Carrot cake used to be a regular bake in our house, but the other day we realised that we hadn’t baked or eaten any for ages! Well of course this had to change at once- we needed some carrot cake in our lives! Rebecca and I are huge fans of The Great British Sewing Bee and we thought it would be lovely to enjoy an endless pot of tea and a slice (or more) of carrot cake while cwtching up and watching the show, so we made it and decided we’d share it with you. Read on if you’re looking for a recipe for a dairy free, Vegan Carrot Cake with Orange Frosting.
This carrot cake is sweet and moist with the crunch of walnuts and a hint of orange- delicious! I made this the way that me and Rebecca most enjoy it but if I was making it with Caitlyn in mind I would blend the carrots and leave out the walnuts. You can also add sultanas if you’re partial to a fruitier cake.
So many vegan cake recipes are complicated as bakers struggle to replace the egg or rising agents but we find as long as a cake has self raising flour, baking powder, sugar and liquid, vegan cake still rises well with no need for aquafaba or apple cider vinegar etc. To “veganise” our everyday cake recipes we just swap the butter for a vegan margarine or oil and replace the egg with dairy free milk.
Vegan Carrot Cake with Orange Frosting
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 270 g carrots
- 135 g walnuts (plus extra to decorate)
- 1 tbsp orange extract (or zest from 1 orange)
- 375 g self raising flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 240 g soft light brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp grated nutmeg
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp allspice
- 400 ml soy milk (only add what’s needed)
- 160 ml vegetable oil
For the Frosting
- 400 g icing sugar
- 100 g vegan margarine
- 50 g vegan cream cheese
- 3 tbsp soya milk add as needed
- 1 tsp orange extract
- walnuts and grated carrot to decorate (optional)
Instructions
For the Carrot Cake
-
Preheat the oven to 180 C / Gas 4.
-
Grease 2 tins or 1 large tray bake tin.
-
Peel trim and grate the carrots (when making this cake for “fussy” eaters I blend the carrots). Add the orange extract or zest.
- Finely chop the walnuts (I put them in a paper bag and rolled over them with a rolling pin). Add to the grated carrots and orange.
-
Put all the dry ingredients- flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and all spice into a bowl and mix together.
-
Add the oil and mix well.
-
Stir in the soya milk until fully mixed and the batter is smooth (only add as much soya milk as needed).
-
Add the carrot, walnuts and orange to the bowl. Mix well.
-
Pour the cake mixture into the tray bake tin (or between two cake tins).
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Cook for 25- 30 min. Once the cake is cooked and golden check if it’s ready using the skewer test (it’s ready if the skewer comes out clean).
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Leave to cool before turning out from the tin and icing.
My cake came out a little cracked as our oven was up slightly too high- we no longer have visible numbers so it’s always a bit of guess work! It was made to be covered in frosting anyway!
For the Frosting
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Place the margarine and cream cheese into a bowl.
-
Sieve the icing sugar into the bowl and cream well.
-
Add the soy milk a little bit at a time until the frosting is soft and fluffy but not too runny (disclosure: I added too much milk to my frosting! If you do the same add more icing sugar.)
-
Add orange extract (optional).
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Spread the frosting over the tray bake. Decorate with left over walnuts and grated cheese if you wish (if making a two layer cake add frosting in between the two layers).
Take a look at the recipe card below and print this Vegan Carrot Cake Recipe for another day:
Vegan Carrot Cake with Orange Creme Frosting
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 270 g carrots
- 135 g walnuts (plus extra to decorate)
- 1 tbsp orange extract (or zest from 1 orange)
- 375 g self raising flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 240 g soft light brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp grated nutmeg
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp allspice
- 400 ml soy milk (only add what's needed)
- 160 ml vegetable oil
For the Frosting
- 400 g icing sugar
- 100 g vegan margarine
- 50 g vegan cream cheese
- 3 tbsp soya milk add as needed
- 1 tsp orange extract
- walnuts and grated carrot to decorate (optional)
Instructions
For the Carrot Cake
- Preheat the oven to 180 C / Gas 4.
- Grease 2 tins or 1 large tray bake tin.
- Peel trim and grate the carrots (when making this cake for "fussy" eaters I blend the carrots). Add the orange extract or zest.
- Finely chop the walnuts (I put them in a paper bag and rolled over them with a rolling pin). Add to the grated carrots and orange.
- Put all the dry ingredients- flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and all spice into a bowl and mix together.
- Add the oil and mix well.
- Stir in the soya milk until fully mixed and the batter is smooth (only add as much soya milk as needed).
- Add the carrot, walnuts and orange to the bowl. Mix well.
- Pour the cake mixture into the tray bake tin (or between two cake tins).
- Cook for 25- 30 min. Once the cake is cooked and golden check if it's ready using the skewer test (it's ready if the skewer comes out clean).
- Leave to cool before turning out from the tin and decorating.
For the Frosting
- Place the margarine and cream cheese into a bowl.
- Sieve the icing sugar into the bowl and cream well.
- Add the soy milk a little bit at a time until the frosting is soft and fluffy but not too runny (disclosure: I added too much milk to my frosting! If you do the same add more icing sugar.)
- Add orange extract (optional).
- Spread the frosting over the tray bake. Decorate with left over walnuts and grated carrot if you wish (if making a two layer cake add frosting in between the two layers).
Now we’ll need home made cake for every episode of The Great British Sewing Bee- it’s such a cosy, comforting program! What cake shall we make this week?
Let us know if you know this Vegan Carrot Cake recipe!
Find more recipes recipes here and for all things Vegan click here.
Right up my alley: cake and vegan! Thank you. Looks delicious. Will be trying it soon.
That looks amazing!!! I’ll try to make a variant without sugar
Eva | Urbanwheelz.co.uk
Author
Ooh yes. With the sweetness of the carrot and the orange this would definitely be do able. Do you like sultanas? Let me know how you get on! xxx
One of my all time favourites ‘ our family love it
Looks very tasty, and not to hard to make either xx
I love carrot cake and this is a new way of making it and healthier too.
This looks delicious. Will definitely be making this cake!
Oh my goodness, this looks delicious, have bookmarked and going to give this a try today, thank you for sharing
Wow, this Carrot Cake looks yummy!
Can I recommend you try to replace your carrot with parsnip instead? It taste very similar but with a more fragrant earthy profile to it 🙂
Author
Ooh, great idea. I love parsnip too! Thanks xxx
It looks so delicious! I adore carrot cake. I will give this a try!
I do really love carrot cake and it looks lovely. I am not vegan but use soy milk in my tea now. Prefer it to milk!