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.
I have made this cake so many times it is always a hit, I prefer it with the cream cheese filling so I use a ready-made vegan cream cheese and it works perfectly. This time I made it for a room full of my French family and friends who are meat eaters. I have been vegan for years and it was a great way to show everyone how delicious vegan cuisine is. After they all finished everyone was asking me for the recipe, thank you. 💛
Perfect! So happy to hear it was a hit. Thanks so much for the awesome review.
This looks like a fantastic recipe! Can I substitute applesauce for the oil in this recipe? I will be sure to rate it after I try it!
Yes you can do that. It does tend to result in a slightly different texture though.
I used apple sauce in place of the flax egg, slowly building our supplies up. I added raisins and cooked in a 9 inch. We’ve just gone vegan so was happy to find this. Cooked wonderfully in 37 minutes. Was busy taking my vegan raisin bread out so it got 2 minutes extra. Cannot wait to taste but my kitchen is full of the aroma!
Hi, would melted vegan butter be okay to use instead of vegetable oil? Also, if I were to add raisins would this affect the cake or measurements of other ingredients at all? Thanks 🙂
Hi Ellie, melted vegan butter would work, but it doesn’t work quite as well as oil for moisture in this recipe. You can add a cup of raisins without making any other changes to the recipe. All the best! 🙂
The recipe was great. We all loved it. However I would like to reduce the sugar in the frosting by half. Does that change the proportion of other ingredients? Thanks!
Hi Asha, you could do that, the only thing that would change is the amount of lemon juice you add. You may not need/be able to add any.
This cake came out perfectly, the end result was beautiful and I enjoyed making it too! I had a huge bag of carrots given to me and this was surely the best way I could’ve used them! It made my whole house smell wonderful and held together well when cutting. Next time I’ll try with the recipe for vegan cream cheese frosting. Thank you!
Yay! I love how delicious it smells when it’s baking. Thanks for posting Jennifer!
Absolutely loved this, followed the recipe exactly and didnt have any issues. Gave it to a family of nonvegans and they all loved it! Bookmarking it for sure.
Awesome Lee! Thanks so much for the great review.
Hi, can I make this with just one cake 8 inch cake tin? I only have one tin. How long would the bake time be for please?
The cake would be too thick to bake properly in the middle. It would be far better to halve the recipe.
I am making this recipe for the first time, but I have a question about the flour. Can I use a flour other than all-purpose (almond, coconut, both, etc.?), and if so, what measurements do you recommend.
Thank you.
Hi Patty, both almond and coconut would NOT work at all. If you’re looking for a purely gluten free option, then a gluten free all purpose flour blend works great.
Hi Allison! For the frosting, should the butter be cold, room temp or melted? Thank you!
It really depends on which one you’re using, they can be very different between brands. If you are using a tub style vegan butter then straight from the fridge. If it’s a stick style ultra firm vegan butter then you can let it soften first OR beat it in your stand mixer to soften for a couple of minutes before adding the other frosting ingredients.
Hi, I made the mistake of baking this cake on a 6×4 pan. It was gooey in the middle after baking it for an hour. What would you recommend?
If you baked it in a single layer in a much smaller cake pan then what is recommended then that will definitely cause issues. I recommend baking it in two 7 or 8-inch cake pans, as per the recipe. If you only have a single 6-inch cake pan then I would recommend to at least halve the recipe and then bake it around 15 minutes longer or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
My 12-year-old made this today for her dad’s birthday and it was amazing! Will make again.
Wonderful! Thanks for the great review Kelley!
Hi, can I bake this in a 2lb loaf tin? And how long for please?
Hi Emma, yes you should be able to, baking time should be in the region of 50-60 minutes.
Would melted coconut oil work instead of vegetable? Thanks 🙂
Hi Leah, it will work but the batter will be even thicker, as the coconut oil (even after melting) starts firming up when it mixes with the other ingredients. So you will just need a bit more arm power to get it all mixed in, but it will work. 🙂
The Most Delicious, Scrumptious Carrot cake I’ve ever Tasted. It’s My second Time Making it this Year. First time was an Absolute success. The whole family loved it. And So I Am making it again.. It’s In the Oven as I Write this, And it smells Like heaven.. The Frosting is Also the best. Agree with Above comment. It Doesn’t need the Whole 300g of Sugar. But That’s up to the individual. For me. The Biggest reason is The Flax, EGG Substitution. Which works great. Definitely A 5* Star Rating. Thank you Alison for this recipe.
Thanks for the awesome review Kevin!