Carrot cake slice - Nut free, egg free and gluten free

Filling the lunchbox every day is a constant challenge, so I've been told!  I'll find that out first hand this year.  And so given I use nuts in most things I make, it has been a challenge for me to ditch the nuts (during the week anyway!) and to come up with some lunchbox friendly snacks that will still nourish and energize my little man as he takes on each of the days events.

This recipe has no highly processed ingredients, with the bulk of the mix coming from carrots, sunflower seeds and brown rice!  It is also low in added sugar, using dates to sweeten, with just a little help from one of the least processed sugars, rapadura.  Taste the mix before pouring into the tray and if your tastes say 'sweeter please', blend through another couple of dates, some grated apple or sultanas.
I experimented and made a coconut 'icing' to put on top of each slice however you could go more traditional with a cream cheese frosting or even a lemony type icing which would be yummy too!

Of course this isn't just for kids!  Given the ingredients, it would make an energising snack for busy days on the go, between meals, or even with a cuppa and a chat! (or breakfast!).

Carrot Cake Slice - Nut, egg and gluten free

Ingredients

150g brown rice (or brown rice flour if not using a TMX)
30g chia seeds
300g carrots
120g sunflower seeds
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
40g rapadura sugar
6 medjool dates (or 1/2 cup sultanas)
70g butter

Method - Conventional

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees.  Line a slice tray with baking paper.
2. Place carrots, sunflower seeds and dates in a food processor and blend until almost smooth.
3. Add remaining ingredients and blend until smooth.
4. Pour into prepared slice tray and place in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, or until cooked through.
5. Cool in tray for 5 minutes then turn out onto a cooling rack.
6. When cool top with coconut icing (recipe below) or desired topping.

Method - Thermomix

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees.  Line a slice tray with baking paper.
2. Place rice and chia seeds in TM bowl and mill on speed 10 for 1 minute, scraping down once or twice if needed.  Set aside but no need to wash the bowl.
3. Add carrots, sunflower seeds and dates to TM bowl.  Blend on speed 6-7 for 30 seconds.  Scrape down and repeat.
4. Add remaining ingredients, including rice/chia flour and blend on speed 6 until completely combined (approx 20 seconds).
5. Follow steps 4-6 above.

COCONUT ICING

Place a 270g tin of coconut milk in the fridge for a couple of hours (I use Ayam brand).  Once it's cooled through, place 50g organic shredded coconut and 40g rapadura sugar in TM bowl.  Blend until a rough paste forms.  Open the coconut milk can without shaking and carefully spoon off just the solid part (the liquid will be down the bottom) and add to the coconut/sugar mix.  Add the finely grated rind of 1 lime and 1 tbs coconut oil and blend on speed 7 until creamy (there will still be some texture from the coconut), scraping a couple of times.Place in a piping bag and decorate individual cake squares as in the picture above or spread over the whole slice and cut into pieces.