Let me start by saying that this recipe probably isn’t for everyone. There was a time in my life when I delivered pizzas for a living, subsisted on beer and cigarettes, and regularly made late-night stops at the McDonald’s drive through for two cheeseburgers and a large fries, which I would then take home to use as a vehicle the consumption of truly impressive amounts of ketchup. It was a pretty sexy period of my life.
At that time, my taste buds were shot. My system craved massive amounts of sugar, salt and fat, and the more of these three things a food had, the better it tasted. Well folks, things have changed a bit for me since then. I remember having the realization over a low-sugar, whole-wheat, something-or-other that I had actually come to enjoy “healthy tasting” food. How lame.
These Raw Carrot Cup Cakes are probably not going to knock the socks off of those people in your life who still can’t wrap their brains around how you survive without bacon. I wouldn’t dream of feeding them to my married-to-meat-and-potatos father. Other people in my life, however, will probably appreciate them as a decadent little treat, made all the more enjoyable for their lack of refined flour, oil, eggs, sugar and cream cheese. If they don’t, I’ll eat the whole batch myself. I’ve already had three.
If you don’t have silicone baking cups, try pressing the “batter” into a lined loaf pan or glass pie dish. You’ll just have to be careful when cutting it, as there is no flour holding things together.
INGREDIENTS
4 to 5 medium carrots – two cups shredded and squeezed
1 1/3 cups raw walnuts
1/2 cup pitted dates
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup unsweetened dried coconut
1/4 t cinnamon
1/4 t nutmeg
1/4 t cloves
pinch of salt
One batch of Cashew Chia Frosting
- By hand, or in a food processor with a grating attachment, grate the carrots. Using clean hands, squeeze out as much liquid as possible into a glass or bowl, then place the squeezed carrot shreds into a large bowl. Drink the carrot juice 🙂
- Now with the S blade in the food processor, process the remaining ingredients until crumbly.
- Add half of the carrots and process lightly, then add the mixture to the remaining carrots and stir to combine.
- Spoon into silicone baking cups (or alternative, see headnotes) and chill.
- Make Cashew Chia Frosting. Chill.
- When ready to serve, take cupcakes out of molds, spoon frosting on top, and garnish as desired with extra cinnamon, nuts, flaked coconut, etc. Best when served chilled. Makes 11.
