Vegan Carrot Cake
This vegan carrot cake is nice and moist (apologies to the people who despise that word) without being gummy and is spiced just enough to add a little something to it. The topping is a simple and easy tangy frosting that replaces what would normally be a cream cheese one. Walnuts are sprinkled throughout the carrot cake to add some crunch but feel free to omit them if you want to keep this recipe nut-free.
What’s the deal with this vegan carrot cake?
First of all, you’re probably wondering why there’s pineapple in a vegan carrot cake. Well, simply put, it brings out the flavour of the cake and adds moisture. It’ll also yield a very tender cake. You can try replacing it with 45g (instead of 60g) of applesauce since it has more moisture. Though, fair warning, I haven’t tested that. But it should work just fine. It won’t be quite the same, but you’ll still get cake in the end. If you opt for crushed pineapple, drained from a can is best since it’s sweeter, but freshly crushed also does the trick.
Second of all, the frosting. I’m not going to claim that it’s “cream cheese” frosting because it’s really not. It does have a slight tanginess reminiscent of it because that goes well with carrot cake. But to say it tastes like cream cheese frosting would be far fetched. You can easily make a veganized version of a traditional one by using store-bought vegan cream cheese. But I thought I’d make a different version that’s equally delicious on this cake! It pairs well with it and is not too rich. I tried making it with coconut oil at first, but the fat separates very easily and it didn’t have a smooth texture so I recommend only making it with vegan butter.
Vegan Butter
As for the vegan butter, I like to make my own as much as possible using this recipe. Simply because I try to limit the amount of vegan butter I buy to avoid the whole palm oil situation. But I do use it when the homemade version doesn’t do the trick due to it splitting more easily (like in a meringue-based buttercream, for example). Obviously, I’m aware not everyone is going to make their own vegan butter all the time so feel free to use whatever you can and is accessible to you!
If you make this recipe please let me know in the comments! All feedback is very much appreciated and I would love to hear from you! You can also tag me on instagram @the.quaint.kitchen or use the hashtag #thequaintkitchen to share your creations!
Vegan Carrot Cake
Ingredients
Carrot Cake
- 150 g all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tbsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 ½ tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp ginger
- 1/4 tsp cardamom
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 60 g crushed pineapple , drained from a can or freshly crushed
- 100 g plant based milk
- 100 g white granulated sugar, make sure it’s vegan
- 55 g neutral oil, (grapeseed, canola, vegetable…)
- 170 g finely grated carrots
- 50 g walnuts or pecans, roughly chopped
Frosting
- 70 g vegan butter, i use this one
- 70 g icing sugar, sifted
- 1/4 tsp lemon juice
- 1/8 tsp apple cider vinegar
- pinch of salt
Instructions
Carrot Cake
- Preheat your oven to 190°C or 375°F and grease and line the bottom of a 7-inch/18cm round cake pan with parchment paper.
- Start by having your carrots grated and walnuts or pecans chopped up.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the drained (if from a can) crushed pineapple, milk, sugar and oil.
- Fold the dry ingredients into the wet, then add the grated carrots with the nuts and stir to combine everything.
- Pour the batter into the greased and lined cake pan and even it out.
- Bake for about 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Let it cool about 10 minutes in the pan before taking it out and leaving it to cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.
Frosting
- With an electric hand mixer or stand mixer (or even by hand with some elbow grease), beat the vegan butter with the pinch of salt until light and fluffy.
- Add the powdered sugar in two parts to prevent it from flying all over the place, beating well after each addition, then add the lemon juice with the apple cider vinegar and whip until smooth.
Notes
- *Disclaimer: I have a tiny not-so-great oven, so your bake time may vary from mine.
- I strongly suggest making recipes by weight, if you make them by cups I can’t guarantee that you’ll get the same results.
- You can easily omit the nuts and any of the spices in the carrot cake if you don’t want any. I recommend at least keeping the cinnamon though.
- If you don’t have the crushed pineapple, you can try replacing it with 45g of applesauce.
- This cake will keep about a week in the fridge in a sealed container.
- If you don’t have or don’t want to use apple cider vinegar, you can simply put 1/2 tsp lemon juice instead of 1/4 tsp.