Eggless, Sugar-Free, and Dairy-Free Carrot Cake

1. 1

   Preheat the oven to 180 degrees (355 F) top and bottom heat

2. 2

   Finely grate the carrots (if they are not organic, peel them beforehand if necessary) and set aside. I grate the carrots with my food processor.

3. 3

   Grate the zest of a lemon and an orange, the outermost layer (excluding the white bitter one underneath). Put half of the zest aside for decoration.

4. 4

   Then squeeze the lemon and both oranges. You need a total of 150 ml (5 oz or 0.65 cup) of juice. If it is still not enough, the rest can be filled up with (mineral) water.

5. 5

   Blend the dates with the oil, lemon juice, orange juice, and flaxseeds (I do this with my mini blender). Pour the mixture into a bowl.

6. 6

   Add lemon and orange zest.

7. 7

   Add dry ingredients (flour, ground walnuts, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt) (I add them all at once when I use my food processor) and mix

8. 8

   Add the grated carrots while stirring and mix well.

9. 9

   Grease a loaf pan with a bit of oil and then dust it with flour.

10. 10

    Pour the batter into the loaf pan.

11. 11

    Place the loaf tin in the oven (one level below the middle one) and bake at 180 degrees (365 F) for about 50 to 55 minutes. Do the toothpick test!

12. 12

    Turn off the oven, open the door, and let the cake cool before carefully removing it from the pan.

While the cake is baking, the frosting can be prepared:

1. 13

   Soak the cashews in hot water (cashews shall be covered in water) for about 45 minutes.

2. 14

   Squeeze the lemon and half the orange. In total, it should be 80 ml (2.7 oz or 0.35 cups) of juice.

3. 15

   Drain the cashews, then blend your soaked cashews with lemon, and orange juice, and dates until creamy.

4. 16

   While the cake is cooling, refrigerate the frosting as well. The frosting is spread over the cake before serving.

5. 17

   Decorate the carrot cake with the remaining lemon and orange zest.