Paleo Carrot Cake with Carrot Roses

Directions

1. Make the cake. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Oil two 8 or 9 inch round cake pans and line the bottom with parchment.
2. Zest the orange into a large bowl, then juice it into a smaller bowl. Place the raisins in the smaller bowl with the juice, microwave 30 seconds, and allow to soak while you make the batter.
3. In the large bowl with the orange zest, add the oil, sugar, and eggs. Whisk to combine. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, and vanilla, and mix until just combined. Stir in the carrots, walnuts, raisins, and two tablespoons of the orange juice.
4. Once the batter comes together, divide evenly between the two pans, and bake about 30 minutes until cakes are golden brown, set, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. Spoon the remaining juice over the hot cakes (if you don’t have much, definitely juice an extra orange) and allow to cool completely in the pan.
5. Make the frosting. Drain the cashews and pat them dry with paper towels. In a high powered blender, place the cashews, lemon juice, maple syrup, and almond milk. Using the tamper if you have one, blend until creamy. Honestly, my machine made lots of weird noises and didn’t seem to enjoy this process, but the end result was wonderfully creamy. Scrape down, add the vanilla bean, and blend until creamy.
6. Assemble the cake. Place one cake carefully on a serving platter. Cover with a layer of frosting. Place the other cake carefully on top. Use remaining frosting to cover the top and sides of the cake.
7. Make the carrots. Stir together water and syrup in a large skillet. Once it comes to a boil, add the carrot ribbons and boil for 3 minutes. Allow to cool in the skillet. Carefully roll carrot ribbons into little roses and place on paper towels to drain. Before serving, decoratively place on top of the cake.