This vegan carrot cake is deliciously moist and topped with a vanilla buttercream frosting and crushed walnuts. Perfect show-stopper cake for the Holiday season!
Carrot cake is considered a nutritious option as it incorporates vegetables into a dessert. So you are basically eating veggies so why hold back? 😉
Topped with a delicious vanilla buttercream frosting and crushed walnuts, this cake is ideal for any special occasion.
If you want to blow minds with a jaw-dropping vegan dessert that will leave both vegans and non-vegans begging for more, look no further! This recipe is a guaranteed showstopper that never fails to impress.
The holiday season is here so it’s the perfect opportunity to get baking!
How To Make Vegan Carrot Cake?
Detailed instructions and measurements can be found in the recipe card located at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process for the process photos.
- Sift all-purpose flour into a mixing bowl and add baking powder, baking soda, and powdered spices. Mix together.
- In another bowl, cream the vegan butter and sugar until fluffy then add the applesauce, oil, land grated carrot and stir it in with a spatula.
- Mix the wet with the dry ingredient mix. Mix everything well and gently. Do not over-mix it. If it seems like it won’t come together and the mix is too dry then step away from the bowl for a couple of minutes and then come back to it. The carrot will have released more moisture into the batter allowing it to come together into a thick batter.
- Divide the batter evenly between two cake pans (sprayed with non-stick spray and lined with parchment paper along the bottoms). If you have only 1 cake pan, then pour it all in.
- The cake should be baked at 180°C or 350°F for approximately 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the cakes cool in the pans for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.
- Prepare your frosting while the cakes are cooling.
- After the cakes have cooled, frost and decorate them with crushed walnuts.
The Frosting
I frosted it with a vegan vanilla buttercream frosting. It is super delicious, so if you want to give it a try instead, then go for it. You can also choose to not frost the cake. It is divine even without it. You can also choose to go the unconventional route and top it with melted chocolate. It has to be delicious!
Baking Tips
1. Measure your flour: If you have a food scale then measure the flour out on a food scale for total accuracy. If you don’t have a food scale then use the ‘spoon and level’ method to measure your flour. Spoon the flour into your measuring cup and then level it off with a knife. Don’t scoop the flour and don’t pack it into your cup.
2. Carrots must be freshly grated. If you pre-grated carrots well ahead of time then they will have dried out a lot by the time you use them.
3. The walnuts: Walnuts are optional but they are really delicious both in the cake and arranged on top for decoration. You can also use chopped pecan nuts, chopped almonds, chopped cashews etc.
4. Gluten-free: You can make this cake gluten-free by simply switching the regular flour for a gluten-free all-purpose flour blend.
5. Cupcakes: This recipe adapts to 12-18 cupcakes depending on how full you make the cupcake liners.
Vegan Carrot Cake Q&A
How to make this vegan carrot cake gluten-free?
To make this cake gluten-free, you can easily substitute regular flour with a gluten-free all purpose flour blend.
Can I turn this cake into cupcakes?
Yes. This recipe can yield 12-18 cupcakes, depending on the amount of batter used for each cupcake liner.
How to store leftover cake?
The cake can be kept covered at room temperature for 3-4 days or covered in the fridge for up to a week. It can also be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months.
More Vegan Cakes
Best Vegan carrot Cake
Ingredients
For the Carrot Cake:
- 2 ½ cups All purpose flour
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup white sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon Ground cloves optional
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ½ cup neutral oil
- 1 cup applesauce or mashed banana
- ¾ cup soy milk or any other dairy-free milk
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 3 large carrots grated
- ¼ cup raisins optional
- ½ cup chopped walnuts optional
Frosting Ingredients
- 1 cup or 227 grams unsalted vegan butter At room temperature
- 3 cups powdered sugar 330 grams
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon soy milk or any other plant-based milk
Instructions
Dry Ingredients:
- Sift all-purpose flour into a mixing bowl.
- Add baking powder, baking soda, and powdered spices.
- Mix the dry ingredients together.
Wet Ingredients:
- In another bowl, cream vegan butter and sugar until fluffy.
- Add applesauce, oil, and grated carrot.
- Stir the wet ingredients in with a spatula.
Combine Wet and Dry Mix:
- Mix the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients gently. Avoid over-mixing.
- If the mix seems too dry, step away for a few minutes to allow the carrot to release more moisture. This will help the batter come together into a thick batter.
Baking:
- Divide the batter evenly between two cake pans and lined with parchment paper.
- Bake at 180°C or 350°F for approximately 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Let the cakes cool in the pans before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Prepare Frosting:
- Prepare vegan vanilla buttercream frosting while the cakes are cooling.
- Start by beating the vegan butter with an electric whisk until fluffy, then adding the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time. Once it’s all in. Add the soy milk and vanilla extract and whisk more.
- Once you get a fluffy batter, use it immediately to frost the cake or store in an airtight container in the fridge.
Frosting and Decorating:
- Once the cakes are cooled, slice and serve.
- Optionally, frost with vegan vanilla buttercream and top with chopped walnuts
Which butter should I use for the frosting salted or unsalted
Unsalted! 🙂
Hey there! What size is the cake pan?
Aaaaand how much vegan butter is in the cake batter? It’s in the instructions but not in the ingredient list.
Also thank you so much for all your recipes!! I love them!