It’s amazing how delicious this cashew frosting is! There are some tricks below for getting it to the perfect frosting consistency. You may want to add more or less stevia or honey so that it’s sweetened to your preference. I LOVE it super sweet so I tend to have a heavy hand with the granulated stevia. (My favorite brand is Great Value from Walmart and it measures just like sugar with ZERO bitterness.) Also, for most recipes that call for coconut oil, I use refined coconut oil which avoids the coconut taste that most people assume it has. But for this recipe, it won’t matter. Also, the shredded coconut is optional but I think it adds great texture. If you add it then add just 2 tsp of water to keep the batter moist. Lastly, this recipe also makes muffins!! You can use standard muffing tins or the jumbo muffin tins. Cook at the same temp and just watch the time for cooking, but the use same range of 17-21 minutes. For the muffins, you can safely halve the recipe of you wish. As always, post your comments and photos!!!
Ingredients-
For the CASHEW FROSTING
* 4 cups raw cashew
* hot water
* 1 can (15 oz) full-fat coconut milk (just the cream from the top of the can)
* 1/2 cup granulated stevia
* 1/2 cup honey
* up to 1/2 cup tapioca flour
* ¾ cup coconut oil, melted
* 3 tablespoons lemon juice
* 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
* ½ tablespoon apple cider vinegar
* 1 pinch salt
For the CAKE
* 4 1/2 almond flour
* 4 tablespoons coconut flour
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
* 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
* 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
* 4 large eggs
* 2/3 cup coconut oil, melted
* 2/3 cup honey
* 4 teaspoons vanilla
* 1 cup grated carrots
* 1/3 cup unsweetened shredded coconut (optional, along with 2 tsp water)
Instructions:
For the Frosting:
1. In a large bowl, add the cashews and enough hot water to cover them. Let soak for at least 1 hour (I soak them overnight).
2. Rinse and drain the cashews, then add them to a food processor or blender. Add the coconut cream, stevia, honey, coconut oil, lemon juice, vanilla extract, apple cider vinegar, and salt. Blend until completely smooth (scrape the sides down as needed). (Save the tapioca flour for a later step).
3. Transfer the cashew frosting to a bowl and refrigerate while you bake the cake.
For the cake-
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease 2 separate 8-inch round cake pans with coconut oil or clean cooking spray, and set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together the dry ingredients (almond flour through nutmeg). Set this aside.
3. In a large bowl, mix together the eggs, oil, honey, and vanilla.
4. Add the dry mix to the wet mix just until combined and then gently fold in the grated carrots and shredded coconut.
5. Divide the batter evenly among the two cake pans. Bake for 17-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
6. Let the cakes cool for 5 minutes in the pan and then remove to a wire rack to cool completely. Do not frost until completely cool!
7. When you remove the frosting from the fridge, check it’s thickness. You may need to add some tapioca flour to the frosting to stiffen it up. Start with 1 tbsp at a time. You shouldn’t need more than a little bit. Whisk it into the frosting until it has a stiff consistency.
8. Frost the top of each cake and then stack them like a classic layer cake. If you wish, too with additional shredded carrots, coconut or even almond or walnut pieces.
