A moist and flavour-packed vegan carrot cake with cream 'cheese' icing, that's easy to make with no weird ingredients... what more could you ask for?!
Carrot cake must surely be one of the nation's favourite teatime treats, and there's absolutely no reason why vegans should miss out, so here's a plant-based version, with dairy-free cream 'cheese' icing to top it off. And it really is easy, I promise. The list of ingredients is longer than I had hoped, but each one is there for a reason, and even if you've never baked a cake before, this is a really simple one to put together.
This was actually my son's first birthday cake, (and yes, I cut out a slice for the purposes of these photographs before he had blown his candle out... poor kid! Well, I won't get away with it again as he'll know what's going on next year when he's two, so this was my last chance....).
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📝 What you need
Ingredients
Carrots obviously! But you can also experiment with other vegetables - I made a parsnip version of this a few months ago and it was pretty epic, even if I do say so myself!!
Walnuts are a carrot cake classic but I do also love this with pecans or hazelnuts so do choose whichever you prefer, or you have in the cupboard!
Soya milk I always recommend soya milk for baking particularly when it is acting as an 'egg replacer' as it has the highest protein content of any of the plant based milks so behaves most like an egg would. However your cake will still turn out well if you use oat or nut milks too, so if you can't or don't want to use soya don't be put off.
Dairy-free margarine for the icing - I often use a spread rather than a block margarine as it makes the icing very soft, creamy and easy to work with. My favourites are Flora vegan or Naturli spread. Do leave them out of the fridge for a while before making the icing, the softer the better.
Dairy-free cream cheese for the icing - I have tried using many different brands and usually come back to Violife cream cheese as the best tasting in this icing.
Pistachios just look so pretty on the top of this cake, but they are pricey so do use walnuts or pecans instead, or pipe pretty rosettes of the icing around the edge!
❄️ Storing and Freezing
This cake keeps really well in an airtight cake tin or tupperware for 3-4 days - it is so moist thanks to the carrots and nuts that it doesn't dry out like a plain sponge might.
It also freezes really well, so great if you need to plan ahead for a party or gathering. Just pop a sheet of greaseproof paper between the two sponges and wrap them in foil and they will keep really well for months. Then you just need to ice and decorate them before serving.
This is so straightforward to make that sometimes I double the recipe and pop a spare cake in the freezer (or make little individual ones to freeze, even better!). It is so handy to have cake in the freezer for unexpected guests or school cake sales you've forgotten about...!
For more quick and easy vegan recipes take a look at my latest book Vegan in 15.
"Brilliant! Chock full of easy recipes and great tips and advice" Hello! Magazine
⭐️ Reader Testimonials
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ "Delicious cake and a hit with non-vegans too. So much so that a friend has passed it on to a teacher colleague to share with her class!" Tessa
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ "Carrot cake was delicious and family members I left outside their door thought I had bought it and asked for the recipe! Will make again as was so easy to do." Renita
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ "Made this for my wife’s birthday – it’s the first time I ever made a two-layered cake and frosting – it came out amazing! The instructions are great and so easy to follow, thanks for a great recipe!" Jon
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ "I made this the other day. It truly is the best carrot cake I’ve ever tasted – and I’ve tasted a lot! You’d also never know that it’s vegan." Jo
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📖 Recipe
Easy Vegan Carrot Cake
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 270 g carrots
- 135 g walnuts
- 1 orange
- 135 g sultanas
- 400 g self-raising flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 240 g soft light brown sugar
- ½ tsp grated nutmeg
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp salt
- 400 ml soya milk
- 160 ml rapeseed oil (or other flavourless oil)
For the icing:
- 440 g icing sugar
- 100 g dairy-free margarine
- 100 g dairy-free cream 'cheese'
- 1-2 tbsp soya milk
- 3 tbsp shelled pistachios (optional)
Instructions
For the cake:
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (fan) / 350°F / Gas Mark 4. Grease two 23cm (9 inch) cake tins and line the bottoms with baking parchment / greaseproof paper.
- Peel and trim the carrots and grate them into a bowl. Finely chop the walnuts and add to the carrots. Grate the zest of the orange into the bowl, and finally weigh the sultanas and add to the bowl.
- Next, put the flour, baking powder, sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt into a large bowl.
- Mix the soya milk and rapeseed oil in a jug, then tip them into the large bowl with the dry ingredients. Mix (by hand) until combined and the batter is fairly smooth.
- Tip in the carrot, walnuts, orange zest and sultanas and stir until fully combined.
- Bang the bowl firmly onto the work surface (this stops the raising agents starting to work too early). Divide the cake mixture between the two tins, and bang each tin on the work surface once again, (you will see tiny bubbles come to the surface).
- Bake for 25-30 minutes until a knife or skewer comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a cooling rack, peel off the paper and leave until fully cool.
- TOP TIP: If you have time, the cake will be even better if you now put it in an airtight container or tin overnight. The crust will become soft and the cake will become more moist.
For the icing:
- Place the icing sugar, margarine and cream cheese into a large bowl (or mixer), and beat together until completely smooth. Add the soya milk one tablespoon at a time until the icing is light and fluffy.
- Sandwich the two cakes together with a layer of icing in the middle (use about one third of the icing for this), and spread the remaining icing over the top of the cake. Sprinkle with chopped pistachios if you wish, or any other chopped nuts.
ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION
Video
Nutrition
I'm linking this recipe with CookBlogShare hosted this week by Hijacked by Twins
Lovely recipe - thank you. The batter rose beautifully and worked without the walnuts - I adjusted the other amounts to suit. Also used a buttercream recipe for the icing (300g icing sugar / 200g Flora / 1dsp vanilla) as didn't have cream cheese and pistachios. Delicious cake and a hit with non-vegans too. So much so that a friend has passed it on to a teacher colleague to share with her class!
Hey, recipe sounds delish!
Will try today, just intrigued about the calories this recipe contains? Couldn’t find any nutritional info.
If you could inform, would be much appreciated x
Easy vegan carrot I made for my sons birthday as he didn’t like the chocolate one I made
Carrot cake was delicious and family members I left outside their door thought I had bought it and asked for the recipe. I chopped up some Brazil but as didn’t have enough walnuts.
Will make again as was do easy to do.
Made this for my wife's birthday - it's the first time I ever made a two-layered cake and frosting - it came out amazing! The instructions are great and so easy to follow, thanks for a great recipe!
Made the cake on 15th March 2020 and served to 8 adults we all said its the best carrot cake we have had..
I made this the other day. It truly is the best carrot cake I've ever tasted - and I've tasted a lot!
You'd also never know that it's vegan.
Friends loved it too.
However, it didn't rise - is that normal?
I made this the other day. It truly is the best carrot cake I've ever tasted - and I've tasted a lot!
You'd also never know that it's vegan.
Friends loved it too
Am going to tr6 this recipe but the recipient doesn't like dried fruit, can I just leave out the raisins? Thank you
My sister made me this cake for a family get together for my birthday. I've been vegan 15 years and this the best carrot cake recipe I've come across! Everyone loved it. My brother in law doesn't like raisins so she was going to do her usual thing of subbing cranberries but had run out. Instead she used chopped apricots and they worked amazingly. Really recommend trying it with apricots. I've bookmarked this recipe and am off to explore your others!
I made this for 'coffee with the girls', as one of our group is vegan. It was easy to make, and everyone thought it was delicious! I was impressed, and will certainly make it again. I put a branded cream cheese style icing on it, as I was short of time. Next time, having found where I can get vegan cream cheese (local Tesco), I'd try the frosting recipe. All the girls took a share home for their families. One friend didn't try it as she's gone sugar-free just now, but her husband tried it instead. He said: "I don't know how Sarah does it - she always makes the most amazing cakes!" Thank you for this recipe 🙂
I would give this 10 stars if I could. Made this for an event for 80 people (so made 10 cakes) and it went down a storm! Everyone loved it and I got loads of compliments on it. A few even said it was the best carrot cake they ever had.
Seriously the best carrot cake recipe! I've only ever made two carrot cakes in my life, and they have both been vegan using this recipe and I love it so much. I did have to cook the cake for 15 minutes longer, but it turned out perfect. Definitely recommend! The non-vegan family loved it for Christmas too 🙂
That's brilliant to hear, thanks Grace!
I made this yesterday and it was amazing, other vegan cakes I've tired have been dense and not risen but this is light fluffy and moist!
I didn't have baking powder so used half the bicarb and a splash of lemon juice and it worked just as well! I also substituted the soya milk for oat milk and the rapeseed oil for sunflower and had no problems, so it's obviously a very adaptable recipe which is ideal!
That's so great to hear - thanks Emily! One of my favourites.
Can I use almond or oat milk instead of soya milk?
Thanks
Jo
Yes absolutely. Soya has the highest protein content so is the first choice as an egg replacer, but others will work really well too so whichever you prefer.
Thank you 🙏
This carrot cake recipe is absolutely fabulous! Easy but easily one of the best cakes I have ever made.
That's so great to hear Alison - thanks for letting me know! Kx
Hi Could I sub the soya milk for cashew or would this affect the recipe?
Hi, I've never tried it so can't confirm 100% but I'm pretty sure it would be fine. Let me know how it goes!
Hi!
This recipe looks great!
Can you freeze it?
Thanks, shannon
Hi Shannon, yes absolutely, it freezes really well. Kate x
Made this carrot cake for a girls weekend, everyone said it was the best carrot they have ever tasted absolutely delicious and easy to make.. thank you
I wish I hadn’t looked at this page now….my stomach is rumbling and my mouth is drooling!
Wow! I had vegan carrot cake at a cafe the other day but it was bland... I'll make this recipe myself.
I love a good carrot cake, I will have to try this recipe out. Moreover, I'd love a slice right now!
This recipe looks perfect for my grandson. However, he is also allergic to nuts. What do you suggest I use to to replace the walnuts w? Many thanks
This looks gorgeous! You're not the only one that likes to stroke them in John Lewis, and you're also not the only one who cuts a slice out of a birthday cake to take pics - I also smoothed the icing over afterwards so nobody would know!
I adore carrot cake, it has to be my all time favourite cake so I would certainly not be able to resist a huge slice of this cake! Thank you for sharing with #CookBlogShare x
Ohhh this looks so tasty! Going to save this to make for someone's birthday, they'll love it!!
what a yummy looking cake. Thank you for linking to #CookBlogShare I have included it in the round-up that goes live tomorrow.
Many thanks Jacqui! x
Looks awesome! LOVE that you topped with Pistachios! YUM! And those layers...YES PLEASE!
Thanks Jennifer! x