Incredible Vegan Carrot Cake! Perfectly spiced with a super moist crumb and smothered in decadent, ultra-creamy vegan cream cheese frosting!
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"OMG. This cake is beyond SCRUMPTIOUS!!! Make it!!!!! SO moist and flavorful - there were four of us (and one was a child) and we ate over half of it. One of the best cakes I've ever made. Seriously, make this cake!!"
- Kim ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ More reviews →
So spring is here, and you want to celebrate with a big, delicious vegan carrot cake? Well, you've come to the right place because that perfectly spiced, super moist, cream cheese frosting-smothered cake is coming right at you.
We're talking perfect flavour and texture thanks to the fragrant spices, freshly grated carrots, chopped pineapple, nuts and raisins. And we're talking lashings of delicious vegan cream cheese frosting slathered all over to make the best vegan carrot cake you've ever tasted!
Note that I love the addition of pineapple in carrot cake, but soon realized after publishing this recipe that many people don't, so the recipe has been retested without it, and still turns out beautifully.
Mel x
Ingredients
Ok, let's take a look at what ingredients you need to make this vegan carrot cake recipe and why, including my tested substitutions:
- Flour - I used all-purpose flour, but you could easily switch it for white whole wheat flour or spelt. To make it gluten-free, use a good 1 for 1 all-purpose gluten-free flour that contains xanthan gum, like Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1 baking flour.
- Sugar - A combination of brown and regular cane sugar for sweetness, moisture, texture, and flavour.
- Nuts - Either pecans, walnuts or a combination of both. They add textural crunch and flavour. If you have a nut allergy, you can omit them.
- Ground flaxseed - For binding and structure in this egg-free carrot cake. Don't make a "flax egg". The ground flax just gets thrown in with the other dry ingredients as per the instructions.
- Baking Powder, baking soda, and apple cider vinegar - Part 2 of the no-egg solution. Although the flaxseed binds, it doesn't replace the leavening that eggs would provide, so we need to make up for that by using extra baking powder and baking soda, which react with the vinegar (an acid) to create lift and lightness. Lemon juice can be used instead of the vinegar.
- Spices - Essential in carrot cake. Here we use a delicious combo of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and vanilla.
- Carrots - Freshly grated for maximum flavour and all-important moistness. I don't recommend using store-bought pre-grated carrots because they don't have as much flavour and they tend to be a bit dry.
- Pineapple - Because it adds so much flavour, moistness and texture. I use canned pineapple, but fresh is ok too. However, since I published this recipe, I've learned that pineapple in carrot cake is somewhat controversial. Who knew?! I've since retested it, and if you don't want to use the pineapple, you can safely omit it. There's no need to replace it with anything else or make any adjustments.
- Golden raisins/sultanas - Not something you see in many carrot cakes but I think they are essential for those juicy little bites, and again, more flavour and moistness. You can omit them if you prefer.
- Milk - Any dairy-free milk, such as cashew milk, soy milk, oat milk, or almond milk, will work in this recipe. Unsweetened & unflavoured is best though.
- Oil- Just about any neutral oil will do, such as vegetable oil, canola oil, sunflower oil, or olive oil; just don't use vegan butter. Oil is important for moist texture in the finished cake.
And then comes the vegan cream cheese frosting, which is made with vegan cream cheese, vegan butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, salt and my magic ingredient, arrowroot flour (or cornstarch), which makes all the difference, really stabilizing the frosting and preventing it from becoming too loose. It's the same frosting used in my Vegan Hummingbird Cake, and it's so good! If you fancy a change from the usual cream cheese frosting though, my Vegan Brown Sugar Frosting also works very well with this carrot cake recipe.
How To Make Vegan Carrot Cake
Can't wait to make it? Here's a quick rundown of how it's done. See the recipe card for the full and detailed version, and if you're a visual learner, check out my recipe video:
1 - Make the batter. Mix the dry ingredients, mix the wet ingredients, then combine the two along with the grated carrots, pineapple, nuts, and raisins.
