Classic carrot cake, only vegan - a moist and chewy, yet still light and fluffy sponge, spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg and orange zest, full of grated carrots, plump raisins and walnuts, topped with a fluffy vegan cream cheese frosting. My family and friends love this recipe, it was even given a 10/10 rating by a carrot cake fiend, so you know it means business!
Before I discovered my love of chocolate, growing up, carrot cake was always my favourite. Even to this day it's one of my favourite cakes, so I'm not sure why it's taken me so long to share this recipe! I have fond memories growing up of sharing a slice with my mum, so this recipe is in honour of International Women's Day today and Mother's Day this Sunday - I'm so grateful to my mum for always leading the way in strength and showing me to go after what I believe in.
I was thinking back the other day to when I was at school and I wanted to study food tech; there was only going to be 6 of us in the class and we were told it wasn't viable to run the course with such low numbers. My mum, along with the other mums lead the way in overturning that decision, showing us how to fight for something. That one event shaped my life in unimaginable ways and it serves as a reminder to always go after what you believe in.
Vegan Carrot Cake | Serves: 9-12 | Prep Time: 25 mins | Baking time: 30 mins | Cooling time: 3+ hours
You'll need
- 8x8" square baking tray/brownie tin
- 2x mixing bowls
- Spatula
- Weighing scales/measuring cups*
- Electric whisk
- Whisk
- Zester/microplane
- Cooling rack
Ingredients
- 200g grated carrot (2-3 large carrots)
- 50g raisins (1/3 cup)
- 2-inch piece ginger, grated
- Zest 1 orange
- 65g chopped walnuts (1/2 cup)
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp mixed spice
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 150g plain flour (1 cup)
- 140g wholemeal flour (1 cup)
- 1.5 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
Wet:
- 250ml oat milk (1 cup)
- 1.5 tbsp cider vinegar
- 60ml extra virgin olive oil (1/4 cup)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 60g light muscovado sugar (1/3 cup)
Frosting:
- 50g vegan butter (~1/4 cup)
- 50g vegan cream cheese (~1/4 cup)
- Zest 1/2 orange
- 200g icing sugar (~2 cups)
- Zest 1/2 orange
- 65g chopped walnuts (1/2 cup)
Method
- Pre-heat the oven to 180°C fan. Grease the baking tin with oil, then dust over an even layer of flour to fully coat the tin and shake off any excess.
- Add all the dry ingredients to the first bowl and mix together.
- Then whisk together the wet ingredients in the second bowl, so no clumps of sugar remain. Gently fold into the dry ingredients until just combined, be sure not to over mix to ensure the cake remains light.
- Transfer into the greased baking tin, spread to an even layer and bake for 27-29 minutes until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
- Meanwhile, add the vegan butter, cream cheese and orange zest to a clean bowl and beat with the electric whisk until fluffy, then gently add in the icing sugar, whisk together until fully combined, then store in the fridge.
- Once baked, transfer the cake to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely before frosting.
- Once cooled, spread the frosting onto the cake and decorate with orange zest and walnuts. Cut into 9-12 pieces, serve up and enjoy!
- Store any leftovers in a sealed container in the fridge for up to a few days.
