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vegan carrot cake
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5 from 3 votes

Vegan Carrot Cake

The perfect vegan carrot cake with vegan cream cheese frosting. Makes an ideal vegan birthday cake or simple snack cake!
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time35 minutes
Total Time45 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: All, American, English
Keyword: carrot cake, vegan carrot cake
Servings: 12
Calories: 677kcal

Equipment

  • oven
  • 3 22cm Spring-form Cake Tins
  • 1 Baking tray
  • 2 Medium bowls
  • Blender or Immersion Blender
  • Grater
  • Stand Mixer or Hand Mixer
  • Piping Bag

Ingredients

For the Cakes

  • 100 g walnut pieces
  • 330 g plain white flour
  • 1 teaspoon psyllium husk powder or 1 tablespoon ground flax seeds
  • 2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda aka baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
  • 200 g granulated sugar
  • 200 g light brown sugar aka light brown muscovado
  • zest of half an orange
  • 250 ml soy milk unflavoured and unsweetened
  • 2 teaspoon lemon juice or white vinegar
  • 200 ml vegetable oil or sunflower oil
  • 350 g carrots peeled and grated

For the Cream Cheese Frosting

  • 120 g vegan butter at room temperature
  • 120 g vegan cream cheese at room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 450 g icing sugar

Instructions

To Make the Cakes

  • Preheat the oven to 170 °C (fan). Line three 22cm cake tins with baking parchment.
  • Spread the walnut pieces on a baking tray and place in the oven to toast for 10 minutes while you prepare the rest of the cake. Set a timer to make sure they don’t burn!
    100 g walnut pieces
  • In a medium bowl, sieve together the plain white flour, psyllium husk powder, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, fine sea salt and ground cinnamon.
    330 g plain white flour, 1 teaspoon psyllium husk powder, 2 teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda, ½ teaspoon fine sea salt, 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
  • In a separate medium bowl, place the sugars and the orange zest. Using your fingertips, rub the orange zest into the sugars until fragrant. Set aside.
    200 g granulated sugar, 200 g light brown sugar, zest of half an orange
  • In the cup of a blender (or a measuring jug if you’re using an immersion blender) place the soy milk, lemon juice and vegetable oil. Blend until smooth and thick.
    250 ml soy milk, 2 teaspoon lemon juice, 200 ml vegetable oil
  • Add the blended wet ingredients to the sugars and whisk well until fully combined. Add this mixture to the dry ingredients and stir just until no lumps remain.
  • Finally, add the carrots and stir to combine. Divide the batter between the three tins and place in the oven to bake for 35 mins or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.
    350 g carrots

To Make the Cream Cheese Frosting

  • Place the vegan butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Alternatively use a medium bowl and a hand mixer for this step. Beat on high speed until light and fluffy for no less than 3 minutes. Add the vegan cream cheese in increments, beating well after each addition to make sure everything stays light and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla extract
    120 g vegan butter, 120 g vegan cream cheese, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • Add the icing sugar little by little. Do not add all in one go or the mixture will split. Transfer the icing sugar to a piping bag.
    450 g icing sugar

To Finish the Cake

  • Stack the cake layers with a generous helping of the cream cheese frosting between each one. Top the final layer with frosting and sprinkle with a little ground cinnamon and orange zest (optional) before serving.

Nutrition

Calories: 677kcal | Carbohydrates: 98g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 31g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 15g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Sodium: 329mg | Potassium: 286mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 72g | Vitamin A: 5340IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 108mg | Iron: 2mg