Vegan Carrot Cake Recipe

This easy one-bowl vegan carrot cake recipe is kicked up a notch with pineapple, walnuts, and coconut, making it a winner for all occasions.

Course Vegan Dessert Recipes

Cuisine American

Diet Vegan

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 40

Total Time 50

Servings -12 servings

Calories 544kcal

Author Holly Waterfall

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup crushed pineapple drained
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
3/4 cup almond milk
1 Tablespoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups finely grated carrots
1 cup chopped walnuts plus more for top
1 cup shredded coconut plus more for top

Cream Cheese Frosting

8 ounces vegan cream cheese
1/2 cup vegan butter
2 teaspoons vanilla
4 cups organic powdered sugar

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°. Grease and line your cake pans with parchment and set aside.
Whisk together the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
Add the pineapple, applesauce, almond milk, and vanilla and mix until just combined. Be sure not to overmix.
Fold in carrots, walnuts, and coconut.
Add batter to pans and bake for 30-40 minutes. Cool completely before frosting.Make the frosting by beating together all frosting ingredients until smooth.
Frost cake and decorate as desired.

Notes

Carrot Size Matters

When you grate your carrots, be sure to grate them as small as possible in order to get the most uniform cake slices. Sure, a larger grate will work, but the slices won't look as neat. Plus having the finer carrot pieces ensures they get evenly dispersed throughout the cake.

Be Careful Mixing

You do not want to mix this batter too much. Mixing the batter creates an excess of gluten, which can result in a more dense chewy texture. Good for some cookie recipes, but not so much cakes.

Don't Frost too Soon

If you've spent enough time in the kitchen, you've probably experienced the sliding layer cake situation. You got overly excited, didn't want to wait, and frosted your cake just a little bit too soon before the cake layers could properly cool down.

This caused the frosting to melt and everything to just slide all around. You want to make sure the cake comes all the way down to room temperature, and then ideally, you'd wrap the layers in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight (or up to a couple of days even) before frosting.

Always Prep your Pans

We've all seen the baking shows where they forget to prep the pans and half the cake sticks to the pan. Or maybe you've lived that nightmare (I know I have)! Now I'm always sure to use a cake-release spray as well as parchment paper along the bottom of the pan. This ensures the cake just slides right out of the pan every time.

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