Vegans and omnivores alike will enjoy this moist carrot cake recipe. Including some applesauce also helps to reduce the amount of oil used, making this a lighter option for lunchboxes (without nuts of course for schools!).
Best (Vegan) Carrot Cake Ever!
Ingredients
- For the cake:
- 4 tbsp flax meal + ¾ cup warm water
- 2 ½ cups all purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp vanilla
- ½ cup vegetable oil*
- ½ cup non-sweetened apple sauce*
- 1 ½ cups white sugar
- 2 ½ cups grated carrots
- Option: ½ cup chopped walnuts or pecans
- For the icing:
- Icing:
- 110 grams Vegan Cream cheese
- 1/3 cup Vegan Butter or margarine
- 2 ½ cups Icing sugar
- 1 tsp Vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Use one 9x13 pan or two, 9 inch cake pans. Prepare pan(s); spray with no-stick cooking spray or grease pans and line bottoms with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda and cinnamon. Then add vanilla, vegetable oil, apple sauce, sugar, and beat until well combined. Blend in carrots and nuts if desired.
- Pour batter equally into prepared pan(s) and bake for 50-60 minutes until done when tested. The top should spring back when touched and an inserted toothpick in the center will come out clean.
- While the cake is baking make the icing. Using an electric mixer, blend until smooth. Add icing sugar slowly to prevent it spraying out of the bowl.
- Remove from oven and let stand for approx. 10 minutes. Then remove from pan and let cool on rack before icing as desired
Notes
Tip: Make this perfect for packed lunches! Just omit the nuts, skip the icing and cut into snack sized pieces!
Option: If you do not have any apple sauce, you can increase the oil to 1 cup instead.