I’ve been a big fan of Carrot Cake for as long as I can remember. It’s one of those concepts that shouldn’t work, but does and whomever came up with the idea first must’ve been thinking pretty outside the box.
Oddly, however, despite being a cake where the whole concept is based around a vegetable, Carrot Cakes are rarely Vegan due to the cream cheese icing and eggs that are used! But we rectify that with this recipe by creating an egg and dairy-free version that is just as good as the traditional recipe! I guarantee that if you put this in front of anyone they won’t be able to tell it’s Vegan! If you don’t make this, then do you really carrot all? ????
Vegan Carrot Cake
Print RecipeIngredients
- For the cake:
- 450g Plain Flour
- 225ml Oat Milk
- 1.5tsp Baking Powder
- 1.5tsp Bicarbonate of Soda
- 300g Light Brown Sugar
- 250ml Coconut Oil, melted
- 1tsp Cinnamon
- 1 tsp Ginger
- 1/2 tsp Numeg
- 1/2 tsp Mixed Spice
- 300g Grated Carrots
- 75g Walnuts, Blitzed (Keep a handful of walnuts for decoration)
- For the icing:
- 200g Vegan Cream Cheese
- 135g Vegetable Shortening
- 500g Icing Sugar, sifted
- 2tsp Lemon Juice
- 1tsp Vanilla Extract
Instructions
Pre-heat oven at 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 5.
Prep for your cake by peeling and grating your carrots and blitzing the walnuts as fine as you wish.
In one bowl, add in your flour, baking power, bicarbonate of soda, light brown sugar (with any lumps removed), walnuts and spices and just bring together with a spoon and place to one side.
In another large bowl add in the oat milk, coconut oil - if it's solid, then melt it in the microwave in 30 second blasts - and the grated carrot and quickly stir to bring everything together.
Next, add all of your dry ingredients into the wet mixture and mix together well until the batter comes together and is completely combined. It should be a fairly thick batter.
Divide into two 10 inch cake tins, lined with baking paper, and place into the oven to bake for 25 - 30 minutes or until you cake poke a skewer into the middle and have it come out clean. Remove from the tins and leave to cool completely on wire racks.
While the cakes are cooling, you can get on with making the icing. Add in the Vegan Cream Cheese and vegetable shortening into a bowl and beat together until smooth and creamy.
Next, add in a spoonful of icing at a time and combine into the creamy mixture.
Once all the icing is added, add in the lemon juice and vanilla extract and mix well. The icing should be firm, but spreadable. If it looks too loose, add a little more icing sugar. If it looks too firm, then add a little more lemon juice (or vanilla extract if you have a sweet tooth). Pop into the fridge while the cakes finish cooling.
When the cakes are completely cooled, carefully level off one of the cakes with a serrated knife or a cake trimmer, and then add an even layer of icing to that cake using a palette knife or spatula (or spoon if you have neither of those). Place the other cake flat side down onto the icing.
With the rest of the icing, add another layer over the top of the cake, making sure to keep it even. Add some walnuts to the top for decoration.
Enjoy with a cup of your favourite tea or coffee!
