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.
If you tried this Vegan Carrot Cake W/ Cream Cheese Frosting recipe, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below!
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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.
Chris says
Can i use wheat flour , do you know if it will come out just as good ?
Madhuram says
Try using whole wheat pastry flour instead and it should turn out good.
nanthiny raman says
Hi sis. Can i bake in 2 , 8 inch tray? So that the cake will look a bit more taller. Please advice! Thank you.
Madhuram says
Yes you can. 🙂
Holly says
This is exactly what I was looking for. I'll be making it this weekend. Thanks for sharing it. I'm looking forward to trying your other recipes 😀
Madhuram says
That's great Holly. Hope you like it. 🙂
Yelena says
Great start at a vegan carrot cake recipe. But I cut the sugar by half and replaced the coconut oil, which hardened and ruined the cake the first time I tried it, with canola oil. The frosting should be reduced by half, and you still get plenty.
Madhuram says
Yes, one of the reasons I avoid using coconut oil especially in the winters.
Swapna says
Hi Madhuram
I have Instant carrot cake mix(gluten free).In that they specify that mix it with 2 large eggs,oil and water.But my family don't want use eggs so I am looking for substitution.Can you please suggest me how to get puffy cup cakes which my 3 yrs old baby likes.Thanks in advance
Madhuram says
I would use 1/2 cup yogurt instead of 2 large eggs. But being a gluten-free mix I'm not sure how well it will rise. You can try it anyways.
Meighan says
This was truly delicious!!! My daughter (age 7) has an egg allergy and we love to bake so have used your site a number of times and love it. Thanks! Only one question about this particular recipe: I noticed that the coconut oil was clumpy (some large clumps) in the batter. Using a mixer didn't help this. They seemed to bake up ok though so wasn't sure whether this was even a problem.
Madhuram says
Thank you very much Meighan. Yes coconut oil gets lumpy depending upon the temperature. It's not much of a problem in cake recipes, etc because it will melt. I stopped using it in pancake, waffle recipes though. That's why I'm using avocado oil these days in most of my baking recipes.
Mary Jo says
I just made this cake. The recipe was just what I was looking for. I skipped the frosting altogether. So perfect!
Madhuram says
You're very welcome Mary Jo. 🙂
Raksha says
Hello would like to know if I can use butter in place of veg shortening and exactly how much is 12 ounces ? Thanks
Madhuram says
Do you want to use butter instead of vegetable shortening or the cream cheese in the frosting?
faaara says
Hweey thanks for this but it would be great if u add step by step pictorial it would be more easy to learn 🙂
Madhuram says
Yes..I agree...I wish I had the time Farah...would love to do it.
Shalini says
Hi Madhuram,
Amazing, mind blowing cake! 🙂 Me and whole family loved it. Super soft moist and delicious. I am so glad to have found your blog. Eggless cakes were never so good!
Mine baked in 40 Minutes at 180 degrees convection Microwave setting.
Thanks again!
Will try more cakes.....for sure!
Shalini
Madhuram says
You're very welcome Shalini. Thanks for the lovely feedback.
Shalini says
Hi Madhuram,
Am planning to bake this cake tonight, i don't have allspice, is it optional or can you suggest an alternative? I am based out of India.
Also i am not planning to create frosting as i don't know about the ingredients mentioned.New to baking so... Also unsure if we get these in India?
Kindly respond.
Thanks,
Shalini
Madhuram says
All spice is not a must Shalini. If you can get ground cinnamon, nutmeg and clove, a little of each will do, or just plain cinnamon is ok too. Even I don't know if all these ingredients are available in India. I guess you have to look around. All the best, Shalini.
Shalini says
Hi, am planning to bake this one soon 🙂 reading comments i realise i can substiture oil with butter and almond milk with toned dairy milk. Am i correct?
I tried ur eggless vanilla cake and loved it!
Madhuram says
Thanks Shalini. You can substitute.
Farzana says
Hello there !! I wanted to make this tonight but I wanted to make only for 1 9 x 5 loaf pan. Have you tried making this in a loaf pan ? If so, do you think all measurements should remain same ? How long to cook and what temperature ??
Madhuram says
No I haven't tried it in a loaf pan. I'm thinking you will have to halve the recipe or even less than that. Not sure.
Lavanya says
Hi, I like all your recipes..I want to try this carrot cake with whole wheat pastry flour. Please tell me how much flour I should use? I am confused you mentioned 3/4th cup in your notes.
Thanks.
Madhuram says
The original recipe used 1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour and 3/4th cup of whole wheat pastry flour, because I didn't have WWPF, I used 2 and 1/4 cups APF.
NS says
I made this today - just one 9" round cake with half the measurements you have given here. I am yet to taste it. But my husband and little one had it and said it is excellent! Thanks so much for blogging, Madhuram.
Madhuram says
You're very welcome NS.
NS says
Hi,
Thank you so much for this recipe.
I do not have white sugar with me now. Can I add just Brown sugar alone - 1 Cup?
Thanks!
Madhuram says
Yes you can NS.
Breanna Toney says
I just want to thank you so much for this recipe! I have scoured the internet so long for the perfect eggless carrot cake recipe. I am allergic to eggs so cake is a real treat for me! I did a few tweaks but it turned out awesome. This is the first cake I've baked homemade that did not sink or fall apart. It was moist and delicious! My friends loved it also!
Madhuram says
You're very welcome Breanna. Thank you for the feedback.
Vilma says
I am trying the carrot cake. I made it with baking powder, but I was wondering if you are using double acting baking powder or just simple baking powder. I would like the cake to raise a little bit better. Any suggestions? It is for my grandson's birthday.
Madhuram says
Hi Vilma, I have never used double acting baking powder, so unable to comment if the cake would rise more using the same.
Vilma says
I found out that the double acting and the just regular have the same effect. Thanks for your reply. The cake was a hit. I use the half shortening half butter frosting with cream cheese and it turned out great. I am so thankful about this site. and the piece of mind that my children get to be able to give a cake that my grandson could enjoy without a concern about him getting an allergy.
Madhuram says
Thank you very much Vilma.
Sonia says
I just made this cake yesterday and followed the ingredients as per mentioned. I was genuinely surprised as to how soft it turned out!! Thank you so much for sharing! 🙂 I substituted the almond milk with regular whole milk and oil with melted butter. The only tiny issue was that the cake smelled like baking powder so I shall be adding in 3/4 of a spoon of it the next time I bake this again. Thank you once again! 🙂
Madhuram says
You're welcome Sonia. I didn't have any issues with the baking powder at all. I can't guess what went wrong.