I absolutely love carrot cake, here is my vegan and little healthier take on it. Made with apple sauce and a whipped cream frosting that’s is just lightly sweetened.
Ingredients needed to make this Vegan Carrot Cake:
- Almond milk, my favorite milk to bake with! You can substitute with any other kind of plant based milk of your choice.
- Apple cider vinegar, to create a vegan “buttermilk”
- Coconut oil or other neutral tasting oil like sunflower oil or avocado oil
- Unsweetened applesauce, very important to use unsweetened here since the cake will be very sweet if you use the normal sugary kind. In a pinch I have very finely grated apples to use instead but it will give a little denser cake.
- Vanilla bean powder, I love to use the powder for the flavour but also for those little specks of vanilla bean. You can also substitute for vanilla extract.
- Grated carrots, I used about 3 carrots. My preferred method if to weigh the carrot since they are all different sizes and the cake can turn out a little too wet if you use too much. If you don’t have a kitchen scale, loosely fill the measuring cup with the grated carrot, do not pack it in there like you would with let’s say, brown sugar.
- Coconut sugar, the slight caramel flavor goes so well with the chocolate in this recipe. If you don’t have coconut sugar you can substitute for light brown sugar for a sweeter cake.
- All purpose flour, I use a good quality organic brand
- A mix of both baking powder and baking soda to give extra lift to this cake.
- A mix of spices of cinnamon, ground ginger and cardamon. You can also substitute for all cinnamon instead of the cardamom.
- pinch of salt
- Walnuts are optional but gives a great crunch and flavour to this cake.
Whipped cream frosting:
- Vegan whipped cream, the best result for me is using very cold cream. Use 400-600 ml depending on how this of frosting you like. I used 400ml for a thin layer.
- Powdered sugar, use 2-5 tbsp depending on how sweet you like it. The more sugar you add, the more stable the whipped cream will be.
- Vanilla bean powder, I love to use the powder for the flavour but also for those little specks of vanilla bean. You can also substitute for vanilla extract.
- Valnuts and carrots for topping, optional but it really makes for a pretty cake!
OTHER RECIPES YOU MIGHT LIKE:
Double Chocolate Matcha Tart (Vegan and Gluten-free)
Chocolate Granola Breakfast Tarts
Healthy Snicker Doodles (Vegan and Gluten-Free)
Chocolate, Banana and Hazelnut Chia Pudding
Healthy Strawberry crumble bars (Vegan and Gluten free)
I would love to hear from you! Let me know what you think by leaving a comment, rating, and tagging me at @thedeliciousplate in your picture on Instagram.
Happy cooking!
Vegan carrot cake that's a little healthier. Made with apple sauce and a whipped cream frosting that's is just lightly sweetened.
- ¾ cup almond milk
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 4 tablespoon melted coconut oil
- 1 ¼ cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean powder or extract
- 3 cups (300g) grated carrots, about 3 carrots loosly packed if using cups
- 1 ½ cup coconut sugar
- 2 ½ cups(310g) all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- pinch of salt
- 1 cup chopped walnuts optional
- 400-600 ml vegan whipped cream
- 2-5 tablespoon powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean powder or extract
- walnuts and carrots for topping
-
Preheat the oven to 175C (350F)
Line 2 round 20cm (8inches) cake pans with parchment paper and set aside.
-
In a large bowl, add the almond milk and apple cider vinegar, mix and let sit for 5 minutes. Then add the coconut oil, applesauce, vanilla, grated carrots and the coconut sugar and whisk well.
-
In a separate bowl, stir together add flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices and salt.
-
Add the flour mixture and optional walnuts to the wet ingredients and fold to combine, do not over mix or your will end up with a dense and rubbery cake!
-
Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for about 35-45 minutes depending on your oven, until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow the cakes to cool down for about 20 minutes before carefully removing them from the pans. Let them cool down completely on a wire rack before frosting.
-
Whisk the cold cream with the sugar and vanilla until you have soft peaks. Frost the cake with the cream and place in the fridge to set.
Top with walnuts and carrots if desired.
Enjoy!
Leave a Reply