Vegan Carrot Cake
This vegan carrot is truly incredible and the best you’ll ever eat! It’s perfectly fluffy and moist and even loved even by non-vegans. It’s a no-fuss favorite as it’s made with simple ingredients and comes together in one bowl. And the cake is finished with a vegan cream cheese frosting for the dreamiest dessert!
Why you’ll love this carrot cake
TASTE/TEXTURE: Moist crumb that sticks to your fork with just the perfect amount of warm spices. I’ve served this cake to non-vegans and they couldn’t tell that it didn’t contain eggs, dairy or conventional butter!
OCCASION: Perfect for Easter, Spring or whenever you need a classic dessert.
DIFFICULTY: The cake comes together in one bowl and you don’t need to use any special egg replacers!
Ingredients you’ll need
The full list of ingredient quantities and instructions are in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Notes about the ingredients
Coarsely shredded carrots add moisture and flavor to this vegan carrot cake. You can use a box grater or food processor to grate your carrots. I don’t recommend pre-grated carrots as they tend to be drier and we need the moisture for this cake!
Neutral oil keeps the cake soft and moist, and allows the other flavors to shine. Melted coconut oil will work but I recommend serving the cake at room temperature as coconut oil solidifies at certain temperatures and can make a cake feel dry.
Dairy-free milk. I used unsweetened soy milk but any variety will work.
Brown sugar and granulated sugar. Brown sugar adds flavor and moisture, whereas granulated sugar keeps the carrot cake fluffy. We get the best of both worlds!
Apple cider vinegar reacts with the milk to make vegan buttermilk, which makes the cake softer and tender. Eggless cakes can still be fluffy!
How to make vegan carrot cake
This recipe is easy to make as the cake comes together in one bowl!
In one large bowl, stir the dry ingredients until combined and there are no lumps (especially lumps of brown sugar). Add all the wet ingredients and mix until combined. If you’re using nuts, you can add them at the same time as the wet ingredients.
You can mix the batter by hand, with a hand mixer or stand mixer. Whatever you choose, make sure you don’t overmix the cake batter otherwise your carrot cake will be dense and tough.
Baking tips
Your carrot cake layers may slightly dome in the oven and, if they do, I suggest trimming them off! Flat layers are much easier to stack and make for a more stable cake.
If you have cake strips, I recommend using them for this recipe as they help minimize any doming.
Decorating the carrot cake
Make sure the cake layers are completely cool before decorating. Cream cheese frosting is very sensitive to warm temperatures, and a warm cake will melt the frosting.
If you don’t have cream cheese, I recommend using a classic buttercream frosting with a squeeze of lemon (for example, from my lemon cake recipe). The lemon adds tartness to the buttercream which is slightly reminiscent of cream cheese frosting!
Customizing this recipe
Yes! This carrot would be delicious with these mix-ins:
– shredded or fine coconut
– raisins
– different spices for example, cardamom
– orange or lemon zest
If you’d like to add crushed pineapple, I definitely recommend reducing the plant milk otherwise your cake will have too much moisture. Alternatively, check out my vegan hummingbird cake made with banana, pineapple and pecans!
This recipe will also work in:
– Two 7-inch and 9-inch round cake pans. If using 7-inch pans, they’ll need to be at least 2 inches tall otherwise they will overflow. You will also need to adjust the baking time.
– One 9-inch square cake pan
– One 10-inch round cake pan
– One 9×13 inch rectangle pan for a sheet cake
Alternatively, check out my carrot cake loaf, carrot muffins or carrot cupcakes.
Yes, try using whole wheat flour or spelt flour combined with coconut sugar. But add an extra dash of milk as those flours are more absorbent. You can replace oil with applesauce, but your cake will have a very different texture.
If you’d like a recipe with less sugar, see my carrot cake loaf or muffins.
Carrot cake fans will also like my carrot cake cookies!
More vegan cake recipes
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Vegan Carrot Cake
Ingredients
Dry ingredients
- 3 cups (375g) all-purpose plain flour, spooned and leveled (notes 1 & 2)
- 1 cup (190g) packed brown sugar, or use more granulated sugar
- ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar, or use more brown sugar
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon salt
Wet ingredients
- 3 cups (300g) coarsely grated carrots, (around 3-4 medium carrots)
- 1 ¼ cups (315g) dairy-free milk, room temperature
- ½ cup (125g) neutral flavored oil, or a light olive oil
- 1 cup (120g) chopped walnuts, or pecans, optional (note 3 for other add-ins)
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar, regular vinegar or lemon juice, optional
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting (see note 4 for frosting without cream cheese)
- ½ cup (115g) vegan block butter, room temperature
- 8 oz (240g) vegan cream cheese, room temperature
- 4 cups (400g) powdered sugar / icing sugar, more if needed
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons (20g) cornstarch / corn flour, or 1/4 cup melted vegetable shortening or coconut oil, for a firmer frosting (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180°C (355°F). Grease or line 2 x 8 inch (20 cm) round cake pans with parchment paper.
