How to make Vegan Carrot Cake at home? (Perfect for Celebrations)

• Food: Vegan Carrot Cake
• Writer: Lizzie Green
• Content-Type: Food Blog

Every year on birthdays, I make this vegan carrot cake recipe. It’s moist, cinnamon-spiced, and smothered with icing, making it ideal for parties.

This vegan carrot cake recipe is based on my mother’s classic carrot cake recipe.

Jack’s favorite dessert is that cake, so she makes it whenever she comes to visit. After that, I make it for Jack’s birthday. Instead of following her recipe exactly, I altered it to make a vegan carrot cake this year!

Applesauce is included in my mother’s recipe, which makes the cake extremely moist and light. You can veganize carrot cake quite easily by using applesauce.

It offers enough moisture, along with the shredded carrots, to obviate the need for flax eggs or other unusual components.

As a result, pantry goods such as all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices, sugar, and melted coconut oil are used to make the cake batter.

The end product is fantastic. The cake is moist, delicate, and flavored with cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla essence for a warm, spiced flavor.

It’s delicious on its own, but slathering it in thick, creamy vegan frosting takes it to the next level. Even Jack, a die-hard carrot cake purist, was won over by this vegan carrot cake recipe. I believe you will enjoy it as well!

Tips for Making Vegan Carrot Cake

• Finely grate your carrots. Larger bits of carrot provide a chunkier, less uniform texture, while finely grated carrots blend effortlessly into the cake. Using the small holes of a box grater or the smallest setting of your food processor’s grating attachment, shred the carrots for soft, cohesive cake slices.
• Don’t overdo it with the mixing! This rule is applicable to all baked items. Your batter should only be mixed until just blended – no more than that, or your cake will be dense.
• Allow the cake to cool completely before applying the frosting. The most difficult aspect! Before you put on the frosting, make sure the cake is at room temperature. The icing will melt if you don’t do so.

Variations on Vegan Carrot Cake

• Let’s chat about the frosting. Macadamia nuts, cashews, lemon juice, coconut oil, and almond milk combine to make a cream cheese-like icing. Instead of powdered sugar, I use maple syrup to sweeten it naturally. This frosting is delicious, but it requires a high-powered blender to make it smooth and creamy. Find a vegan cream cheese frosting here if you don’t have one or prefer a more typical vegan cream cheese icing.
• Alternatively, omit the icing! Simply said, this vegan carrot cake is fantastic. With a dollop of coconut whipped cream, it’s even better.
• Include a mix-in. If you choose to add raisins, chopped walnuts, or pecans to your cake, carefully incorporate 1/2 cup into the batter while adding the carrots.
• Alternatively, something can be sprinkled on top. For added crunch, sprinkle chopped toasted pecans or walnuts on top of the frosted cake, or use shredded coconut for a warm, buttery flavor. Yum!

Carrot Cake (Vegan)

The best vegan carrot cake recipe you’ll ever try! It’s incredibly moist because to the applesauce, and the cinnamon and nutmeg give it a lovely spiced flavor.

Ingredients

Cake:

• 2¼ cups flour (half spelled or wheat, half all-purpose)
• 3 teaspoons baking powder (see note below)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3 teaspoons cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• ½ cup applesauce
• 1 cup almond milk or oat milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 cup cane sugar
• ½ cup melted coconut or canola oil
• 2 cups grated carrots

Frosting (see note)

• ½ cup raw macadamia nuts (soaked, drained, and rinsed)
• ½ cup raw cashews (soaked, drained, and rinsed)
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• ¼ cup almond milk
• ¼ cup maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• ½ teaspoon salt

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and butter a 9-by-13-inch baking pan.
2. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a large mixing basin.
3. Whisk together the applesauce, almond milk, vanilla, sugar, and oil in a separate bowl.
4. Combine the dry and wet ingredients in the mixing bowl.
5. Stir in the carrots until they are completely mixed.
6. Cook for 30–40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool completely before applying the frosting.
7. To make the frosting, put all of the ingredients in a high-powered blender and blend until smooth. Blend for 1 to 2 minutes or until extremely smooth, scraping down the sides as needed. If you need to get your blade moving, add an extra spoonful of almond milk.
8. Before distributing, chill for at least 30 minutes. (It’ll firm up a little.)
9. Refrigerate the frosted cake.

Notes

• In order for the cake to rise (since there are no eggs in the recipe), make sure your baking powder is fresh. Baking powder that has been sitting in the back of your cabinet for too long may be ineffective.
• Soak cashew and macadamia nuts in water for at least 3 to 4 hours, ideally overnight, before draining and rinsing. I recommend using a blender with a high-powered motor (Vitamix, Blendtec, or similar). Use the vegan butter and vegan cream cheese frosting in this recipe for a more conventional icing.