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.
Mara Escalante says
Best carrot cake I’ve ever tried, everyone loved it too
Alison Andrews says
Thanks Mara!
Rebecca says
Wonderful recipe! I love cream cheese icing and since going vegan i didn’t think I would be able to find a good substitute. But your vegan lemon icing with the apple cider vinegar is so close to the real thing! And the cake is amazing too. I might try it with slightly less sugar next time as it is quite sweet, but I love it.
Alison Andrews says
Thanks Rebecca!
Julie says
Perfect. Completely perfect. I cooked them in 8in tins for exactly 30 mins, skipped the walnuts, and swapped the oil for unsweetened apple sauce and accidentally added an extra couple of ounces. I think it worked out, though, sooo moist!
For the frosting, 2 sticks of Earth Balance, 680g powdered sugar, 1 tsp vanilla, ~2 oz silk Soymilk, and half an orange’s zest. Easy and fluffy and so perfect with this cake!!
Alison Andrews says
Awesome! Thanks for sharing Julie!
Ilse de Rooij says
Very good!
Alison Andrews says
Thanks Ilse!
Laura says
I need to make two a 1/2 sheet pan carrot cakes so can I quadruple this recipe?
Alison Andrews says
I haven’t tried quadrupling it but I don’t see why not.
Tom says
Hey absolutely love carrot cake and have tried making this recipe a few times from a friends recommendation, however every time I’ve tried the sides always become really crusty when I take the can out of the pan. Any advice? Thanks!
Alison Andrews says
Hi Tom, I’ve found this can happen if I’ve been a bit over-zealous with spraying my pans with non-stick spray. If this doesn’t apply, then it may be a case of the oven running a bit hot and the cake over-baking a bit as a result.
Emma says
Amazing recipe, as always! Was just wondering if you had any advice on how to improve my frosting because I’ve found that whenever I try to make frosting, it turns out as more of a translucent, hardening glaze than the thick buttercream frosting that I’m looking for and I’m not sure what I could be doing wrong.
Alison Andrews says
Hi Emma, I would try a different brand of vegan butter, this can have a big impact on your results. 🙂
Malini says
Hi Alison, trying this for the first time and hope this works & I would like to ask if the oven need to be in fan mode heat or the normal mode (up and down) is good to go?
Alison Andrews says
At the normal bake setting, not fan.
Izzie says
This cake is so moist, fluffy and most importantly delicious!I made a few adjustments based on what I had like using self raising flour and no baking powder, a chia egg instead of flax, made only 1/2 the amount of icing because i used just one 9 inch tin. Thanks for sharing this great recipe!
Alison Andrews says
Awesome, thanks for sharing Izzie!
Natascha says
This cake is so yummy! It has a crispy outer layer which I love. I subbed carrot for shredded pumpkin.
Thank you
Tasch from Alice Springs
Alison Andrews says
Awesome! Thanks so much Tasch! 🙂
shapelessjourneys says
Great recipe, very rich! Alhough I usually don’t like the icing on carrot cake, this icing makes the cake so much better and it’s so easy to make too.
Thank you
Sheryl McNair says
This was delish! I subbed coconut butter for vegan butter, but, otherwise, I followed the recipe. I think I should have greased the parchment paper, though. Can the cake and/or the frosting be frozen?
Alison Andrews says
Hi Sheryl, yes they can both be frozen. 🙂
Sierra Bowman says
I don’t have any flax, is it possible to create this is applesauce as the egg replacement and if so how much?
Thanks! Your recipes are great! I always make your cupcakes this will be my first time making cake.
Alison Andrews says
Hi Sierra, you can try replacing each flax egg with 3 Tbsp applesauce. All the best! 🙂
Victoria says
Hi,
I’m looking to incorporate pineapple in this recipe. Do you think I could substitute crushed pineapple for the oil?
Thanks
Alison Andrews says
Hi Victoria, yes I think that could work! 🙂
Tharan says
Hi I’m looking at making this. Could I possibly use self raising flour? Xx
Alison Andrews says
Hi Tharan, you probably can, but since that already contains baking powder and salt, I would omit those from the recipe. But don’t omit the baking soda, that will still be needed.
Nataliya Butchart says
Hi there!
I’ve made this cake 4 times already and it tastes like magic!!! Thank you so much!!!
One question… I battles with the frosting. It keeps on splitting. I always make sure to use room temperature batter… I add all the ingredients according to your recipe. I mix it up slowly. It is so disheartening! Do you have any advice for me?
Thank you so much!
Alison Andrews says
Hi Nataliya! So glad you like the cake but sorry to hear you’re struggling with the frosting. I would try a different brand of vegan butter as the first option.