No-sugar Carrot Cake

I've been toying around with the idea of substituting natural sugars for processed cane sugar. I was somewhat skeptical at first, but I think I might try these tricks with other dessert options as well. Why use heavily processed white sugar, when you can just easily derive sweetness from natural sources? I still have to tweak the recipe further, to achieve the right consistency and sweetness, but this was a decent start to a whole new world of baking. Next time, I might experiment one step further, and eliminate the egg too. Clearly the possibilities are endless.

Ingredients:

2 cups wheat flour
1 1/2 cups grated carrots
1 cup combination of dates and raisins
2 eggs
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup water
almonds or other nuts

Directions:

1. Cut up the dates into smaller bits and combine and dates and raisins with the water and bring to a boil  in a saucepan. Let it simmer for about 10-15 minutes until the dates and raisins are soft. Drain the excess water and pulse the date raisin mixture in a food processor to produce a pulpy consistency.

2. Sift the flour with the baking soda, baking powder and salt and set aside.

3. Beat the eggs with a whisk or in mixer until lightly fluffy and add in the date-raisin mixture, the flour mixture and the rest of the ingredients. Combine well. Empty dough into well-greased cake pan.

4. Preheat oven to 350 F, and bake for 50-60 mins.