2 - Spoon into 2 cake pans, bake, then leave them to cool in the pans. This is important to trap steam and keep the sponge super moist.
3 - Whip up the cream cheese frosting.
4 - Once the cake layers are completely cool, sandwich them together with the frosting, then cover the top and sides too.
I went for a rustic look, but feel free to get fancy with some fancy piping or garnishes. You could use chunks of pineapples, nuts, toasted coconut, cake crumbs, candied carrot shavings or store-bought cake decorations.
If you have any leftover grated carrots, nuts, and dried fruit, why not make my Carrot Cake Overnight Oats for breakfast? And if you love that one, be sure to try my Carrot Cake Smoothie!
Recipe FAQs
In a food processor with a shredder/grater attachment. By far the quickest and easiest way to do it. It takes about 20 seconds tops!
In a food processor without a shredder/grater attachment - If you have a food processor (or a blender) but don't have a grating attachment you can use the blade instead. Simply break the carrots up so they fit into the bowl easily and then pulse until they are chopped into small pieces. Be careful you don't go too far and make them really tiny in size because some flecks of carrot throughout the cake are nice texturally and visually.
With a box grater - The manual method and not nearly as fast as the previous methods but to be honest, it doesn't actually take long. Just be careful of your fingers!
Yes, you can. The full recipe will make a lot though so you might want to reduce it by half or two-thirds.
Yes. You can use:
Two 10-inch cake pans - The layers will just be thinner. It should take about the same time to bake, maybe a few minutes less.
12 x 18-inch sheet pan - Grease generously and bake at 325°F for about 50 minutes until a skewer or toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean and the cake springs back when you press gently on the top with a finger. Let cool in the pan and frost in the pan.
9 x 5 or 8 x 8-inch - Half the recipe and use your judgement for the bake time as I haven't tried it. Temperature can stay the same.
Recipe
Vegan Carrot Cake
Author:WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
Ingredients
- 3 ¼ cups (410 grams) all-purpose flour , (plain flour in the UK)
- 1½ cup (300 grams) brown sugar , light or dark (I like dark)
- ½ cup (100 grams) granulated white or cane sugar
- 1 teaspoon fine salt
- 1¼ teaspoons baking soda , (bicarbonate of soda in the UK)
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 3 tablespoons ground flaxseed
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1¼ teaspoons ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg , optional but recommended
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves , optional but recommended
- ¾ cup (180 mls) liquid oil , such as avocado, sunflower, vegetable, or canola
- 1 cup (240 mls) dairy-free milk
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar , or lemon juice
- 4 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup (220 grams) drained canned or fresh pineapple , chopped into small pieces (can be safely omitted)
- 2 packed cups (240 grams) grated carrots , about 3 large
- 1¼ cup (130 grams) pecans or walnuts , chopped into small pieces (omit to make nut-free)
- 1 cup (160 grams) sultanas or golden raisins , optional but recommended
Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting
- 1 cup or 8 oz (227 grams) vegan cream cheese , I use Tofutti
- ½ cup (110 grams) vegan butter
- 4 teaspoons arrowroot powder , or cornstarch
- ⅛ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 to 5 cups (500 to 625 grams) powdered sugar , icing sugar in the UK
RECOMMENDED EQUIPMENT
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175 °C) and prepare two 9 inch cake pans. Line the bottoms with a circle of parchment paper or a silicone cake pan liner and grease the sides well with some oil or vegan butter. Set aside for now away from the hot oven.
- To a large mixing bowl add the flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, baking powder, ground flax, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves. Mix them together well.
- To another bowl or jug add the oil, milk, vinegar and vanilla and stir them up.
- Take the chopped pineapple and squeeze the juice out of it in your fist over the sink. This is important so we get the flavour and texture without all of the additional moisture. Skip this step if you aren't using the pineapple.
