Carrot Cake Donuts

By Rip Esselstyn

Recipe by Straight Up Food: http://straightupfood.com 

Ingredients:

5 Medjool dates, pitted and chopped
1/4 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup water

1 3/4 cups rolled oats
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground clove

1/2 of a ripe banana, diced
1 cup almond milk
1 1/2 cups grated carrots
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF with rack in center position. In a small bowl, combine the 5 dates, 1/4 cup raisins, and 1/2 cup water. Let soak while you prepare the other ingredients (at least 15 minutes).
2. Grind the rolled oats in a high-speed blender until it resembles flour; transfer to a large bowl. Add to this the baking powder, soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and clove, and mix with a fork.
3. Transfer the soaked dates, raisins, and water to a high-speed blender and blend until smooth (about 30 seconds). Add the banana and nondairy milk and blend further until everything is smooth. Add this wet mixture to the bowl of dry ingredients and gently fold together using a big spoon; now fold in the carrots, raisins, and walnuts. The batter should be somewhere between a cake batter and cookie batter in consistency.
4. Using a soup spoon, spoon batter into a nonstick donut pan, filling to the top and smoothing batter flat. Bake for 20-25 minutes (I like to bake mine for 20 because it produces a moister cake). If you press on the cake lightly and it bounces back a it (instead of staying indented), it’s likely ready. These continue to set up as they cool.
5. Remove from oven and cool for 5-7 minutes before removing the donuts from pan (if left in too long it will be hard to get the donuts out). Using a plastic fork, gently go around the donuts (outside and inner circle) to loosen them from the pan. Even though you’re using a nonstick pan, you are not using any oil so you need to help them out a bit. After loosening the edges, invert onto a cutting board (shake a bit if still not coming out the first time) and let cool at least 5-10 minutes more before serving plain or with the below frosting.

Carrot Cake Frosting

I tried making this with all tofu (no cashews) and the tofu taste was too strong. When I tried it with just cashews (which are great soft nuts to use in gravies, dressings, and desserts), the flavor was also too much, too cashew-y. But with the addition of just 2 tablespoons of tofu with the cashews, the flavor of traditional carrot cake frosting has been approximated. Feel free to vary the nuts and tofu to your liking. Both add to the thickness and richness of the frosting.

Ingredients:

5 dates, pitted and chopped
1/2 cup raw cashews (not salted or roasted)
3/4 cup water

3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons tofu (silken or firm)
1/4 cup water (plus 2-3 more tablespoons as needed)

Directions:

1. Soak the dates and cashews in 3/4 cup water for 15-30 minutes. After soaking, drain off the soak water into a bowl.
2. In a high-speed blender, combine all ingredients (measuring out the 1/4 cup water plus from the soak water) and blend until very smooth, adding more water as needed to reach desired consistency.
3. Frost donuts or muffins just before serving them. (Since there is no oil or sugar in this frosting, it will not harden up like regular frostings.) Frosting will keep refrigerated for 3-5 days.

Prep time: 25 minutes (donuts), 15 minutes (frosting)
Cooking time: 20-25 minutes (donuts)
Makes: 10-12 donuts or muffins; 1 cup frosting

Rip Esselstyn is a mission-driven man. As a swimmer at the University of Texas at Austin, he was a three time All-American. As a professional athlete, he was one of the premier triathletes in the world for more than a decade. As a firefighter for the Austin (TX) Fire Department, he helped people and saved lives. As a friend to other firefighters, he transformed the way Austin’s Engine 2 ate to save firefighters’ health. Now, as the author of The Engine 2 Diet, he is teaching people the irrefutable connection between what they put in their mouths and their ability to reach their ideal weight and their ideal health. Recently, he has teamed up with Whole Foods Market as a Healthy Eating Partner to raise awareness for Whole Foods Market team members, customers, and all of America about the benefits of eating a Plant Strong diet composed of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds.

Rip comes from a family steeped in medicine. His great-grandfather, George Crile, co-founded the world-renowned Cleveland Clinic, where his father, Dr. Caldwell B. Esselstyn, Jr., was chief of the breast cancer task force and completed one of the most extensive studies ever conducted on the relationship between the heart and diet–proving that a plant-based diet can stop, prevent, and even reverse heart disease.  

Rip serves on the Board of Directors for The Wellness Foundation, EarthSave’s Meals For Health Program, and the AllergyKids Foundation.

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• More About The Engine 2 Diet