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.
Eve says
Hi Alison!
Have just tried made the cake with pink icing as an alternative. Was absolutely delish! Thank you very much for sharing your lovely recipe!
Alison Andrews says
Awesome! Thanks for sharing Eve! 🙂
Maria says
I made this recipe and it came out delicious, now it’s one of my favorites, thanks for sharing Alison.
Alison Andrews says
Awesome! Thanks Maria! 🙂
Wow says
The flavor was perfect, loved it. However, I made it in two square 7” pans because it’s all I had and the layers were definitely more thin but combined were totally fine. I baked one for 25 minutes and the other for 30 as per the directions as trial and error — toothpick test came out clean after about 20~ minutes and change and the layer I baked for 30 minutes was a little dry. I also used Bobs Red Mill egg replacer instead of flax because it’s just what I had on hand…
I was wondering if anyone could make a suggestion on how to make the cake more MOIST? Only complaint I got is that it needed to be a little more moist/dense. I was thinking maybe add a small amount of applesauce? Would using flax egg as is fix this problem?
Alison Andrews says
It could be that the flax eggs would solve this issue as they do provide a lot of moisture, I’ve never used the egg replacer so I’m not sure if it is equivalent in that way. Usually this is a very moist cake. Glad you still enjoyed it though! 🙂
Deepshikha Agarwal says
Awesome
Amber says
I made this recipe as cupcakes for my 38th birthday yesterday and they were delicious. My mom and sister both asked for the recipe! I used ground chia seeds because I was out of flax, and used melted vegan butter instead of olive oil (I don’t like the taste of olive oil). I added 2 tsp ground ginger, doubled the vanilla extract, and added 1/2 cup raisins. I also had to add 3/4 cup almond milk. It made 18 cupcakes and I baked them for 23 minutes. Thank you for such a lovely recipe!
Alison Andrews says
Awesome Amber! Thanks for the fabulous review! 🙂
Cecilia says
Hi Alison. I would like to make this recipe for my son’s birthday, but he will be only one year old in January 2020 so I’m thinking about replacing the sugar with something more suitable for babies. Do you have any ideas what would work best?
Alison Andrews says
Hi Cecilia, I actually don’t have any suggestions there, but I think if you read the other comments others have tried different options, like reducing sugar and adding chopped up dates for example. All the best! 🙂
Poorna says
Loved the recipe! Very easy to make and delicious cake.. This was such a hit that I baked the muffin version by the end of the same day as the cake was wiped clean ????
The only mistake I did with the cake frosting was I used bottled lemon juice and it ended up a bit too tangy to my taste..
Alison Andrews says
Hi Poorna, so glad you liked it! Thanks for the awesome review! Haha, yes the bottled lemon juice can be very tangy. 🙂
Ana says
Just tried this recipe and we love it! Go easy on the lemon juice in the frosting, ours came out a little too tart– also, add a little more water to the flax egg mixture, otherwise make sure you add the plant milk- the top came out dry and the bottom ends up oily otherwise. If that happens (which it did), I just flipped the individual cakes upside down when stacking them, and gave the oil a chance to soak down the cake. I also chill it in the fridge for 15 minutes after frosting to allow it a chance to really solidify.
Liz says
When baking the cake this morning I packed the brown sugar in my cup measures before adding it to the mixture. The end result was way too sweet. Recommend adding less brown sugar if you’re packing it down…or just don’t pack it down.
Simone says
Hi Alison, I would like to use this recipe to make mini cupcakes for Christmas 🙂 I can imagine I have to adjust the baking time then? How long would you say?
Alison Andrews says
Hi Simone, if you’re making mini cupcakes that will usually bake for about 15 minutes. Regular size cupcakes bake for around 25 minutes. All the best! 🙂
Margaret says
I’m going to make this for my granddaughter birthday . I have a question regarding the baking powder. I make my own using cream of tartar an baking soda. Will this work. I make using two tsps
Of cream of a tartar an one tsp of baking soda. That makes one TBSP. Do I still need to keep it at the one tsp each . To match your recipe.
Thanks
Alison Andrews says
Hi Margaret, that should be fine to use one tsp of each even though your baking powder is homemade. all the best! 🙂
Abby says
Hi, would this work with white sugar? Ive ran out of brown but need this cake in my life
Alison Andrews says
Hi Abby, yes that will work fine! All the best! 🙂
Karen says
This cake was a hit with the family. Husband who is not much of a cake person loved it and came back for seconds.
Alison Andrews says
Awesome Karen! Thanks so much for the great review. 🙂
Joanna says
Absolutely DELICIOUS!!!
I made this for our head of team’s leaving and wham it was gone and everyone said how delicious it was. I love the smell of it when it’s cooking the nutmeg and cinnamon yum! Thanks so much for tips i used 6tbsp homemade applesauce.
Peel & core and chop one big cooking apple add tiny bit water blend when softened and add.
Alison Andrews says
So glad it was a hit! Thanks for sharing and the wonderful review. 🙂
Phebe says
Could I bake this cake in one 9 inch pan?
Alison Andrews says
Yes, that should work. It ‘may’ need a slightly longer baking time (I don’t think it will but it might). Just check at 30 minutes and see how it’s doing.