Raw Carrot Cake Square with Lemony Icing

— found in Food —

Dear joyous readers,

Life without dessert would be a life without sweetness! You deserve a sweet life. On that note I've created another joyous dessert that I hope becomes a fave in your home :)

Since my book came out in January I've been doing a ton of workshops and book events demo'ing my carrot cake balls. This is how this recipe came about -- I had some leftover carrot cake raw cookie goodness from a workshop, so I decided to put it into a square baking pan and then whip up icing for it. It turned out FOODGASMIC!

The carrot cake recipe came from my book -- page 258 and the icing was from the Lemon Poppyseed Loaf recipe on page 268.

This recipe requires no baking whatsoever (yay!), it's totally gluten-free and dairy-free and you will fool those naysayers that think healthy isn't tasty into thinking this is artery-clogging and muffin-top-promoting because it's sooooo good! Then of course you should tell them the truth at how joyously healthy this recipe truly is.

Here's the recipe.

Desserts

Raw Carrot Cake Squares with Lemony Icing

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Ingredients

Carrot Cake Squares*
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
12 medjool date, pitted
1.5 cups walnuts
3 medium carrots, cut into chunks
1/2 cup hemp seeds or 2 scoops vanilla vegan protein powder
1/2 cup honey
2 tsp pure vanilla extract (if not using vanilla protein powder)
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cloves
Lemony Icing
1/2 cup coconut butter at room temp (this is not the same thing as coconut oil -- see note below)
1/4 cup honey
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp grated lemon zest
Optional: 2 tbsp almond milk

Instructions

Carrot Cake Squares
Place all the ingredients in a large food processor and blend until almost smooth. You may need to do this in two batches. Press mixture into a square 8x8 inch baking pan. Place in fridge.
*You will notice I doubled the ingredients from the original recipe to fill out a square pan nicely. You don't have to do this if you want a thinner square.
Lemony Icing
Place icing ingredients into a mini food processor and blend until creamy. Add almond milk if you want a thinner consistency. Smooth over top of carrot cake mixture. Refrigerate or freeze until ready to enjoy! It will be easier to cut if you freeze it. Just let it sit for a few minutes once you remove it from the freezer otherwise the icing will be crumbly when you cut it.

Feb 23, 2014 BY Joy McCarthy

Joyous Comfort

14 Comments

PREPARING FOR WHOLE FOODS FUELLING | The North Face Whistler Half Marathon • March 3, 2014

[…] Raw Carrot Cake Bites – adapted from this recipe […]

Ashley • March 6, 2014

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 :-)

Judy Hill • March 20, 2014

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.

Joyous Health • April 10, 2014

[…] 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 […]

Letty • July 6, 2014

Thanks for clarifying the difference between coconut oil and coconut butter. What is your source for coconut butter?

Kate McDonald-Walker • July 6, 2014

Hi Letty, I like Artisana's coconut butter. Kate - Joyous Health Team

Nicole • October 7, 2014

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

Kate McDonald Walker • October 8, 2014

Hi Nicole, You can find coconut butter at many larger grocery stores and health food stores. Kate- Joyous Health Team

Lynn • May 23, 2015

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?

Kate McDonald Walker • May 25, 2015

Hi Lynn, Sure, ground flax seed could be used here. Let us know how it turns out! Kate - Joyous Health Team

Terri • February 14, 2017

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?

Rachel • February 15, 2017

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

Raquel • February 26, 2020

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.