecake consistency for at least 4-6 hours.
I’ve given you a bunch of choices between raw and cooked. I always go for raw over cooked because you keep the full enzyme profile in tact. If you just want a quick dessert, then go for the canned pineapple, the boiled cashews, the easy and fast way. But I always recommend using fresh and raw ingredients for full nutritional power unless the nutrition is better cooked.
Check out my linkup for Gluten-Free Fridays with Vegetarian Mamma!
Oh my goodness does this look decadent and delicious! I don’t eat enough carrots…. but this cake could get me to eat more of them!
J at A Hot Southern Mess recently posted…Spicy Pumpkin Bacon Dip
Right!? I love carrots and am always looking for how to get more in my diet. Thanks for commenting J! :op
Foodscape recently posted…Pumpkin Peanut Butter Pancakes
Hi Michaell, well I’m ashamed to say that in the past I’ve just composted my carrot juice pulp. I am addicted to carrot juice and sometimes splurge for the Boathouse Farms bottle. But it’s sooooooooo expensive. I just can’t do that all the time, so more often than not, I make my own carrot juice. I never know what to do with the pulp. Thanks for this idea!
And springform pans, I have so many (I think they are pro-creating because c’mon, how are they multiplying over here anyhow??!) I should send some your way, you deserve a few =)
Hehe! Composting is still a great way to use that juice pulp. You are getting that nutrition by feeding your plants. ;op You’ll have to tell me which ones like carrot pulp, k? And Laura, I’m always loving a good springform pan! Thanks for thinking of me!
Foodscape recently posted…Pumpkin Peanut Butter Pancakes
I am so excited to try this. Your photos are gorgeous. Most important though . . . I had no idea about carrot juice for dark circles. I am trying it stat! Do you drink it every single day?
Thank you so much Shannon! I admit, I’m not always consistent about carrot juice, but I truly notice a difference when I don’t drink it. Seriously…if you take a before and after pic, I totally want to see it! Shoot it over on instagram! ;op
Foodscape recently posted…Two Story Vegan Carrot Cake
Is there a way to do this without the dates? It looks delicious, but I can’t eat dates :/
Hi Nat! Absolutely you can do this without dates. Think of dates as what holds it together. Dates are quite sticky. I would do raisins in its place. In fact, it might be even more amazing. Let me know how it goes!
Foodscape recently posted…Green Monster Mint Choc Chip Ice Cream
This cake looks amazing, Michaell! 🙂 Love the color!
Sina @ Vegan Heaven recently posted…Pumpkin Pasta with Tomatoes and Basil
Oh my word this sounds amazing! I was just thinking about carrot cake 😉
Lauren recently posted…Brined Pork Chops