- Put the pineapple, grated carrots, nuts, and raisins in the bowl with the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients. Stir it all together well but gently, making sure to scrape right into the bottom of the bowl. Do this fairly quickly and don't leave the batter sitting around once mixed. Move immediately onto the next step.
- Immediately spoon into the prepared cake pans. Even out with a spatula and bake for approximately 45 minutes. All cake pans and ovens cook differently so the time might not be exact. Use your judgement and test it with a toothpick, skewer or small sharp knife. Insert it into the middle and it should come out clean, the sides of the cake will be slightly coming away from the edges of the pan and when you poke the cake gently with a finger in the centre it should spring back. If that's not the case put it back in the oven for a few minutes longer.
- Remove the cakes from the oven and place them on a cooling rack in their pans. Don't remove them from the pans until they are cool. This helps keep the cakes nice and moist. Allow a good few hours for them to cool completely.
- Make the vegan cream cheese frosting. Add the vegan butter to a large bowl and beat it with an electric mixer on a medium high speed until soft and fluffy. Add the cream cheese and beat again until combined and smooth.
- Add the arrowroot powder, salt, vanilla and about 2 cups of the powdered sugar. Beat on the lowest speed for about 20 seconds until the powdered sugar has stopped flying around, then add another 2 cups. Beat again on low until it's mostly combined then turn the speed up to medium high again and beat until smooth and creamy, scraping down the edges with a spatula as needed to get any dry powdered sugar off and into the mix. Add the remaining powdered sugar to thicken it as needed. Using it all makes the frosting much easier to handle and the cake easier to frost and slice. Do not be tempted to add any more liquid to the frosting at any stage because it will become too runny. Once done, cover the bowl and put in the fridge until needed.
- When the cake layers are completely cool, carefully remove one from its pan and place on a serving plate or cake stand, lined side up. Gently peel off the parchment paper/silicone liner.
- Remove the frosting from the fridge. If it feels too firm to spread leave it to soften for about 10 minutes. (If you keep it in the fridge any longer than that it might need another quick 20-second beat to fluff it up again). Dollop the frosting generously onto the cake, making sure you save enough in the bowl for the top and sides. Spread it out evenly with a spatula or pallet knife, taking it almost but not quite to the edges.
- Remove the other cake from its pan and place very gently on top of the frosted layer, lined side up. Peel off the liner gently and dollop on the remaining frosting. Spread it all over the top and around the sides.
NOTES
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Vida says
I have mad the cake, just without the frosting, because I couldn't get vegan cream cheese. It was delicious. I was just wondering, can it be made with less sugar? Thanks.
Melanie McDonald says
Glad you enjoyed it! As for the sugar, it isn't just there for sweetness in cakes. It also tenderizes the sponge by delaying gluten formation, creates air pockets for a good texture and rise, retains moisture so the sponge is moist and stays fresher longer, caramelizes to give the cake a good colour, and adds flavour.
When testing my recipes I try them with varying levels of sugar, and in this one the ratios of brown and white/cane sugar too, to see what gives the best results, and what is listed in this recipe are the optimum amounts and ratios of both sugars to get the very best results.
If you reduce the sugar, all of those things I mentioned above will be affected and you won't get such a good cake. This is especially true in a vegan cake (as opposed to a non vegan cake) because there are no eggs which also perform some of those actions and could help bridge the difference if you were to reduce the sugar.
So to cut a long story short, if you're happy to have a cake that isn't as good then you can reduce the sugar. Anymore than a 20% reduction though and you'll probably end up with a complete flop.
Personally I wouldn't want to compromise with a subpar cake. I don't eat it every day and if I'm going to have a slice or 2 occasionally then I'm happy to push the boat out and make sure it's a great one! I hope that helps!
Vida says
Thanks for explaining. I though it was something behind. All those good looking vegan cakes have a lot of sugar in it. Now I know why. Thanks.