Preparation for the frosting (optional) Soakmacadamia nuts in water for about 2-3 hours. Shortly before the end of the soaking process, proceed to the next step (cake preparation) and drain the nuts well after soaking.
In the original recipe, the author uses 500 g of cashew nuts. These are rarely raw and also have a poor fatty acid ratio. The macadamia nut places greater demands on the mixer but goes well with the frosting in terms of appearance and taste.
Soaking is optional. It is used to protect the mixer and influence the consistency of the cake.
For the cake mixture Put the carrots in a juicer. Only keep the carrot flesh for further preparation. You can drink the juice after juicing or use it for other purposes; it is not part of the cake. Remove the pulp from the vanilla pod.
The original recipe uses 3 pounds (≈ 1.36 kilograms) of carrots and 1 pound (≈ 0.45 kilograms) of pitted Medjool dates for 10 servings. Depending on your juicer, you will get about 850 ml of carrot juice and 650 g of pulp for 10 servings.
You can find the author's information on extracting the pulp from the vanilla pod on page 135 of the book and under "Tips". If you are following a strict raw diet, leave out the vanilla.
Since we assume that you will consume the carrot juice as a drink or in some other way, the ingredients of the whole carrots are included in this cake.
Finely chop all the ingredients for the cake mixture (carrot pulp, vanilla pulp, pitted dates, raisins, mulberries, ginger, cinnamon and lemon juice) in a food processor until well combined and formed into a ball.
You can use a powerful hand blender (at least 600 watts) for pureeing (both cake mixture and frosting).
To prevent the carrot mixture from turning brown due to oxidation, we added lemon juice.
Preparation of the frosting Grind the chia seeds in a coffee grinder and remove the pulp from the vanilla pod.
Puree all frosting ingredients (ground chia seeds, pitted dates, vanilla pulp, soaked nuts, coconut water, lemon juice and cinnamon) in a blender until smooth. To do this, run the blender slowly at first and then gradually increase the speed. Puree on the highest setting until you have a smooth mixture. The frosting should have a similar consistency to whipped cream.
When you reach a smooth mixture, the mixer will make a consistent noise. In between, press the ingredients down with the tamper and release them from the inside of the mixer.
In the original recipe, Kristina Carrillo-Bucaram uses 875 ml of coconut water and recommends using 3-4 young coconuts or ready-made raw coconut water. When we tried it ourselves, however, we only used about 350 ml of coconut water, as this gives the frosting a consistency more like whipped cream. You can increase the amount if necessary, but start with a small amount (about 200 ml).
The original recipe calls for 1 teaspoon of rose water, which we have deliberately omitted here.
Start with the cake composition Line a springform pan (Ø 23cm) with a circle of baking paper (Ø 23cm). Spread about half of the cake mixture into it and smooth the surface with a palette (or suitable knife). Spread 1/3 of the frosting on top, cover with the rest of the cake mixture and add another third of the frosting on top.
You should have about ⅓ of the frosting left at the end of this preparation step.
Optional: When preparing the cake, we noticed that the weight of the cake mixture often flattens the still soft frosting, which means it does not remain as an even layer. To increase the stability of the frosting, you can also place the cakein the freezer for about 30 minutes after the first frosting coating before continuing.
Let the cake rest in the springform pan in the freezer for 2 hours to allow the layers to firm up.
Prepare the cake topping about 10 minutes before the 2 hours are up so that it is freshly prepared.
For the pistachio-orange-coconut topping Roughly chop the pistachio kernels and grate the specified amount of orange peel. Use both ingredients together with the coconut flakes as a cake topping in the next step.
When we tried it ourselves, we found that the amount of topping can be reduced. For this reason and from a health perspective, we cut the amount of pistachio kernels by a third and the amount of coconut flakes by a half.
Complete the cake composition Loosen the sides of the springform pan from the cooled cake, use the spatula to lift the cake from the bottom of the pan and place it on the cake stand. Spread the remaining frosting around the sides of the cake and decorate the top with the topping ingredients.
Serve and enjoy Cut the Happy Birthday Carrot Cake into slices and serve.
Detailed Nutritional Information per Person for this Recipe
The majority of the nutritional information comes from the USDA (US Department of Agriculture). This means that the information for natural products is often incomplete or only given within broader categories, whereas in most cases products made from these have more complete information displayed.
