These wonderfully flavourful carrot cake squares with lemon icing are adapted from a beloved recipe from my first cookbook Joyous Health. That beloved recipe was Carrot Cake Balls which are also on the blog right here.
This recipe requires no baking whatsoever (yay!).
Here’s the recipe.
Desserts
Carrot Cake Squares with Lemony Icing
PrintIngredients
- 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- 12 medjool dates, pitted
- 1 cup walnuts
- 1/4 hemp hearts
- 3 medium carrots, cut into chunks
- 4 tbsp raw honey*
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp cloves
Lemon Icing
- 1 can coconut whipping cream
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 tsp grated lemon zest
Instructions
- Line a square 8"x8" baking pan with parchment paper.
- Place all the ingredients (excluding icing) in a large food processor and blend until almost smooth. You may need to do this in two batches if using a small food processor. See tip in notes.
- Press mixture into a square 8x8 inch baking pan. Place in freezer for 1 hour.
- In a mixing bowl, combine coconut whipping cream, vanilla and grated lemon zest.
- Slather over carrot cake squares and refrigerate until serving.
Notes
*Add more honey if needed.
If batter is not getting sticky enough, you can add more dates, one at a time.
They provide the sticking power.
Please note: Image is not the actual photo of the recipe.
This is an old recipe I revamped and haven't had a chance to reshoot it.
18 thoughts on “Carrot Cake Squares with Lemon Icing”
[…] Raw Carrot Cake Bites – adapted from this recipe […]
Joy, I made the carrot cake balls from the recipe from your book, and they’re divine! A great mid-afternoon snack so that my blood sugar doesn’t crash, but is still healthy. Thanks for the sweet re-invention 🙂
Loving your new book! Wish I could just curl up with a nice cup of tea and read the whole thing all day long. Too bad work has to get in the way lol.
[…] much everywhere I go these days to teach a workshop or do a book signing I sample my carrot cake balls (a recipe from my book) and always sneak a few for myself of course. In fact, I’m doing […]
Thanks for clarifying the difference between coconut oil and coconut butter. What is your source for coconut butter?
Hi Letty,
I like Artisana’s coconut butter.
Kate – Joyous Health Team
Hello Joy
For your lemon icing you mention coconut butter … could you please let me know where I can find this ingredient or do you simply make it?
Thank you
Nicole
Hi Nicole,
You can find coconut butter at many larger grocery stores and health food stores.
Kate- Joyous Health Team
This looks like the most amazing dessert. . . thank you or sharing it!
Do you think milled organic flax seed would work in place of the hemp
seeds or protein powder?
Hi Lynn,
Sure, ground flax seed could be used here. Let us know how it turns out!
Kate – Joyous Health Team
I had a heck of a time with the icing–it wouldn’t emulsify and the oil kept separating out. Why? The jar I bought had separated into hardened oil and solids so first I had to warm it to blend it back together. Then when I added it to the other ingredients I ended up with a lump of good and oil around it. Can it be fixed?
Hey Terri!
Oh no! That’s no good. I’m wondering if it was the heating of the coconut butter that interfered with the emulsification process? Typically Joy uses coconut butter at room temperature so it is a bit more on the hard side. If you still have the icing mixture, you could let it harden at room temperature or in the fridge and then try to whip it again, adding in a bit of coconut butter or almond milk as needed to fix it?
Let us know how it goes! Hope you’re able to get it sorted. It’s such a yummy treat!
Rachel – Joyous Health Team
I tried this recipe tonight and I enjoyed it. It is very very sweet for my taste so instead of the icing that is recommended, I opted for just plain coconut milk whipped topping. It was perfect.
Sounds wonderful, love your substitution and that you made it your own!
Honey is listed twice in the ingredients. Does the Icing have any of the honey or is it that much in the cake part? Thanks
Good catch and sorry for the confusion. I had updated the amount but the old amount was still showing. All fixed now. And if you like, you can add honey to the icing, but you don’t need to. Enjoy!
Would you consider putting the nutritional value at the end of your recipes? It would be such a helpful additio.(just the main ones like calories per serving, fat protein carbs sugar)
Hi Helen, without getting too much into it – because it’s hard to communicate this over a comment – the reason I don’t do this is because of my philosophy on food and mindful eating. We need to enjoy food, listen to our gut and trust we know what our body needs, vs drilling it down to a number as food is so much more than a number and complicated than macros. However, I can understand if you’re doing a keto diet (needing to know carbs) or diabetic which is why I recommend using an app. Hope that helps!