How to Make The Best Vegan Carrot Cake
This vegan carrot cake will spoil you with its rich moist texture, bold warm sensational flavors, and thick creamy sweet icing. You won't be able to get enough!
Equipment
- 1 Large mixing bowl
- measuring cups
- 1 Mixing spoon
- 1 potato peeler
- 2 9 inch round pans
Ingredients
- 3 cups 100% Whole Wheat Flour
- 2 tsp Baking Soda
- 1 ½ cup Chopped Walnuts
- 2 cups Light Brown Sugar
- 1 tsp Pink Himalayan Salt
- 1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
- 1 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice
- 2 cups Chopped Carrots
- 2/3 cup Olive Oil
- 2 cups Cold Water
- 2 tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
- 2 tsp 100% Pure Vanilla Extract
Vegan Butter Cream Vanilla Icing
- 1/2 cup Vegan Butter
- 4 tbsp Coconut Milk
- 1/2 cup Coconut Oil
- 1 tsp 100% Pure Vanilla Extract
- 3 cups Powdered Sugar
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F.
- Gather all ingredients, a large mixing bowl, measuring cups, a mixing spoon, a peeler for the carrots and two 9 inch round pans.
- (Optional) Take a small baking pan and grease lightly with oil or butter. Add the chopped walnuts to the pan and bake in the oven for 5-7 minutes to toast.
- Remove from oven once toasted and set aside.
- Add flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, ground cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and a little over half of the toasted walnuts to the large bowl. Stir to blend dry ingredients well and set aside. The remainder of the toasted walnuts will be for topping the carrot cake.
- Peel carrots and cut off ends. Chop the carrots into small to medium sized chunks. Add two cups of chopped carrots to a blender. Pulse for approximately 10 seconds or until carrots are finely grated or even mushy.
- Next add the olive oil, apple cider vinegar, cold water, and vanilla extract to the blender with the pulsed carrots and pulse for approximately 10-15 seconds or until the mixture is smooth.
- Pour the mixture into the large bowl with the dry ingredients and mix well.
- Lightly grease the two 9 inch round pans with vegan butter and pour the carrot cake mixture into the pans.
- Put the two cakes in the oven and bake for approximately 35 minutes or until your readiness test passes (see notes for readiness test).
- Once the cakes are ready, remove them from the oven and allow to cool completely.
- When cooled, generously layer the butter cream icing (see prep below) on top of the cake with a butter knife.
- Sprinkle the remainder of the toasted walnuts on top of the cakes.
- Serve yourself a slice. Job well done! Enjoy!
Vegan Butter Cream Vanilla Icing Prep
- Add the vegan butter, coconut milk, coconut oil, and vanilla extract to a large bowl and whisk until well combined.
- Next add powdered sugar one cup at a time stirring until the icing mixture is smooth and creamy.
Notes
- This recipe does not include raisins. However, some people love raisins in their carrot cake. Feel free to add raisins.
- Toasting the walnuts is optional but highly recommended for a delightful crunch in your cake.
- Zulka Morena Pure Cane Sugar is great to use instead of light brown sugar
- This recipe is versatile as you can make a two layer cake or keep them separate!
- Vegetable oil or avocado oil can be used instead of olive oil.
- You can make your own pumpkin spice at home like I did. The ingredients are: allspice, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and nutmeg (recipe coming soon!).
- The mushier the carrots in the blender the better the cake!
- Using a food processor instead of a blender is perfectly fine.
- Chopped pecans are a wonderful alternative if you do not have walnuts.
- When baking the carrot cakes, I prefer putting them on separate racks but putting them both on the same rack works just fine.
- Readiness test: to check if the carrot cake is ready, stick a fork or butter knife (utensil of your choice) in the center of the pan. If it is not ready then there will be batter residue on the utensil. If the carrot cake is ready, the utensil will return with no batter residue.
- Store the icing in the an airtight glass container in the refrigerator up to two weeks or freeze the icing up to two months.