If we take flaxseed, for example, the important essential amino acid ALA (omega-3) is only included in an overarching category whereas for flaxseed oil ALA is listed specifically. In time, we will be able to change this, but it will require a lot of work. An “i” appears behind ingredients that have been adjusted and an explanation appears when you hover over this symbol.
For Erb Muesli, the original calculations resulted in 48 % of the daily requirement of ALA — but with the correction, we see that the muesli actually covers >100 % of the necessary recommendation for the omega-3 fatty acid ALA. Our goal is to eventually be able to compare the nutritional value of our recipes with those that are used in conventional western lifestyles.
This healthy Happy Birthday Carrot Cake with pistachio-orange-coconut topping is a raw vegan, tasty temptation.
Yield: The amount of ingredients we calculated for 10 people results in a whole cake with the diameter of the springform pan (23 cm). However, this amount corresponds more to 12-14 portions (personal experience).
New nutrient profile: One portion of this recipe covers the average daily requirement of vitamin A and manganese according to GDA guidelines. By changing the recipe we were able to bring the ratio between linoleic acid (LA) and alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) within the recommended 5:1. Due to the high sugar and fat content we recommend moderate consumption. More at: Vegans often eat unhealthily. Avoidable nutritional errors.
Macadamia nut: The macadamia nut, originally from Australia, is one of the tastiest nuts in the world due to its fine aroma. It can be eaten raw, cooked or roasted. It has a fine, almond-like taste, but is poisonous for dogs and cats. The ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids is 6:1. The cashew nuts used in the original recipe, on the other hand, have a very poor ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids at 48:1.
Coconut water: Coconut water, which also comes from coconuts, should not be confused with coconut milk. Coconut water is the practically fat-free and clear liquid of the coconut, the amount of which decreases as the stone fruit ripens. Due to its nutrient composition, the low-calorie liquid is isotonic (mineral to liquid ratio corresponds to that of our blood) and can therefore be used more quickly by the human body.
Carrots and carotenes: Carrots are popular as a low-calorie raw food and are known above all for their high carotene content. Carotenes are fat-soluble, secondary plant substances. The best-known representative is so-called beta-carotene, which gives the carotene group its name and is also an important precursor in the body's own production of retinol (vitamin A). For this reason, it is also referred to as pro-vitamin A. While the cancer-protective effects of beta-carotenes in humans are the starting point of many debates, there is agreement regarding their cell-protective effect as antioxidants. Furthermore, synthetically produced beta-carotene is finding its way into our everyday lives as a food coloring (e.g. margarine) or food additive in vitamin preparations.
Vanilla pod: The most important type for the production of commercial vanilla pods is the climbing plant known as spice vanilla (true vanilla). It is sold under the names Bourbon vanilla, Mexican vanilla and Tahitian vanilla. A good quality pod is characterized by fine, white crystals on the surface. You should also pay attention to how flexible it is.
Tips
Raw dried fruits:Fruits that are dried at a low temperature (42 °C or below) are considered raw and are usually labelled as such. (Kristina Carrillo-Bucaram)
Optimal springform pan size: A springform pan with a diameter of approx. 23 cm (Ø) is best for this cake.
Remove the vanilla pulp from the pod:Halve the vanilla pod lengthways with a small sharp knife and then scrape the back of the knife blade over the inside of the pod so that the tiny little seeds (the pulp) collect on it.(Kristina Carrillo-Bucaram)
Storage of carrots: For a better shelf life of carrots, it is recommended to cut off the green leaves when storing in the refrigerator or to remove the plastic packagingto remove.
Fresh mulberries: The mulberry has an elongated, blackberry-like appearance and tastes sweet and aromatic. Even though this recipe uses the gently dried, still raw variety, it is worth looking for fresh mulberries. These are rarely found because they are too soft and juicy for transport over long distances. Freshly picked, they are available in three basic color variations, from white to red to black. Gently dried, they are still raw, but usually lose some of their color, which they owe to anthocyanins, among other things. These are water-soluble, natural dyes that are currently the subject of research in connection with potential protective effects against certain diseases.
Frosting stability: When preparing the cake, we noticed that the weight of the cake mixture often flattens the soft frosting, causing it to not stay as an even layer. To increase the stability of the frosting, you can also place the cake in the freezer for about 30 minutes after the first frosting coating before continuing.
Alternate preparation
Strictly raw food: If you want to prepare this recipe as a strictly raw food, you can leave out the vanilla pods. Strictly speaking, the pods themselves are not raw food. The reason for this is the complex processing in which the pods are blanched before the fermentation process that gives them the aroma.
