Vegan Carrot Cake: Last week was my eldest son's birthday, and I had fun planning and organizing the party. After much deliberation, I ended up baking a decadent vegan carrot cake. But the decision was not very easy.
He turned 7. I see a sudden change in his likes and dislikes. He was this little kid watching Max and Ruby, Caillou and Diego even 2 months back and suddenly everything changed. He is into Power Rangers, Avengers, rockets/spaceships, etc. I'm still wondering how all of this happened in such a short span of time. So I had difficulty figuring out what sort of party to plan.
Wish it was as easy as when he turned 3, and all I had to do was bake this gorgeous eggless chocolate cake.
I was thinking of making a rocket-shaped cake, but a trial run didn't work out as expected, and we had a lot of cake. I didn't want to keep testing it repeatedly and baking a lot of cake. Then we had the black-or-white debate. My son and I prefer chocolate cake but my husband and mother-in-law like vanilla cake. So my husband suggested baking a two-in-one cake; with vanilla on one side and chocolate on the other.
I started looking for ideas to bake a two-tone cake. That made me think about what frosting to choose. Would that be 2 flavors too or just one? I was literally pulling my hair to figure it all out.
Then I had this "light-bulb" moment. I decided to bake one 9-inch round layer cake for adults and a few cupcakes both chocolate and vanilla for the kids. I would frost the 9-inch layer cake and my son would cut it and keep the cupcakes as it is for the kids to frost and decorate themselves. For the 9-inch layered cake, I decided to bake the vegan carrot cake from Sticky Fingers' Sweets by Doron Petersan. I also wanted to try the vegan cream cheese frosting recipe she had in the book.
For the cupcakes I used my eggless vanilla cake recipe (veganized it) and whacky vegan chocolate recipe. My original plan was to bake regular-size cupcakes, but then I decided to go with mini cupcakes.
I thought by doing so the kids could enjoy both flavors if they wanted to. I laid down a variety of sprinkles, buttercream frosting, and chocolate frosting on a tray and the kids had to do the icing by themselves. I was unsure if a cupcake party would go well with a group of 7-10-year-old boys. But I was surprised when I saw that they loved it. The kids had a fun time frosting and decorating the cupcakes. I wonder if they were able to settle down for bed that night after all that sugar rush!
Even though I had planned everything well in advance, I had one issue. I would not be able to taste the carrot cake until it was cut by my son. So I was really worried and was even thinking of getting a cake from the store and keeping it ready just in case. As soon as the carrot cake came out of the oven I was eager to level it off for frosting so that I could taste the crumbs and make a decision.
Unfortunately, the cake did not bake with a big dome like the usual white/chocolate cakes. It was a very thin layer cake and almost flat without needing to be trimmed. Even then I did not let get off it. I slightly leveled it off and tasted the crumbs and was relieved. It was good, but I was not jumping up and down. Then I prepared the frosting too. The frosting tasted good on its own and later with the cake too. Once the cake was frosted it got a decent height. Otherwise, the 2 layers looked very small, making me doubt whether it would be enough for the 6-8 adults.
I had baked a big batch of the vanilla and chocolate cupcakes, anticipating the carrot cake not coming through as expected. I thought that if I screwed up with the cake, I would also serve the cupcakes for the adults. Fortunately, the vegan carrot cake did not disappoint me; it was a huge hit with everybody.
The adults asked, "are you seriously telling that this carrot cake is vegan?". It was that good. I'm glad I tried this vegan carrot cake recipe on such a special day.
Recipe
Vegan Carrot Cake w/ Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
Part 1:
- 2 cups carrots grated
- ½ cup white sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Part 2:
- ¾ cup almond milk
- ⅔ cup coconut oil
Part 3:
- 2 and ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
- ½ cup walnuts chopped, optional
Substitutions:
Ingredients For Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting
- 1 cup vegetable shortening non-hydrogenated (like Earth Balance)
- 12 ounces vegan cream cheese softened, non-hydrogenated (like Tofutti)
- 4 and ½ cups powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 and ½ teaspoons lemon juice (I didn't use it)
- 2 to 4 drops lemon oil, to taste (I didn't use this either)
Instructions
Instructions For Cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350F/180C for 15 minutes.
- Line two 9-inch round cake pans with parchment paper.
- Mix the Part 1 ingredients in a large bowl.
- Add the milk and oil to the bowl and stir to combine.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients mentioned in Part 3.
- Add the dry and wet ingredients and mix until just combined. It's okay if the batter is slightly lumpy.
