Brown sugar carrot cake with cashew cheese frosting

    I believe that you should always feel good about your food and always eat food that feels good. If you're going to eat something, go for it all the way, enjoy it and have no regrets, no doubts, let your body extract all the goodness from it and benefit from it. Having a good attitude towards your food is crucial, I believe, you cannot expect your body to feel good if your thoughts regarding what you eat are poisoned with judgement and fear. Good fat, bad fat, low sodium, processed and all the other labels that have become so familiar are what keeps us from feeling good about what we eat. I have simplified my life, got rid of all of that, it never served me. I choose to eat the lightest, most natural food I can but I do not say no to myself when I feel like eating a piece of cake, or two! And who says cake has to be made of heavy ingredients to taste good? This carrot cake is the kind that you could have for breakfast, if you wanted to (I know some people who have dreamed about something like that all their lives).

Ingredients

For the cake

- 2 1/4 cups flour

- 3 teaspoons baking powder

- 1 teaspoon baking soda

- 3 teaspoons cinnamon

- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

- 1/2 teaspoon ginger

- a pinch of sea salt

- 1 banana

- 1 cup brown sugar

- 1 cup coconut milk

- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

- 1/2 cup canola/sunflower oil

- 2 cups carrots, grated

- 1/2 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped (optional)

For the cashew cheese frosting

- 1 cup cashews soaked overnight (or at least 3-4 hours), drained and rinsed well

- 3-4 Tablespoons maple syrup

- 3-4 Tablespoons lemon juice, freshly squeezed

- 2-3 Tablespoons coconut milk

- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

- a pinch of sea salt

 In a large bowl, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and salt. In a separate bowl, mash the banana with a fork, add in the brown sugar, stir to combine, add the coconut milk, vanilla and then the oil. Mix well. Combine the wet and dry ingredients, fold in the carrots and the walnuts. Bake at 350 F, in a greased pan, for about 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool completely before frosting.

 To prepare the frosting, place the cashews in a food processor, add the salt, vanilla, maple syrup, lemon juice and pulse. Add as much coconut milk as needed to obtain a creamy consistency. Taste and add more maple syrup if you'd like it sweeter or more lemon juice, for tartness. Place the cashew cheese in the fridge for an hour.