Vegan Carrot Cake
Fluffy and moist vegan carrot cake that is packed with spices and will melt in your mouth. This no-fuss cake uses only common pantry ingredients and is easy to make.
Servings: 16 people
Ingredients
Dry ingredients
- 3 cups (375g) all-purpose plain flour, spooned and leveled (note 1)
- 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
- ½ cup (125g) neutral flavored oil, or a light olive oil
- 1 cup (120g) chopped walnuts, or pecans, optional (note 2 for other add-ins)
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar, regular vinegar or lemon juice, optional
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cream Cheese Frosting (see note 3 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 ¼ 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 4 for make-ahead instructions):
- Add all the dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl and whisk until 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 bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Beat until light and fluffy. Add the vegan cream cheese and beat until there are no lumps.
- Add the sugar and vanilla extract and beat until just combined. If your frosting is too runny, add up to 1 extra cup of powdered sugar, corn starch or drizzle in the shortening while mixing.
- 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.
Notes
- It's important to measure the flour accurately otherwise, your cake will be dry and dense. 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. I don't recommend using the measuring cup to scoop flour out of your container as it will collect too much flour which results in a dry cake. Alternatively, use the grams measurements.
- If you'd like to add raisins or coconut, I recommend reducing the nuts to ½ 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 overnight. Let the frosting to come to room temperature before using.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 slice without nuts or frosting | Calories: 229kcal | Carbohydrates: 36g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 8g | Sodium: 216mg | Potassium: 45mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 18g | Vitamin A: 1IU | Vitamin C: 0.02mg | Calcium: 85mg | Iron: 1mg
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