Carrot Cake Cupcakes

Completely raw and vegan! These are so fun and delicious! I think this was the first recipe I ever made from Ani's Raw Food Kitchen. I made them way back for Bianca's birthday and they were well liked, by those that enjoy raw foods of course :) The frosting was the best part, you might consider doubling it so there's plenty!

Carrot Cake Cupcakes

For the cake:
5 C carrot pulp, from about 3 pounds carrots
1 3/4 C raw sunflower seeds
1 C dates, pitted and soaked for a couple hours
2 C shredded coconut
1 1/2 t nutmeg
3 t cinnamon
Process the sunflower seeds in a cuisinart until ground into a flour. Add in the date slowly blended them in with the sunflower seed mixture. In a large mixing bowl combine the mixture with the carrot pulp and the spices, adding more to taste.

For the frosting:
1 1/2 C raw cashews
2 T fresh lemon juice
2 T agave or honey
1/2 C water, as needed
You'll need a high speed blender for this recipe. In a Vitamix blend all ingredients adding in water to get a creamy frosting like consistency. To make the frosting whiter use light colored agave.

Assembly:
You need to actually have a cupcake pan with liners. Allow them to harden in the refrigerator before you remove them from the pan. Scoop out the cake and fill each cupcake section leaving a tiny bit of room for frosting. The best way to frost them is to fill a small zip-lock bag and then cut the very edge of the corner and squeeze from the opposite end. Top cupcakes with the frosting in a circular motion from outside to the center.

You can freeze these and they'll last much longer, take them out to defrost about a half hour before you eat them, they're really moist this way.

Enjoy,
Dani