This raw vegan carrot cake with cashew frosting is easy to make with no baking required. It’s healthy enough for a daily treat and decadent enough for a special occasion. This recipe is gluten-free and refined sugar-free.

Two white plates with slices of raw vegan carrot cake.

This beautiful, raw vegan carrot cake is naturally sweetened, topped with delicious cashew “cream cheese” frosting and easy to prepare in minutes. The dough is soft with the perfect amount of spice and carrot cake flavor – you’ll love it!

Don’t expect this to taste like a fluffy carrot cake with loads of cream cheese frosting. The texture of this “cake” is more dense and somewhat like an energy bar than an actual cake. I actually used the dough to roll a few carrot cake balls and that works great too!

If you don’t have a springform pan, the dough can be pressed into a saran or parchment paper-lined square baking dish and cut into squares once firm.

Sliced raw vegan carrot cake on a springform pan with a knife.

How to Make this Recipe

This recipe is very easy to make. It requires two steps: blending up the carrot cake “dough” and blending the cashew frosting.

The raw dough is made from nuts, dates and of course, carrots. Paired with cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and vanilla, it’s full of flavour and taste like like carrot cake!

After you’re blended up the dough, you’ll press it into a springform pan and then move on to the cashew frosting. If you have a high-speed blender such as a Vitamix, you can get away without soaking the cashews. If not, I’d recommend soaking them for 4 hours up to overnight.

In a pinch, you can pour boiling water over them and soak for 20 minutes before using but the longer they soak, the smoother and creamier the frosting will be.

Ingredients for raw vegan carrot cake in a food processor.
Blended dough for raw vegan carrot cake in a food processor.
Soaked raw cashews in a blender to make cashew cream cheese frosting.
Cashew frosting in a blender.
Springform cake pan with a spatula spreading cashew cream cheese frosting over raw carrot cake.
Springform cake pan with raw carrot cake ready to go in the freezer.

Serving

After the frosting has set in the freezer, you’ll want to let it soften a bit before slicing and serving. After it comes out of the freezer, 15 minutes should be just right, however, you can slice and serve earlier if needed using a hot knife.

The cake is best serve chilled but not frozen. It can be left at room temperature but the frosting will soften as it continues to sit and the coconut oil melts.

Large slice of raw carrot cake on a white plate with a fork.

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Large slice of raw carrot cake on a white plate with a fork.

Raw Vegan Carrot Cake with Cashew Frosting

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 3 reviews
  • Author: Deryn Macey
  • Prep Time: 15 min
  • Cook Time: 3 hours
  • Total Time: 3 hours 15 minutes
  • Yield: 8
  • Category: Dessert
  • Method: Blender
  • Cuisine: American
  • Diet: Vegan
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Description

This delicious raw cake is easy to make with no baking required! It makes a wonderful healthy vegan dessert or quick snack anytime of day.


Ingredients

For the Carrot Cake

For the Cashew Frosting

  • 1.5 cups cashews, soaked for 48 hours, drained and rinsed
  • 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
  • 3 tbsp maple syrup
  • 3 tbsp coconut oil

Instructions

  1. Place the nuts and coconut flour into a food processor and mix until the nuts are broken down.
  2. Add the dates and process to combine into a thick dough.
  3. Add the rest of the carrot cake ingredients and pulse until just combined. Over-mixing will result in a denser cake.
  4. Press the dough into a 7-9 inch springform pan (a 7 inch pan was used in the photos, a 9 inch pan will result in a thinner cake).
  5. Blend the cashews frosting ingredients until smooth and creamy.
  6. Spread the frosting over the cake and then place in the freezer until the frosting is firm to the touch.
  7. When you’re ready to serve, if the cake is frozen allow it to sit at room temperature for 15-30 minutes then go ahead and slice and serve. If it’s just firm, slice and serve immediately. Store leftovers in the fridge for up to 1 week or freezer for up to 2 months.

Notes

It’s important to use soft, fresh dates in this recipe. If your dates are dry, soak them in hot water for 10 minutes then drain well before using.

Adapted from Rawsome Vegan Life. 

This recipe was originally published May 3, 2013.