This vegan carrot cake is the best ever! It’s moist and rich and topped with a tangy lemon buttercream frosting and crushed walnuts.
Carrot cake is pretty awesome! It gives you the feeling that you’re eating something pretty darn healthy. I mean you’re getting your veggies in!
And when it’s vegan carrot cake, well….. then you can feel pretty saintly about it!
Okay okay, I’ve said I’m never going to mention guilt and food in the same sentence on this blog, and I’m going to stick to it, but you know, there’s indulgence and then there’s feeling saintly about indulgence, which is not like indulgence at all really.
So go on, have your vegan carrot cake and eat it too, while feeling saintly about your good choices 🙂
And you know one of these days I’ll even make a gluten-free version (update: it’s here!) and THEN, well then, you know, you can just about ascend to heaven on a cloud while you eat it.
Jokes aside, this carrot cake is super good, it has a wholesome hearty vibe, while being moist, rich, and delicious.
Topped with a tangy lemon buttercream frosting and crushed walnuts, this cake is ideal for any special occasion. Or just for Sunday afternoon tea.
How To Make Vegan Carrot Cake
You will find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.
- Sift all purpose flour into a mixing bowl and add baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Mix together.
- Add light brown sugar and grated carrot to the mixing bowl.
- Prepare your flax eggs by adding 2 tablespoons of ground flaxseed meal to a bowl with 6 tablespoons of hot water. Let it sit for a minute to become gloopy.
- Add the flax eggs, oil, vanilla extract, apple cider vinegar and chopped walnuts to the mixing bowl.
- Mix everything together. If it seems like it won’t come together and the mix is too dry then step away from the bowl for a couple of minutes and then come back to it. The carrot will have released more moisture into the batter allowing it to come together into a thick batter.
- Divide the batter evenly between two cake pans (sprayed with non-stick spray and lined with parchment paper along the bottoms).
- Bake at 350°F for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the cakes comes out clean.
- Let the cakes cool in the pans for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.
- When the cakes are cool, frost and decorate with crushed walnuts.
The Frosting
Two things: firstly, I frosted it with a lemon frosting and added apple cider vinegar. This was to try and get a slightly more ‘cheesy’ flavor to it.
Well, it didn’t really work, it was really good, but I would not say it was in any way ‘cheesy’. It was still really good though, with a perfect amount of tang, so I went with it!
Secondly, I have since made a fabulous vegan cream cheese frosting using a homemade vegan cream cheese. It is seriously delicious, so if you want to give that a try instead, then go for it. The lemon buttercream frosting recipe from our vegan lemon cake is also a winner if you want to use that instead.
Chef’s Tips
Measure your flour correctly. If you have a food scale then measure the flour out on a food scale for total accuracy. If you don’t have a food scale then use the ‘spoon and level’ method to measure your flour. Spoon the flour into your measuring cup and then level it off with a knife. Don’t scoop the flour and don’t pack it into your cup.
Carrots must be freshly grated. If you buy pre-grated carrots then they will have dried out a lot by the time you use them. You need freshly grated carrots so that they are packed with moisture.
The walnuts. Walnuts are entirely optional but they are really delicious both in the cake itself and sprinkled on top for decoration. Another great option is chopped pecan nuts.
Be patient mixing the batter. When you’re mixing this batter you may start to wonder if I’ve missed out some important ingredients in the form of liquids! You may start thinking it will never come together! Don’t worry, so long as you used freshly grated carrots, it will definitely come together. Just step away from the bowl for a couple of minutes, the carrots will release more moisture into the batter. When you come back and mix again, it will form into a thick batter.
Adapting For Different Cake Pans
- 7-inch. This cake makes two thick 7-inch cake layers.
- 8-inch. It also works perfectly for 8-inch cake pans. The layers are slightly thinner, but still perfect, and 8-inch cake pans work great with the recipe exactly as is, no other changes at all.
- 6-inch. If you want to make this cake in 6-inch cake pans then I would suggest making it as a 3 layer cake. Baking time will be around 25 minutes.
- 9×9 sheet cake. You can also make it as a 9×9 square sheet cake. Baking time is 35 minutes.
- 9×13 sheet cake. It also works as a 9×13 sheet cake though it is a fairly thin cake so 9×9 is preferred. Baking time for 9×13 is 25 minutes.
Vegan Carrot Cake Q&A
You can make this cake gluten-free by simply switching the regular flour for a gluten-free all purpose flour blend. You can also check out our recipe for vegan gluten free carrot cake. It’s totally divine.
Sure! This recipe adapts to 12-18 cupcakes depending on how full you make the cupcake liners. You can also check out our vegan carrot cake cupcakes.
Storing and Freezing
Keep the cake covered at room temperature where it will stay good for 3-4 days, or keep it covered in the fridge where it will stay good for up to a week.
It is also freezer friendly for up to 3 months.
