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.
Maureen Cram says
Wonderful cake… I was a little dubious to begin with as it looked dry and other carrot cake recipes have tons of milk added. But I waited and lo and behold! Perfect. I added raisins and the walnuts and mixed them in by hand and then baked in a 9 x 13 pan and it took about 20 minutes. So happy I tried it :).
Alison Andrews says
So glad it was a success Maureen! Thanks for sharing!
Cassandra Wilson says
Omg this batter is awesome tasting raw so can’t wait for it to cook. I substituted the 2 and a 1/2 cups of brown sugar for 2 cups of coconut sugar and it’s still awesome.
Abhijna Kavasseri says
I tried this recipe and it was amazing!!
Alison Andrews says
Awesome, thank you!
Mandie says
Can I use “gluten free 1 to 1” all purpose flour instead of regular all purpose flour and still get the same result? I have Avocado oil but not Olive oil…can I use Avocado oil instead of Olive oil? Plan to make this today. Thanks.
Alison Andrews says
Hi Mandie, you may just want to check out our vegan gluten free carrot cake. You can use 1:1 flour but avocado oil is not a good oil for baking.
Heleina says
Easy and delicious thanks
Jessi Hicks says
Just made this a few days ago for Easter and it was a hit! I havent had carrot cake since I became vegan and this was the best reintroduction. The frosting did come out a little bitey, but that’s only because I accidentally added a little too much lemon juice, but I was able to balance it out with more powdered sugar.
Alison Andrews says
Awesome! Thanks for sharing Jessi!
Allie says
My first time making vegan carrot cake. Stellar! We love the tart icing. Printing this out to save for the future.
Alison Andrews says
Thanks Allie!
Yoriko says
Best carrot cake I’ve ever made or tasted, vegan or not!
Alison Andrews says
Yay! Thank you so much!
Angelina Bourne says
Can I sub the flour for wholemeal, if so would I need to make any alterations?
Alison Andrews says
I think you can, but it would likely change the texture a little (it may be more coarse). Use the same amount as you would all purpose.
Branka says
Hi! I’m planning on baking one of your cakes this weekend but I noticed in most of your cake recipes you need an electric mixer for frosting. Do you suggest any other method of making one if I don’t have an electric mixer? Can I make them by hand?
Btw – been making A LOT of your savory recipes and I LOVE it, your blog is my cooking guide 🙂
Alison Andrews says
Hi Branka! So glad you’ve been enjoying the savory recipes! I think you could make this frosting by hand, with a good bit of arm power! Let the vegan butter get very soft as well and then really get your arm into it! All the best! 🙂
Robin says
I’m not much of a baker but followed this recipe as it is (with a splash of soy milk at the end) and LOVED it!!! I made one for my friend’s birthday yesterday and again today just for myself and the fam (also to use up some ingredients)! This is the best vegan baked good I’ve tried so far, for sure. Thank you so much!
Alison Andrews says
So pleased to hear that Robin! Thanks for the wonderful review.
Nadja says
Hey! What about a 10-inch cake pan ???? it will be thinner, ofc but do u think it will harm the quality of the cake ?
Alison Andrews says
Hi Nadja, if you’re making the recipe as is, then make it in a single 10-inch cake pan for a single layer cake. Otherwise double the recipe for a 2-layer 10-inch cake. 🙂
Veronica says
I made this recipe and loved the cake, but found the frosting too sweet even with 4 tbsp of lemon. It’s mostly sugar, but is there a way of moderating the sweetness? Can I add more butter or some milk and less sugar?
Alison Andrews says
Hi Veronica, you could try one of our other frostings like our vegan cream cheese frosting that is less sweet. 🙂
Olivia says
I made this Recipe last weekend. Instead of the cake I made Cupcakes, as this is almost the exact recipe as your carrot cupcake one. I used way less sugar (we in Germany don’t like to eat thaaaat sweet you know) and 1.5 times the batter as I wanted loads of Cupcakes (it made 22). Everyone who ate a cupcake was mind-blown how good these were. one comment was “these are the best cupcakes I’ve ever had im my entire life. I wish I could go back in time where I hadn’t eaten the cupcake yet and eat it again” 😀 Thanks for the recipe. I agree, that this was the best thing I’ve ever made 🙂
Alison Andrews says
Awesome! So glad to hear they were delicious! Thanks so much for sharing!
Emma says
Is it ok to use 8 inch single pan, without dividing the cake into 2 parts? because i am not planning to make frosting…
Alison Andrews says
Hi Emma, the issue is that it will take a long time to cook as it will be very thick. I think it can still work, but you will need a baking time of 50-60 minutes and the top might over-brown while the middle will still be baking. So you might want to tent it with foil at around the 30-40 minute mark to prevent that.