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.
Lisha da costa says
Tried the recipe as it is without any changes .it turned out so moist, soft and awesome in tatse . Loved it
Alison Andrews says
Wonderful! Thanks for sharing Lisha!
Margaret Angus says
Absolutely the best ever carrot cake I have made. I made the two sponge tins and a few muffin size
Alison Andrews says
Thanks so much Margaret!
Tim says
Superb recipe, thank you Alison!
I’ve made this twice, and both have been a great success!
The amount of icing is nice, but perhaps a tad on a sweet side for some.
I’m looking forward to using your cream cheese icing next time instead, how do you feel it compares for sweetness?
Alison Andrews says
Hi Tim, so glad you enjoyed it! The cream cheese frosting is definitely less sweet so that’s a good option if you prefer the sweetness to be toned down a bit. Thanks for the great review. 🙂
Helen says
I made this recipe a few weeks ago and it was perfect ???? i’m making a batch for muffins. Is this recipe freezable? if so for how long do you recommend it would freeze for?
Thanks
Alison Andrews says
So glad you enjoyed it Helen! It is freezer friendly for up to 3 months. 🙂
Sarah says
Is the bake time the same if I’m making them as cupcakes?!
Alison Andrews says
I would check them at 25 minutes.
Dolly says
Hi! If I were to use two 9 inch pans, how would my measurements change?
Alison Andrews says
Hi Dolly, rather use this carrot cake recipe that can be made in 9-inch cake pans. You can make it with regular all purpose flour as well.
Doris says
Looks delicious! Do you have any suggestions for making this gluten-free?
Thanks!
Alison Andrews says
Hi Doris, yes, we have made a gluten-free version of this cake. 🙂
Chloe says
This recipe looks amazing, it’s my partners birthday coming up and I want to make this cake but only have one cake tin, am I able to just make it in one tin and cut it in half? Thanks!
Alison Andrews says
Hi Chloe, what size is your cake pan? Is it 7-inches? If so I would rather just halve the recipe and do a single layer cake.
Sandy says
This cake was very easy to bake using everyday ingredients. I had no flax seed so had substituted using phsyllium husk. I used one 21cm silicon square pan and it came out most and fluffy and no crusty edges.
My issue with cakes is generally they are too sweet. This one was sweet for my taste and I had already reduced sugar by 50g.
For the icing, I only made 1/3 batch and it was too sweet and so I whipped in another 3 Tablespoons of vegan butter. The texture was so beautiful but everything was too sweet.
I had a piece but gave the rest away.
If I want to reduce the sugar by half, how much liquid and flour should I reduce?
Alison Andrews says
Hi Sandy, you can just experiment with reducing the sugar without any other changes.
Jessica says
Love this recipe! I’ve made it a few times. Wondering I could sub the brown sugar for something like honey or agave? Thoughts?
Alison Andrews says
Hi Jessica, coconut sugar would likely work fine as it’s also a granulated sugar, but honey or agave wouldn’t work with the proportions of this recipe.
Katie Price says
Could this be made with King Arthur measure for measure gluten free flour?
Alison Andrews says
Hi Katie, yes it can. You may also want to check out our vegan gluten-free carrot cake.
Maritza says
Wow what a cake!!! I am not sure how I stumbled upon this recipe but I was in the supermarket and quickly googled a vegan carrot cake recipe. I had all the ingredients at home minus the carrots. I made this for hubby’s birthday and the cake was gone in 18 hrs. My kids don’t even like cake and were fighting for the last few pieces of this cake. One kid is asking for this cake for her birthday! It is a gem and I look forward to remaking this in 2 weeks and other recipes on this site! Thank you for sharing this with us! This allergy mom thanks you!
Alison Andrews says
So pleased to hear that Maritza! Thanks so much for sharing!
Jean says
I made this recipe for my son who recently became vegan. I made a few changes such as using 1/2 cup Smart Balance margarine and 1/2 cup olive oil. I also added about 1/2 cup crushed pineapple. Next time I’m going to add some golden raisins too.
For the icing, I made vegan cream cheese icing using Trader Joe’s vegan cream cheese. (the best tasting so far)
The results were amazing! It tasted just like a regular carrot cake. This recipe is definitely a keeper!
Just a note, you have to put the icing into the fridge before icing a completely cooled cake because it is a little runny.
Alison Andrews says
Awesome! Thanks for sharing Jean!
Paula says
Do you think that this cake would still taste good with white sugar? And if using white sugar should it be normal table sugar or caster sugar?
Alison Andrews says
Yes it would, granulated white sugar would be the best to use.
Yalini says
Another wonderful, delicious and easy recipe. I’m going to buy your ebook, but I would also love to buy a full, hardback cookbook of yours. Any plans for that?!?
Alison Andrews says
Thanks Yalini! And thanks so much for your interest in a hard copy cookbook, we don’t have any plans for one of those at the moment, but you never know! 🙂