- evenly Distribute the batter between the two pans. I measured out the batter, and it was 3 cups in total. So 1.5 cups of batter in each pan. Bake for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes clean. Mine was done in 18 minutes itself. The cake started pulling out of the sides of the pan.
- Place the pans on a cooling rack to cool for about 20 minutes. Turn the pan upside down to remove the cakes and cool it completely before frosting.
Instructions For Frosting:
- In a large bowl beat the shortening until smooth using an electric mixer.
- Add the cream cheese and beat until its thoroughly incorporated.
- Add the powdered sugar, vanilla, and rest of the ingredients, if using, and beat until smooth. I added the sugar 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping the sides of the bowl. You can dump everything in if you are using an electric stand mixer. But if you are using a hand-held mixer like me then add the sugar in small additions.
My Notes
- The original cake recipe used ¾th cup of whole wheat pastry flour. I didn't have it so I used all-purpose flour itself.
- If you are a spice fan increase the quantity of ground cinnamon to 1 teaspoon.
- The original frosting recipe suggests that the frosting can be made in advance and refrigerated and covered properly. Bring it back to room temperature to soften before using.
- The frosting should be for a 9-inch layered cake, but I still have about a cup and a half of frosting left. I used a lot for the filling, sides, and top of the cake. I feel that using the entire recipe for that cake is way too much. Now I have to look for a way to use that frosting.
Taste & Texture
Nutrition
I also made these ricotta cheese sweet balls (doodh peda) from here and it was a huge hit too.
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Jane says
This is the best eggless carrot cake recipe I’ve ever made! It baked up beautifully - perfectly even and came away from the pan sides. My son is allergic to eggs and finding good eggless recipes can be frustrating. Thank you for sharing your talent with us. Excellent recipe that will be my go to from now on.
Madhuram says
Thank you very much for the comment, Jane.
Davine says
Amazing, all the family loved it thank you for sharing this fantastic recipe.
Madhuram says
You're welcome, Davine.
Shilpa says
Hi, does anyone have any recommendations for the shortening and cream cheese if the frosting must be soy-free as well as dairy-free?
Madhuram says
Soy and dairy free! That can be tricky I guess. Have you checked Whole Foods for such alternatives?
Shilpa says
Can you use kite hill cream cheese and the soy free earth balance?
Madhuram says
I haven't used these products, Shilpa. If it's the non-dairy version of cream cheese and butter it should work.
Kay says
Hello, is it possible to use almond flour? If yes, how much should I use? Thank you.
Madhuram says
Almond flour is gluten free and substituting it for all-purpose flour won't work especially we are baking it egg free too.
Trudy says
Hi! I made this cake last year for my vegan son's birthday and it was delicious. Even my husband who is opposed to all things vegan loved it. The only minor glitch which others noticed as well is that it makes way too much icing, and it was a little runny. My son's birthday is tomorrow and I've just made the cake again with some adjustments to the icing and it's perfect: 1/3c shortening, 8oz. vegan cream cheese, approx. 2 1/4 c confectioners sugar (adjust for your desired taste and consistency), 2 tsp of vanilla (I decreased the vanilla since I decreased the other ingredients), and I also add a squeeze of fresh orange juice and some orange zest. I refrigerated the icing to firm it up before spreading. Just the right amount, and even more delicious as it has less shortening which I think results in better flavor. Thank you again for this recipe!
Madhuram says
Wow, Trudy! That's a detailed feedback. Thank you very much for the pointers about the icing.
Monique says
This recipe sounds delish. Is there a way to make this cake using coconut flour instead? If so what is the adjusted amount in place of the all purpose flour?
Madhuram says
Coconut flour doesn't have gluten, Monique so it's not as easy as substituting it measure for measure in place of the all-purpose flour. It will require xanthan gum, maybe more leavening agents like baking powder and soda because it's egg free too. It might require more than 1 try to perfect the recipe.
Monique says
Thank you so much for responding. I tried it before I heard back from you. It was a HOT MESS. Didn’t realize the coconut flour was like pouring water into a desert. I gulped every liquid I poured in. I can at least laugh at myself.
Will work with the ingredients and see how I can adjust the recipe. Will keep you posted. Thanks for all your help and the recipes.
Madhuram says
Sorry to hear about the mess. Gluten-free and egg free baking is quite tricky. All the best for further trials and experiments in your kitchen.
Antonietta says
Would you be able to add crushed pineapple to this recipe. If so how much do you suggest? Would the cooking time have to be adjusted?
