RECIPES

Raw carrot, cashew and toasted hazelnut cake with date and chocolate frosting

Carob comes from the carob tree, the seedpods are dried, the taste somewhat similar to sweetened cocoa, and so sometimes used as a chocolate substitute. In this case it is used to flavour the base, if you are looking to avoid chocolate you can use carob with a little rice flour in with the dates to make the frosting.

Ingredients for the cake
(serves 8-10)

• 3-4 medium to large carrots
• 1 lemon~ juice and zest
• 100 grams sultanas
• 200 grams of cashews and 100 grams hazelnuts
• 100 grams sunflower seeds
• 25 grams whole and or 50-100 grams shelled hemp seed
• Spices: 2-3 dessertspoons of carob powder 1-2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon

Ingredients for the frosting

• 250 grams pitted dates~ finely chopped
• 150 gram block of chocolate~ 70% cocoa solids is best
• Enough boiling water to just cover the dates

• 1 large plate to make the cake on, and a little oil to grease it
• 1 small saucepan and heat proof bowl that fits on top

Method

• Just cover the dates with water in a small bowl, leave to soak for about two hours, once soft, mash them with a fork to a smooth paste. Scrub the carrots and wash the apple, finely grate both into a suitable size container covering with the lemon juice and zest, this stops them going brown.
• Place 3 fingers depth of water in the pan and heat it up, in the bowl break up the chocolate into small pieces, then place over the simmering water to melt, stirring occasionally. Once melted, add to the date paste whisking it together, place in a cool spot and continue with the cake.
• Toast the hazelnut in a dry frying pan until you can smell the aroma coming from them, leave to cool a moment. Grind the whole hemp seeds in a coffee or seed grinder as fine as possible.
• In the blender or food processor, grind separately and all as finely as possible, the nuts, sunflower and if appropriate the shelled hemp seeds. Place them into a large mixing bowl adding the prepared carrots, apple, lemon and spices, mix together thoroughly to form a ball.
• Lightly grease the centre of the plate leaving a good edge free, place the cake mix in the middle, and then using spatula ease out the mix to form a cake shape. It can be as thick or thin as you like, you can play with the shapes, smooth it out finally and place in the fridge for 10 minutes.
• Now to put on the frosting, again with the spatula spread as evenly as possible over the sides and edges of the cake, return to the fridge and leave to set for another hour before slicing and serving.
• This cake can be started well ahead of time, leaving you to concentrate on the rest of the meal knowing you have a delicious dessert ready prepared. It is lovely served with a nut cream, the recipe given in this section.

Leftovers:

will keep covered in the fridge for up to two days.