Plant-Based Carrot Cake
[Vegan]

For the Carrot Cake:

1. Put the pitted dates into a small bowl and cover them with hot tap water. Set these aside to soften.
2. Put the rolled oats into the bowl of your small blender or NutriBullet. Lightly blend/process the oats for a few seconds to get a flour that isn’t too powdery nor too crumbly/flaky. Transfer the oat flour into a medium-size bowl and add the remaining dry ingredients. Mix with a fork and set aside.
3. Drain the dates and discard the water. Add the softened dates to your blender or NutriBullet bowl. Then add the maple syrup and oil and purée until you get a creamy-thick mixture. Pour the mixture into a small bowl and add the apple sauce and whisk by hand until the mixture is fully blended.
4. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix well with a solid fork or a whisk.
5. Add the grated carrots and fold/mix them into the batter.
6. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan(s) and spread evenly.
7. Bake on middle rack in preheated oven for 40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Allow to cool completely on a rack before spreading the frosting on the cake.

For the Frosting:

1. When the nuts have soaked and are soft, strain the water and rinse them under cold tap water with a meshed sieve.
2. Transfer nuts into a high-speed blender and add all the remaining frosting ingredients.
3. Blend on low speed gradually increasing to high until creamy-smooth. If need be, stop the motor and use your plunger or large spoon to move the mixture around and start again. This may take several minutes, depending on your blender blade and motor.