Madhuram says
I think you can reduce the quantity of carrots and add a cup of crushed pineapple instead. You will have to increase the baking time by another 5-8 minutes probably.
Julie says
Good Morning! I would like to make this recipe using a 15x10x1” sheet pan. I want to cut out 2” circles and make mini tower cakes with cream cheese frosting in the middle and tops. My question, is how long should this bake?
It sounds so delicious!!!
Madhuram says
Sorry Julie I was on vacation and couldn't get to your comment any sooner. If you are still looking for an answer, I'm guessing about 25-30 minutes should be fine.
Ren says
I made this today and it was so good. I was looking for a recipe that was eggless because I didn’t have any, and my expectations were low for this recipe. However it turned out great, it was very moist and tasty and I’m glad I found this recipe. I added two bananas, two tablespoon of frozen berries and I used one carrot instead of two, and if Came out great. Thanks a lot
Madhuram says
You're very welcome, Ren. I'm glad you liked it.
Neha says
Hi Madhuram,
Can you please guide me, if I use self raising flour instead of all purpose flour what changes I’ll have to make to the recipe?
Madhuram says
You can omit the baking powder if you use self-raising flour in this recipe. Don't have to make any other changes.
Trudy says
Thank you for this great recipe. I made it today for my 17 year old vegan son's birthday. I tried to keep my expectations low, and especially the expectations of my husband who is highly skeptical of anything that purposefully does not have animal products in it. My husband had seconds which was shocking. It really is very good. Everyone was amazed at how moist it was. The cake tastes just like "real" carrot cake. The frosting doesn't actually taste like cream cheese frosting, but I just went very light, just spread enough to cover the cake rather than laying it on thick, and it was very good in the context of the cake (vs. tasting it with my finger as I made it). The only changes I made were I used orange juice squeezed from a clementine, and grated clementine zest in the frosting instead of the suggested lemon juice and oil, as my regular carrot cake recipe calls for orange. Also, I only had an 8 oz. container of vegan cream cheese so I reduced the sugar to 3 cups and the shortening to 2/3 cup. Next time I will try reducing the shortening even more, maybe 1/3 cup, as I think that might be too strong a flavor. Also, increasing the sugar ratio will thicken it up. It's definitely a bit thin otherwise. I kept the cake in the fridge so the frosting would stay firm. Also, as you said, there was way too much frosting leftover, another reason to reduce the quantity. All in all I am extremely pleased with this recipe and will be making it again. Thank you! 🙂
Madhuram says
You are very welcome Trudy. Wow! that's such a detailed feedback and you are a very patient person I presume! Thank you very much for taking the time to do so. Orange juice and zest is such a wonderful and flavorful addition. As you have noted the frosting recipe does need some tinkering. I'm glad that your family liked the cake.
Monique says
I tried it. I used grape seed oil. It was a hit. Cake was so moist and tasty. I'm going to make some more tomorrow.
Madhuram says
That's great to know Monique. Did you make the frosting as well? Did it turn out good? Some people have issues with the consistency I believe.
shilpa says
Hi Madhuram, my cake turned out amazingly well (so moist and delicious!) but the frosting was a disaster! it was so runny that it soaked into the cake and looked terrible ☹️any idea where i went wrong?? it also seems like i have about 4 cups left over at least!
Madhuram says
Sorry about the frosting Shilpa. I think a couple of others too have had problems with the frosting recipe and I wonder why. I followed it from the book I have mentioned in the post and now don't remember what was the consistency for the frosting. But I really don't understand why it would be so runny because we are not using any liquid ingredient. Did you use the tofutti cream cheese right from the fridge or at room temperature. I'm starting to think if it starts getting into a liquid consistency if it is kept out. I do agree that it was a lot of frosting. I have mentioned in the notes that I too had extra but really don't know about the consistency unless I try it again.
Pushpa says
Hi, can I use ordinary milk instead of the almond one (mention non dairy milk as a substitute)
Madhuram says
Yes you can Pushpa.
Jb says
How many cupcakes will this make?
Madhuram says
Probably a dozen.
arjuna says
This is an excellent recipe. The cake was moist and very taste. It took twice as much time to be ready. It was worth the wait.
Madhuram says
Thanks for the feedback Arjuna.
Trisha Shah says
Hi I am going to make the carrot cake today. Recepie sounds great. One question... Can I use honey instead of all the sugar mentioned... I am making a pet friendly cake . ?
Madhuram says
I haven't tried it with honey. It might work. You might have to adjust some of the other liquid ingredients.