Make the vegan carrot cake (note 5 for make-ahead instructions):
- Add all the dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl and whisk until the mixture is well combined and there are no lumps. Add all the wet ingredients (including the carrots and nuts) and mix until just combined.
- Evenly divide the carrot cake batter into your prepared cake pans.
- Bake the cakes for around 35-40 minutes or until you can insert a toothpick in the middle and it comes out clean.
- Allow the cakes to cool completely in their pans on a cooling rack.
Make the cream cheese frosting:
- Add the vegan butter to a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Beat until light and fluffy. Add the powdered sugar and beat until just combined. Finally, add the vegan cream cheese and the vanilla and beat until there are no lumps. If your frosting is too runny, add up to 1 extra cup of powdered sugar, corn starch or drizzle in the shortening while mixing. Avoid overmixing as this will cause the frosting to soften.
- Chill the frosting until needed.
Frosting the cake:
- When the cakes have completely cooled, place one layer on a serving plate.
- Spread or pipe around ¾ cup of frosting on the cake and place the remaining cake on top.
- Spread the remaining frosting on the cake. If you have excess frosting, use a piping bag with a star nozzle to pipe the remaining frosting on top of the cake. Decorate the cake as desired.
- Store the frosted vegan carrot cake in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Allow the cake to come to room temperature for 1 hour before serving. Leftovers will keep in the fridge for 5 days or in the freezer for 1 month.
Video
Notes
- Measuring the flour: Make sure you measure the flour accurately, otherwise your cake may be dense and dry. If using measuring cups, use the spoon and level method where you fluff up the flour in its bag, use a spoon to add flour to a measuring cup, then level it off with a knife. Using the measuring cup to scoop flour out of your container will result in a dry cake. For the best results, use the gram measurements.
- Gluten-free version: My team and I have tested this carrot cake with King Arthur’s gluten-free measure for measure flour and it works well! Your batter may be thicker, but the cakes will bake beautifully. I recommend baking the cakes for 40-45 minutes.
- If you’d like to add raisins or coconut, I recommend reducing the nuts to 1/2 cup (60g) and adding 1 cup (150g) raisins or 1 cup (85g) coconut.
- If you don’t have cream cheese, I recommend making lemon buttercream frosting from my vegan lemon cake recipe.
- This vegan carrot cake can be prepared the day before. You can make the whole cake, decorate it and store it in an airtight container in the fridge overnight. Alternatively, you can make the cake layers and store them at room temperature in a container or plastic wrap overnight. The frosting can be made the day before but needs to be chilled in the refrigerator. Let the frosting to come to room temperature before using.
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Thank you very much for your amazing recipe! I have a doubt, the decorating carrots are made with the same cream cheese frosting?
Thank you 🫶
We’re so glad you love the recipe! Yes, the decorating carrots are made with the same cream cheese frosting – you just add a little colouring and pipe them on with a small nozzle. There’s also a video in the post that shows the piping, which might give you a better idea! Hope that helps and thank you for leaving a review 🥰
Tried this for the first time and it was absolutely delicious.
Hi Gareth, that’s great to hear!! Thanks so much for the review 🙂
Carrot cake is our grandson’s favorite. So for his 10th birthday celebration, I baked your recipe. The results were amazing: moist, balanced flavors, and it held together very well and sliced beautifully. And the vegan cream cheese icing is to die for! Thank you for such a simple yet thoughtful recipe to satisfy everyone’s sweet tooth, and our grandson’s favorite, while creating a dairy-free option for a dessert favorite. It was a huge hit!
Hi Michael, I’m thrilled you loved this cake and honored that you chose to bake it for your grandson’s birthday! I’m so glad you found the recipe approachable and enjoyed the flavors and textures of the cake. I hope you enjoyed celebrating such a special birthday and thanks so much for your lovely feedback!
looking forward to trying this recipe – how do you recommend adjusting it for using two 9 inch round pans? thanks so much
Hi Kat, I would check out a cake pan conversion guide, such as this one by Sally, and scale up this recipe accordingly. If you tap on the number next to ‘Yield’, you can scale up all the ingredient quantities. Hope that helps!
An Easter delight for the entire family with members who are gluten-, dairy- and nut-free by making a few adaptions. Used Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 gluten free Baking powder, Silk Next Milk (oat & carrot), and omitted the nuts. It was a hit!!
Hi Marijke! Aw that’s wonderful to hear and I’m glad it worked well with Bob’s 1:1 flour too. Thanks so much for your lovely feedback!
Hi! If I were to add in a grated apple, would I have to adjust the measurements of some of the ingredients?
Amazing recipe btw! I’m planning on making this cake for an Easter event 😀
Hi Rachel! I suspect you’d need to decrease the amount of milk as apple can leak some liquid during baking. Alternatively, you can possibly replace some of the carrot with apple, without any other changes. Hope that helps, and let me know how you go!
Hi can this cake be made 2 days before serving? In fridge?
Hi Robin, you can but the cake won’t be as fresh and moist. It’s better to make the cake layers, freeze them once they cool and decorate them on the day or the day before serving.
Best carrot cake recipe I have made.
Aw that’s great to hear, thanks so much for your feedback!