Best Vegan and Gluten-free Carrot Cake
Apr 17, 2019 (Last updated Sep 12, 2021) by Hannah Sunderani
Best Vegan and Gluten-free Carrot Cake
Best vegan and gluten-free carrot cake coming at ya hot! It’s a premium vegan cake mix that gives a sweet, moist and flavourful carrot cake. Served with a cashew cream cheese frosting it’s a crowd pleasing recipe for vegan and non-vegan alike.
The Best Vegan and Gluten-free Carrot Cake
I’m really happy to be sharing this blog post with you because this recipe is most definitely the best vegan and gluten-free carrot cake recipe I’ve made. It’s moist, sweet and decadent. With the perfect consistency of spongy and dense. The batter combines gluten-free flour mix with almond flour, which gives the cake a more dense and nutty taste.
I’ve baked this cake in my budnt pan for an impressive looking carrot cake. It’s always a crowd pleaser at gatherings because they’re so impressive and grand. And honestly, it’s no further effort than baking in a regular tin. A wonderful Easter hosting trick if you’re having your loved ones over and you want to wow them.
What I also love about baking this cake in a bundt pan is that the texture is more consistent throughout the cake. Since there is a big whole in the middle of the bundt pan – the cake cooks evenly on the inside and out. Unlike a normal cake pan where the inside often takes much longer to cook.
Baking in a bundt pan especially comes in handy for carrot cake mixtures as they are generally more wet and yields longer baking time. The bundt pan allows the heat to get right into the middle of cake and cook faster from the outside in.
Cashew Cream Cheese Frosting
This cashew cream cheese frosting is truly the icing on the cake! No pun intended. But talk about the perfect pairing to this vegan and gluten-free carrot cake.
I really love this cashew cream cheese frosting because it’s ingredients are natural and “cleaner” than a buttercream frosting. A cream cheese frosting pairs so nicely with carrot cake too, and so I wanted to make a dairy-free version to compliment the vegan cake.
Made by blending soaked cashews with coconut milk, agave and citrus it creates a thick and light spreadable cashew buttercream frosting that’s a lovely frosting for this cake, as well as cupcakes, banana breads or donuts. I highly recommend giving it a try.
A few notes about this Vegan and Gluten-free Carrot cake:
One thing to keep in mind when baking carrot cake is that the batter is wetter than a traditional cake – and so it takes longer to bake. This recipe took 45-55 minutes to cook, so grab a cup of coffee and a book and enjoy the beautiful aroma of this cake filling your home.
The recipe is also one to feed a crowd. You’ll get at least 12 slices out of the bundt. If you’re a smaller group I’d recommend halving the recipe and cooking in a loaf pan.
Or, if you prefer you can freeze whatever you don’t eat. This carrot cake freezes and thaws nicely. And the same goes for freezing any extra cashew cream cheese frosting.
I’ve chosen to make this recipe gluten-free to appeal to all eaters, but you can always sub the gluten-free flour mix for all purpose flour. Adding the walnuts to the cake is also optional. For me I love that extra crunch! But if you prefer your cake sans crunch than feel free to forgo the walnuts.
Other similar recipes you might like:
If you’re digging this Vegan and Gluten-free Carrot cake you might also like these other classic cake recipes.
Shop my kitchen:
I’m always asked what items I like to use in the kitchen. So, I’ve included my favourites for this carrot cake recipe below.
Le Creuset Revolution Medium Silicone Spatula, Soleil
And there we have it. A deliciously moist, sweet and lush vegan and gluten-free carrot cake recipe. With a light and fluffy cashew cream cheese frosting. This recipe is certainly one to add to your Easter baking, especially if you love carrot cake! And it’s a crowd pleaser for both vegans and non-vegans to enjoy. I do hope you’ll give it a try.
And, if you do make this recipe please let me know in the comments below what you think! I love hearing from you. And of course, tag me on Instagram with the hashtag #twospoons. Nothing makes me happier than to see your recreations.
Best Vegan and Gluten-free Carrot Cake
Ingredients
For the Carrot Cake:
- 3 tbsp ground chia , or flax
- 1/2 cup + 1 tbsp water
- 1/3 cup coconut oil , melted
- 1/4 cup agave
- 3/4 cup apple sauce , unsweetened
- 3/4 cup demerara sugar (or raw cane sugar)
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 3/4 cups almond milk
- 1 1/2 cups carrot grated
- 1 1/2 cups almond flour (i.e. ground blanched almonds)
- 1 1/2 cups gluten-free flour
- 3/4 cup walnuts , chopped
For the Cashew Cream Cheese Frosting
- 1 cup raw cashews , soaked overnight and strained
- 1/4 cup canned coconut milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tsp agave
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- pinch salt
- 4-6 tbsp almond milk
- 1/4 cup walnuts , chopped (optional for topping)
Instructions
- Lightly oil and flour a 9-inch bundt pan with coconut oil and dust with gluten-free flour. Shake out excess flour and set aside.
- Combine ground chia and water in a bowl. Whisk to combine. Wait at least 10 minutes for consistency to become egg-like.
- Melt coconut oil in a saucepan and add to a large mixing bowl. Add agave, apple sauce, demerara sugar, sea salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, almond milk and chia egg. Whisk to combine.
- Add grated carrot, almond flour and gluten-free flour and mix to combine. (Batter should resemble a normal batter consistency, if too thick add splashes of more almond milk. Mine was perfect using the recommended 3/4 cups almond milk). Finally pour in chopped walnuts and stir.
- Preheat oven to 175C/350F. Pour batter into bundt pan and bake for 45-55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool for at least 15 minutes before flipping the cake to remove from pan.
- While you’re waiting for the cake to cool make your icing. In a blender add soaked cashews (strained), canned coconut milk, vanilla extract, agave, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, and pinch salt. Blend or pulse to combine. Then, slowly pour in 4-6 tbsp almond milk until cashew icing blends into a smooth, creamy and pourable mixture. (I used 6 tbsp almond milk total).
- Gently pour icing over cake using enough to coat cake as desired (I used about 3/4 of the icing mixture). Optional to top cake with chopped walnuts. Slice carrot cake and serve with remaining vanilla cashew icing.
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