Dairy-Free Tropical Carrot Cake

Sweet carrots, mango, pineapple, coconut, dates and tropical seasonings
fuse to create an aromatic, colorful and truly delicious cake. Just one
taste is all you need for a carrot cake conversion it always draws a
loyal following.

Makes 16 servings

Ingredients:
1 spray PAM Original Canola Cooking Spray
2 cups carrots, peeled and shredded (about 7 ounces or 2 medium carrots)
1/4 cup water
1 medium ripe mango, peeled and pitted
1 can (8 ounces) crushed pineapple
1 1/2 cups light brown sugar, firmly packed
2 large eggs
1/2 cup canola oil
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon ground clove
1/4 teaspoon ground mace
1/4 teaspoon ginger powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, freshly grated
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup (2 ounces) sweetened coconut flakes, lightly packed
4 ounces dates, chopped (about 15 pitted dates)
2/3 cup chopped walnuts, roasted
Dream Please Icing (recipe follows)

Pre-heat oven to 350ºF and spray springform pan with PAM.
Coarsely shred the carrots until they measure about 2 cups lightly
packed and uncooked. Place shredded carrots in a large bowl with 1/4 cup
of water. Cover with a plate and microwave on high for 5 minutes, then
drain out excess water and set aside. The carrots should measure about 1
1/4 cups once cooked.
Meanwhile, cut mango and process or blend (without the pit, of course)
until smooth purée. Measure out 1/2 cup of puréed mango and reserve the
rest for other use (dessert sauce, smoothie, daiquiri, food fight,
etc.). Next, process or blend crushed pineapple, measure out 1/2 cup and
set aside.

Into a large mixing bowl, add brown sugar, eggs and oil, mix well. Stir
in 1/2 cup mango purée, 1/2 cup pineapple purée, vanilla, spices and
carrots. Slowly add flour, baking powder and baking soda and mix just
until blended.
Stir in coconut, dates and walnuts and transfer to prepared springform
pan. Bake for 60 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out
clean. Let cool completely, then frost with Dream Please Icing.

Presentation:
Let the frosting spill over the sides, or just slather it on top.

Variations:
You can use pecans instead of walnuts. Use a pinch extra nutmeg if you
cant find mace. If you love the Dream Please Icing, then slice carrot
cake into two layers and slather it in the center as well. If ripe
mangos are unavailable, then add an additional 1/2 cup of pineapple
purée.

Tips:
Taste the carrots before you cook them. They should be fresh and sweet.
If they.re not sweet raw, they wont taste much better cooked. Dust
chopped dates with 1 teaspoon of flour to keep them from clumping within
the batter.

Difficulty: 3
Time: Preparation: 30 minutes. Total time: 1 hour, 20 minutes.
Entertaining: Good. Not only does it taste great, but everyone feels
good about eating it.
Extra Equipment: One 8 inch or 9 inch springform pan, food processor or
blender.
Chefs and Foodservice Professionals! Foodservice Rewards lets you earn

Elegant Dairy-Free Entertaining by Patricia Morales Fine, M.D
DairyFreeGourmet.com


Dream Please Icing

It tastes suspiciously like cream cheese frosting. See if anyone can
tell the difference.

Makes 16 servings

16 ounce Tofutti brand Better Than Cream Cheese (plain)
1 1/2 cups (17 ounces) marshmallow cream
3 teaspoons fresh lemon juice, freshly squeezed
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, freshly grated

In medium bowl, mix all ingredients together until well blended. Let
cake cool completely, then frost away.
Presentation:
Ice onto carrot cake, zucchini bread, pumpkin bread, or use it as a
strawberry dip.

Variations:
You can leave out the nutmeg but everything else is essential.

Difficulty: 1
Time: Preparation: 2 minutes. Total time: 2 minutes.
Sweepstakes

Elegant Dairy-Free Entertaining by Patricia Morales Fine, M.D
DairyFreeGourmet.com


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