More Vegan Cakes
- Vegan Vanilla Cake
- Vegan Chocolate Cake
- Vegan Red Velvet Cake
- Vegan Banana Cake
- Vegan Lemon Cake
- Vegan Strawberry Cake
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Vegan Carrot Cake
Ingredients
For the Carrot Cake:
- 2 cups All Purpose Flour (250g)
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
- ½ tsp Salt
- 2 tsp Cinnamon
- 1 tsp Nutmeg
- 1 ½ cups Light Brown Sugar (300g)
- 2 ⅓ cups Grated Carrot (255g)
- 2 Flax Eggs (2 Tbsp Ground Flaxseed Meal with 6 Tbsp Water)
- ½ cup Canola Oil (120ml) or Vegetable Oil
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 cup Walnuts (100g) Chopped, Optional
For the Lemon Buttercream Frosting:
- 4 cups Powdered Sugar (480g)
- ½ cup Vegan Butter (112g)
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar
- 2-3 Tbsp Fresh Lemon Juice
Decoration:
- Walnuts Chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Spray two 7-inch cake pans or two 8-inch cake pans (see notes*) with non-stick spray and line the bottoms with circles of parchment paper.
- Sift the all purpose flour into a mixing bowl and add the baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Mix together.
- Add the light brown sugar and grated carrot to the mixing bowl.
- Prepare your flax eggs by adding 2 tablespoons of ground flaxseed meal to a bowl with 6 tablespoons of hot water. Let it sit for a minute to become gloopy.
- Add the flax eggs, oil, vanilla extract, apple cider vinegar and chopped walnuts to the mixing bowl.
- Mix everything together. If it seems like it won't come together and the mix is too dry then step away from the bowl for a couple of minutes and then come back to it. The carrots will have released more moisture into the batter allowing it to come together into a thick batter.
- Divide the batter evenly between the two prepared cake pans.
- Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the cakes comes out clean.
- Allow the cakes to cool in the pans for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
- While the cakes are cooling, prepare your frosting.
- Add the powdered sugar, vegan butter, vanilla extract, apple cider vinegar and 2 tablespoons of lemon juice to the bowl of your stand mixer.
- Start mixing on low speed gradually increasing speed until your frosting is thick and smooth.
- If your frosting is too thick then add in the extra tablespoon of lemon juice, a drop at a time and only as much as needed to get to a spreadable consistency.
- Frost the cake and decorate the top with chopped walnuts.
Video
Notes
- Measure your flour correctly. If you have a food scale then measure the flour out on a food scale for total accuracy. If you don’t have a food scale then use the ‘spoon and level’ method to measure your flour. Spoon the flour into your measuring cup and then level it off with a knife. Don’t scoop the flour and don’t pack it into your cup.
- Carrots must be freshly grated. If you buy pre-grated carrots then they will have dried out a lot by the time you use them. You need freshly grated carrots so that they are packed with moisture.
- The walnuts. Walnuts are entirely optional but they are really delicious both in the cake itself and sprinkled on top for decoration. Another great option is chopped pecan nuts.
- Be patient mixing the batter. When you’re mixing this batter you may start to wonder if I’ve missed out some important ingredients in the form of liquids! You may start thinking it will never come together! Don’t worry, so long as you used freshly grated carrots, it will definitely come together. Just step away from the bowl for a couple of minutes, the carrots will release more moisture into the batter. When you come back and mix again, it will form into a thick batter.
- Adapting for different size cake pans:
- 7-inch. This cake makes two thick 7-inch cake layers.
- 8-inch. It also works perfectly for 8-inch cake pans. The layers are slightly thinner, but still perfect, and 8-inch cake pans work great with the recipe exactly as is, no other changes at all.
- 6-inch. If you want to make this cake in 6-inch cake pans then I would suggest making it as a 3 layer cake. Baking time will be around 25 minutes.
- 9×9 sheet cake. You can also make it as a 9×9 square sheet cake. Baking time is 35 minutes.
- 9×13 sheet cake. It also works as a 9×13 sheet cake though it is a fairly thin cake so 9×9 is preferred. Baking time for 9×13 is 25 minutes.
- Gluten-free: You can make this cake gluten-free by simply switching the regular flour for a gluten-free all purpose flour blend.
- Cupcakes: This recipe adapts to 12-18 cupcakes depending on how full you make the cupcake liners.
- Storing: Keep the cake covered at room temperature where it will stay good for 3-4 days, or keep it covered in the fridge where it will stay good for up to a week.
- Freezing: It is also freezer friendly for up to 3 months.
- This recipe has been updated with new photos but the recipe itself is unchanged.
Samantha says
Can you make these as cupcakes with the same recipe?
Alison Andrews says
Hi Samantha, yes you can! It would make 12-18 cupcakes depending on how high you fill the liners.
Megan says
Hi! Could I substitute olive oil for coconut oil?
Alison Andrews says
Yes sure, use melted coconut oil and that will work great. 🙂
Megan says
I made cupcakes for Thanksgiving and used coconut oil instead – it was such a hit! Delicious recipe, thanks for sharing 🙂
Alison Andrews says
So glad to hear that Megan! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
susan a schubert says
Made this cake for my mother-in law for her birthday and it was a total hit. It was the best carrot cake we’ve ever had.
