Vegan Carrot Cake (+ Gluten-Free Option)

Vegan carrot cake can be served at parties or after dinner and is deliciously light, warm, and moist. Topped with vegan cream cheese and walnuts, you won’t be able to resist.

This vegan carrot cake is deliciously fluffy and moist. It uses applesauce, melted coconut oil, and almond milk instead of eggs to bind the batter together. The cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla give it a rich kick. It is smothered with creamy vegan frosting and walnuts, which make it look as great as it tastes. Alternatively, if you don’t want a vegan cream cheese topping, you could choose to dust the cake with powdered sugar or ground cinnamon.

Tips for Vegan Carrot Cake

It is possible to make this vegan carrot cake gluten-free by using almond flour and a gluten-free flax blend. The gluten-free recipe uses flax eggs, which are when flaxseed meal is combined with water to make a vegan binder for baking.

You may be surprised to learn that carrots are actually a seasonal vegetable with two harvests — late spring and fall. Some of the fall crops are put into chilled storage, which is why we are able to find carrots in our supermarkets all year round. It is, therefore, more environmentally friendly to buy carrots when they’re in season, to avoid having a large carbon footprint from the energy which is used to chill them in the winter. To reduce your carbon footprint, try to use locally-sourced carrots, and it is even more eco-friendly if these are organic.

Conversely, buying fair trade ingredients will make your vegan carrot cake ethical as well. You may be able to find fair trade cane sugar, cashew nuts, coconut oil, brown sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, vanilla, and walnuts for this recipe in your local store. You can also find out more about the facts and myths about fair trade.

Keep on reading to learn how to make a tasty vegan carrot cake, plus a gluten-free version.

How to Make Vegan Carrot Cake

Yield: 12 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 1/4 cups flour
• 3 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 3 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp. melted coconut oil
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 cup cane sugar
• 1 1/4 cups store-bought or homemade almond milk
• 3 tsp. vanilla
• 2 cups washed, peeled and grated carrots
• 1/2 cup macadamia nuts, soaked overnight and drained
• 1/2 cup cashew nuts, soaked overnight and drained
• 2 tsp. lemon juice
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• Chopped, toasted walnuts for decoration

Instructions:

1. Mix one teaspoon of salt, the flour, baking powder, nutmeg, baking soda, and cinnamon in a mixing bowl.
2. In a different bowl, stir together half a cup of melted coconut oil, applesauce, sugar, one cup of almond milk, and two teaspoons of vanilla.
3. Whisk both bowls of ingredients together in one mixing bowl. Stir the carrots into the mixture.
4. Line a 9 x 13″ baking tray with a parchment paper substitute and pour the mixture into the tray. Bake at 350°F for about thirty minutes.
5. Allow the cake to cool.
6. Rinse the drained macadamia and cashew nuts and blend them together in a food processor or blender with half a teaspoon of salt, the rest of the almond milk, lemon juice, maple syrup, one teaspoon of vanilla, and two tablespoons of melted coconut oil until very smooth. Refrigerate for half an hour.
7. Spread evenly on the top of the cooled carrot cake using a palette knife.
8. Sprinkle toasted chopped walnuts on the top of the cake for decoration. Cut into 12 square slices.

Store in the refrigerator and consume within three days.

Gluten-Free Vegan Carrot Cake Recipe

Yield: 12 servings

Ingredients:

• 3 tbsp. flaxseed meal
• 7 1/2 tbsp. water
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1/3 cup + 2 tbsp. melted coconut oil
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 1/2 cup baking powder
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup cane sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 3/4 + 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 1/4 cups plain, unsweetened almond milk
• 1 1/2 cups peeled, washed and grated carrots
• 1 1/2 cups gluten-free flour blend such as Bob’s Red Mill GF All-Purpose Baking Flour (available on Amazon**)
• 1 1/2 cups almond flour
• 3/4 cup chopped raw walnuts
• 1/2 cup macadamia nuts
• 1/2 cup cashew nuts
• 2 tsp. lemon juice
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• Chopped, toasted walnuts for decoration

Instructions:

1. Stir the flaxseed meal and water together in a large bowl and leave for five minutes (this is how you make flax eggs). 
2. Pour in a quarter cup of maple syrup and one-third of the melted coconut oil and beat. Add the cinnamon, applesauce, baking powder, brown sugar, cane sugar, baking soda, and three-quarters of a teaspoon of salt and whisk them all together.
3. Pour in three-quarters of a cup of almond milk and stir in the grated carrot.
4. Add the gluten-free flour blend and almond flour to make a batter. It should make a thick liquid — if it’s too thick add more almond milk. Stir in the chopped walnuts.
5. Grease three 6″ round baking trays using a parchment paper substitute and pour the mixture evenly between each one. Cook in the oven at 350°F for about thirty minutes, until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. You may need to swap the shelves of each pan during baking to ensure that each cake cooks evenly, depending on the size of your oven.
6. Remove trays from the oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes. Then remove from the pans by running a knife around the edge of each pan and tipping the cakes onto a cooling rack, leave them to cool further.
7. Follow steps 7 and 8 in the previous recipe to make the frosting.
8. Place one layer of the cake on a plate and spread the frosting evenly on the top. Then place the next layer on the top and frost again, and complete with the final layer of cake. Frost the top and sides with a palette knife.
9. Sprinkle toasted chopped walnuts on the top of the cake for decoration. Cut into 12 slices when ready to serve.

Store in the refrigerator and consume within three days.

Read more:

• Vegan Egg Substitute: 6 Ideas for Vegan Egg Replacers
• How to Store Carrots: 3 Easy Ways to Keep Them Fresh for Longer
• 5 Low Carb Flours for Every Recipe

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Tags: Desserts Food Guide Recipes Vegan