Carrot Cake and Beet-Dyed Frosting

A healthy and easy cake receipe.  The raw carrot and shredded coconut give this cake a wonderful texture while the zesty cream cheese frosting colored with beets will knock your socks off!

Ingredients

From the Garden:

1 ⅓ cups carrots, boiled and pureed

3 cups carrots, raw, shredded

1” cube of red beet, boiled and finely grated
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temp

2 sticks grass-fed butter, at room temp

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

juice of 1 lemon

½ cup confectioner sugar

 

From the Pantry :

3 cups whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon baking soda

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

3 cups local honey

1 cup coconut oil, melted

4 local/backyard eggs, beaten

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

¾ cups homemade applesauce

1 ½ cups walnut pieces

1 ½ cups shredded coconut, unsweetened

1 tablespoon grass-fed butter, for greasing the pan

1 ounce dry vermouth

Bitters to taste (Optional)

 

Preparation

 

Preheat your oven to 350°, and grease two 9” springform pans. Whisk the dry ingredients together into a medium bowl. In a large bowl, whisk the wet ingredients, then add the dry ingredients in thirds and stir until fully incorporated. Fold in the puréed and raw carrot, walnuts, and shredded coconut.
Pour the batter evenly into the cake pans, and bake until the perimeter pulls away from the sides of the pan, and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 45-50 minutes. Completely cool the cakes on a wire rack (note, this may take up to a few hours and is important since the frosting will melt on warm cakes).
Cream together the butter and cream cheese, then stir in the vanilla, lemon juice, sugar and beets.  Frost the cake, and decorate the top with garden carrots.