Go Back
–+ servings
Fare Isle | In the Kitchen with Buestar - Vegan Carrot Cake Recipe
Print Recipe
5 from 2 votes

Spring Vegan Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

One of my all time favorite cakes! This moist spiced vegan carrot cake is a perfect springtime treat and very simple to make. The cream cheese frosting whips up easily in a food processor. Two great easy recipes to have in your arsenal! This recipe make one 8" layer or two 6" layers of cake. Double the recipe for a 2-layer 8" or 9" cake.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time35 minutes
Total Time50 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: vegan carrot cake with cream cheese frosting, vegan carrot cake, vegan cream cheese frosting
Servings: 8 servings
Author: Kaity Farrell

Ingredients

Cake:

  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour or whole wheat pastry flour
  • 3/4 cups dark sugar such as coconut palm sugar or whole cane sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground clove or allspice
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened soy or almond milk
  • 1/2 cup canola or olive oil
  • 1/4 cup maple syrup
  • 1 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
  • 2 cups shredded carrots

Frosting:

  • 2 cups powdered sugar sifted
  • 4 tablespoons 1/2 stick vegan butter, softened at room temperature
  • 8 oz vegan cream cheese or thick Greek-style coconut yogurt
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
  • natural orange food coloring optional

Garnish:

Instructions

Prepare Cakes:

  • Preheat oven to 350˚F.
  • Grease the bottoms and sides of two 6" cake tins with vegan butter/shortening or oil and line the bottoms with parchment paper rounds.
  • Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and clove in a medium sized mixing bowl.
  • Whisk together milk, oil, maple syrup, vinegar, vanilla and orange zest in a large measuring cup or bowl. Fold shredded carrots into wet mixture with rubber spatula.
  • Add wet mixture to dry mixture and stir with a rubber spatula until just combined, being careful not to over-mix the batter.
  • Divide batter equally into prepared pans and spread with rubber spatula.
  • Bake at 350˚F for 35-40 minutes until golden brown, cakes come away from the sides of pan and a toothpick inserted into the center of cakes comes out clean.
  • Remove cake from oven and cool in pan for 10 minutes.
  • Run a butter knife along the sides of pan to loosen cake if needed. Then invert cakes onto a cooling rack and peel away the parchment paper. Cool to room temperature before frosting.

Prepare Frosting:

  • Add softened butter and cream cheese or yogurt to bowl of a food processor and pulse until smooth, about 30 seconds.
  • Add sifted powdered sugar, salt, vanilla extract and lemon zest and process until smooth and thick, stopping to scrap sides as needed, about 30 seconds - 1 minute.
  • If frosting is too loose (which may be the case when using yogurt), sift in an additional 1/4 cup of powdered sugar and pulse to combine. Repeat by sifting in more powdered sugar by the tablespoonful if needed until frosting is thick and spreadable.
  • Optionally transfer about 1/2 cup of frosting to a separate bowl and stir in natural orange coloring until you've reached your desired shade. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
  • Transfer remaining frosting to a bowl, cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Frost Cake:

  • Put a small dollop of frosting onto center of a cake plate and position first layer of cake.
  • Spread about 1 cup of frosting on top of the bottom layer of cake with an offset spatula then place second layer on top.
  • Spread the remaining frosting onto top and sides of cake.
  • Spread colored frosting onto sides and top in your desired design.
  • For a naked cake presentation, use an icing smoother, bench scraper or offset spatula to scrape away frosting on sides.
  • Decorate top of cake with edible flowers and/or naturally colored sprinkles.
  • Keep cake refrigerated until ready to serve. Cover and refrigerate leftover cake for up to 1 week or freeze for up to 6 months, thaw in refrigerator to serve.

Notes

Optionally add 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans to the batter and/or 1/2 cup raisins. Fold them in when you add shredded carrots.
I used Dunaliella Salina, a naturally super bright orange algae powder, to create the orange colored frosting. I needed about 2 teaspoons to get a bright orange shade per 1/2 cup of frosting.
This is the Vegan Cream Cheese I used. Best tasting I've come across from the supermarket.
I used Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Sticks for the butter.
Similar Natural Sprinkles Mix and Shimmer Pearls to the ones I used.