Vegan Carrot Cake

This carrot cake doesn’t need eggs or dairy to be rich, moist, and packed with warm spice — a splash of apple cider vinegar and plant milk does the work of buttermilk, and vegan cream cheese frosting comes together just like the classic version. Three tall layers, a mountain of walnuts, and nobody at the table will guess it’s vegan.

It’s a great make-ahead cake: bake the layers a day or two in advance and frost the day you plan to serve it.

Vegan Carrot Cake

A moist, spiced three-layer carrot cake loaded with walnuts and finished with a tangy vegan cream cheese frosting. Completely plant-based, and nobody will know the difference.

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Servings: 12 slices

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

For the Cake

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup unsweetened plant milk
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 cups finely grated carrots (about 4-5 medium)
• 1 cup chopped walnuts, plus extra for topping

For the Frosting

• 1 cup vegan butter, softened
• 16 oz vegan cream cheese, softened
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method

 

Make the Cake

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease three 8-inch round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg.
3. In a separate bowl, stir together the plant milk and apple cider vinegar and let sit for 5 minutes. Whisk in the granulated sugar, brown sugar, oil, and vanilla extract.
4. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Fold in the grated carrots and walnuts.
5. Divide the batter evenly among the three prepared pans. Bake for 28-32 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
6. Let the cakes cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then turn out onto wire racks to cool completely before frosting.

Frost and Assemble

1. Beat the vegan butter and cream cheese together until smooth and creamy. Gradually add the powdered sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Stir in the vanilla extract.
2. Place one cake layer on a stand or plate and spread with a layer of frosting. Repeat with the remaining layers, then frost the top and sides of the cake.
3. Top with extra chopped walnuts. Chill for 30 minutes before slicing for the cleanest cuts.

Notes

Grate the carrots finely for the most tender crumb — a food processor’s grating attachment makes quick work of it. The un-frosted cake layers freeze well for up to 2 months; thaw before frosting. Chilling the frosted cake for 30 minutes before slicing makes for much cleaner layers.