Alison Andrews says
Fantastic! Thanks for sharing and the awesome review. 🙂
Leonie says
LOVE this recipe! I used Applesauce insead of the flax eggs and reduced the sugar by 50g but otherwise followed the recipe and this cake is SO delicious! I did remember to put the walnuts in and it gives it a lovely crunch! My boyfriend is obsessed with this cake <3
Alison Andrews says
Yay! So happy to hear Louise, thanks for the wonderful review. 🙂
Adrianna Miller says
How much apple sauce did you use for this recipe?
Leonie says
I used 6 tbsp 🙂
Darcy Frank-Henrichs says
How much applesauce did you use as replacement for the flaxseed eggs?
Alison Andrews says
Hi Darcy, I would use 6 Tbsp applesauce if replacing the flax eggs (3 Tbsp applesauce per flax egg). All the best! 🙂
Caroline says
What a fantastic carrot cake. I reduced the sugar by 50g and remembered to add the walnuts. It was the best carrot cake I’ve ever made and tasted. Everyone loved it.
Thank you for sharing your recipes.
Alison Andrews says
Awesome! Thanks so much for the great review! 🙂
Melissa says
This turned out amazing! I made a few modifications: I reduced the sugar by 30g and added 3 tablespoons of applesauce for extra moistness, and I made these into cupcakes. I also made a vegan cream cheese frosting using store bought cream cheese. They were perfect! Next time I will reduce the sugar by an extra 15g as I found them plenty sweet as is, especially once you add the frosting. Thanks so much for this awesome recipe!
Alison Andrews says
So glad you enjoyed it Melissa! Thanks for sharing and the great review! 🙂
Yvette G says
This cake had people gushing over it at a recent celebration. It was really delicious and this will now be my go to carrot cake recipe. Thank you Alison for the time you put into perfecting it.
Alison Andrews says
So happy to hear Yvette! Thanks for the amazing review. 🙂
Christina Whitworth says
My husband thought this was the best carrot cake ever, and loved the frosting. I followed the recipe to a t, except used vegan lactic acid in the frosting recipe instead of lemon juice just because I had it on hand. Oh and I forgot to put the vinegar in the cake batter but it still rose and tasted moist and delicious.
Alison Andrews says
Thanks so much for the great review Christina! 🙂
Elise Frederick says
This was by far the best carrot cake, vegan or not I have ever made or eaten!
I was afraid it was too dry, even when I took it out of pan. I wrapped them tightly in foil and put in fridge overnight.
Moist, dense, perfectly seasoned. I made vegan cream cheese frosting and my non vegan co workers requested for her birthday tomorrow!
Alison Andrews says
Wonderful! So happy to hear that Elise. Thanks for the awesome review. 🙂
Kate says
Hi, I need to make this in advance, so I’m wondering if it freezes ok? How about with the vegan cream cheese frosting on?
Alison Andrews says
Hi Kate, yes this cake will freeze well, and the cream cheese frosting too. This article from The Kitchn has some great tips about how to freeze a frosted cake. 🙂
Kate says
This recipe is amazing, the cake was so tasty and the vegan cream cheese icing was so authentic! It froze and defrosted perfectly. Hubby has asked for one every week from now on haha!
Alison Andrews says
So glad you liked it Kate! Thanks for the wonderful review. 🙂
Jay says
Hi Alison,
This will be my first vegan bake, I’d also like to add a bit of dried fruit/sultana and dry coconut, is this possible?
Alison Andrews says
Hi Jay, yes you can definitely do that! All the best! 🙂
Brenda Hariharan says
I made your carrot cake and it was hands down the best cake I’ve ever made????
Alison Andrews says
Yay! Thanks so much for the awesome review Brenda! xo
Val Jenkins says
Hello Alison-
I bake muffins for our Club’s monthly suppers; the ‘trial’ vegan batch that I made one supper were all eaten with enthusiasm so I decided to include a vegan batch each month. Many of the recipes I have found on the Web list “flax eggs” among the ingredients. I haven’t tried those recipes yet but recently I found a site which gave the recipe and instructions for making “flax gel” – the flax seeds are boiled in water and then the seeds discarded and only the gel retained. The author recommended 3 (three) Tablespoons of the flax gel to replace 1 (one) egg. Have you ever tried this?
Alison Andrews says
Hi Val, I haven’t tried this, but it sounds interesting! I wonder if it’s more of an effort though then just making flax eggs the usual way, which is really easy! 🙂
Phebe says
Hi! Can you substitute the flax eggs with applesauce in this recipe?
Alison Andrews says
Hi there, it should be fine to do this, use 6 Tbsp applesauce and see how you do with that. All the best! 🙂
Natasha says
I’m
Struggling to find a vegan powdered sugar? I’m baking for some vegan friends. Any help?
Alison Andrews says
Hi Natasha, it depends where you are. In most countries other than the USA, it is already vegan. If you’re in the USA then just choose one that is marked organic as that will definitely be processed the right way to avoid any non-vegan contamination. All the best! 🙂