Listen, I know that a lot of people are going to roll their eyes once they see that I have a recipe for something made into carrot cake. I used to hate it, I mean who would put a vegetable into a cake! It wasn't until I got older that I really started to appreciate the complexity of it. I mean, you have a sweet, tangy frosting that perfectly compliments the spices and sweetness of the cake. How could you say no to that? I know I sure wouldn't be able to. So to this day, anything made into carrot cake, is my favorite. I figured, since it's winter, and I found something that is like oatmeal that I love, why not bring it to you in carrot cake form? This recipe is sweetened with applesauce and bananas, so that means it's 100% sugar free, but if you want to add in some date syrup or liquid sweetener of choice, it won't' kill you. Note: If you are serving a large group of people, you might want to double the recipe for the "frosting." I was only serving myself and used quite a bit of the frosting. Instructions as always are below, but I also have a video linked in case you need extra help, or just want to watch how this is made. I hope that you enjoy it, and happy cooking.
Rice Oats:
1 large banana, about 3/4 cup mashed
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
2 cups shredded carrots*
1 1/4 cups filtered water
1 1/4 cups dairy free milk*
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tbsp desiccated coconut
1 tbsp vanilla extract
2 cups rice flakes*
Frosting:
2 tbsp kite hill cream cheese*
2 tbsp unsweetened applesauce (or liquid sweetener of choice)
1/2 tbsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp dairy free milk
For Serving:
1spiced pecans, chopped
raisins (optional, I didn't add these)
orange zest (optional, I didn't add these either but it would really bring out the flavor)
Start by adding your banana into a large saucepan. Mash it up until it has formed a paste. Add in your pumpkin spice, carrots, water, dairy free milk, applesauce, coconut and vanilla. Stir until combined.
Add in your rice flakes. Stir, and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce the heat to low, and cook for 6 minutes.
While the rice oats are cooking, make the frosting. Combine the cream cheese, applesauce and vanilla extract and stir. If you are fine with the consistency of the "frosting" leave it as is, I just wanted mine to be a bit more runny so feel free to skip adding in your almond milk.
-Remove the lid from the oats, take off the heat, stir, and cover for 10 minutes.
For the carrots: mine are not steamed, and you don't cook the mixture for very long so if you don't want slightly crunchy carrots, I suggest microwaving your carrots for 5 minutes prior to grating them.
For the dairy free milk: since this recipe is 100% sugar free, I used Califia's almond coconut milk blend because it's sweetened with monk fruit extract.
For the rice flakes: you can use regular oats if you can't find rice flakes.
For the cream cheese: you can make your own, or buy a cheaper one, this one is oil free though and I really love the taste.
