Ginger Spice Carrot Cake

This healthy carrot cake is delicious with a decadent frosting – what more could anyone ask for?

Ingredients

Vanilla Ginger Frosting

• 1/2 cup coconut butter
• 1/2 cup raw honey
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons fresh ginger, grated

Cake

• 1 cup raw pecans
• 2 tablespoons flax meal
• 1 tablespoon ginger powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/3 cup shredded coconut
• 4 ounces dried yacon slices, ground (about 1 cup)
• 12 medjool dates, pitted and diced
• 2 cups shredded carrots, packed
• 2 cups shredded apples, packed

Instructions

Frosting

1. Blend all of the ingredients together. Set aside in a bowl while you make the cake. If the frosting starts to solidify too much before pouring on the cake, warm it slightly in a dehydrator for a few minutes prior to frosting the cake. (If you don’t have a dehydrator, you can set it on top of a warm toaster oven for a few minutes.)

Cake

1. Place the pecans, flax meal, ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a food processor, fitted with the «S» blade, and process until the pecans reach a grind of slightly coarse. Transfer to a large bowl, add the coconut, and set aside.
2. In a separate bowl, put the ground yacon, dates, and carrots together, Before adding the apples to this bowl, squeeze out some of the juice (this helps reduce the wetness). Add the apples to the bowl along with the carrots and toss together.
3. Add the carrot mixture to the pecan mixture and toss to mix.
4. Put 1/3-1/2 of the cake mixture in the food processor, fitted with the «S» blade, and briefly process it so it breaks the components down a bit, but do not over-process it. Transfer it to a bowl. Do this with the remainder of the cake mixture.
5. Press half of the batter, gently, but firmly, into a square or round springform pan. Follow that with the other half of the cake mixture on top, and gently, but firmly, press it down. (I like to do this in two steps to make sure it gets pressed evenly.)
6. Pour the frosting evenly on top. Place the cake in the refrigerator for up to an hour to solidify the frosting. If desired, you can drizzle a little yacon syrup on top before serving, as shown in the photo.

Notes

Before grinding the yacon slices, place them in the freezer for 10-15 minutes to make them easier to grind. Then, using a food processor, fitted with the «S» blade, grind the yacon slices. You might want to do this in two batches.2 cups shredded apples, packeda.