Growing up, my mom made the most sensational carrot cake. It's taken many failed attempts around this time of year to recreate it. It's not quite the same as hers, frankly I'm sure it's because nothing about it was healthy short of the carrot.

In my beginning days of eating for optimal health I modified the recipe with success, but it still included refined cane sugar and whole wheat flour.

Here's the gluten-free, dairy-free, refined sugar-free rendition that's wholesome and filling but won't leave you feeling like a ton of bricks after consuming. As testimony, I made this cake and worked out afterwards and felt fine.

Ingredients

carrot cake

• 1/4 cup coconut oil

• 2 eggs, room temperature

• 1/2 cup coconut sugar

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 2 teaspoons cinnamon

• 1/2 cup crushed pineapple

• 1/4 cup raisins

• 1 cup almond flour

• 1 cup sprouted oat flour or sprouted brown rice flour

• 2 teaspoons baking powder

• pinch of celtic sea salt

• 1 cup finely shredded carrots

cashew coconut frosting

• 1 1/2 cups soaked sprouted cashews

• 3 tablespoons coconut butter

• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1 tablespoon raw honey

• 1/4 cup dairy free milk or water

Method

Whisk coconut oil and eggs until smooth and pale yellow in color. Next, whisk in coconut sugar and vanilla extract.

Stir in all dry ingredients until a batter forms. Preheat oven to 350°F.

Grate carrots and drain crushed pineapple if using canned. Fold carrot shreds, pineapple, and raisins into the batter.

Prepare your cake pan by greasing and coating with additional oat flour. This cake is composed of 3 layers of 4" cake rounds.

Bake for 20-22 minutes.

To make frosting, add all ingredients to a blender. Blend on a medium speed until smooth. If too thick, add more liquid 1 tablespoon at a time.

After all layers have cooled, frost! I used about 1/3 cup of frosting for the middle layers, reserving the most frosting for the top layer. Decorate as desired, refrigerate to store.