Recipe: Vegan Carrot Cake

Hello friends,

This weekend I traveled back to West Virginia to celebrate my parents’ birthdays. Yes, that’s right – they have the same one! Born the same day, just two years apart. In honor of this occasion, I thought I’d make my dad’s favorite cake, the always moist and creamy, carrot cake.
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I had never tried to make a carrot cake before so I decided to look at a few recipes online. I wasn’t in love with what I saw – a lot of recipes with a ton of ingredients, most of which were not in my cupboards. Rather than move onto a different cake, I decided to look at a carrot cake cupcake recipe from Vegan Cupcakes Takeover the World. If you don’t have this book, you should snatch a copy ASAP. It’s my #1 goto recipe book.

What follows is a highly modified version of the cupcake recipe. I added in almond milk, tweaked the ingredient amounts, and added crystalized ginger instead of powder. Everyone seemed to enjoy the end result, and they said it was quite moist and creamy. I will admit, it’s a bit rich, so if you don’t have a real sweet tooth, beware! Please give this recipe a try and let me know what you think.

Cheers!

Jocelyn

Vegan Carrot Cake
*Highly modified version of the Vegan Cupcakes Takeover the World Carrot Cake Cupcake (Get this book!)
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Time
  • 36 minutes (26 cook, 10 prep)
Servings
  • One tall 9 in round cake pan (or 18 cupcakes)
Ingredients
  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 2/3 cup sugar or sugar alternative (I used splenda)
  • 1/3 cup canola oil
  • 1/3 cup soy yogurt (I used vanilla Silk yogurt)
  • 1/2 cup almond or soy milk
  • 2 tsps vanilla extract
  • 2 cups finely grated carrots
  • 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
  • 1/2 cup raisins
  • 1/4 cup crystalized ginger chips
For icing:
  • 1/2 cup Earth Balance margarine, softened
  • 1/2 cup vegan cream cheese, softened
  • 2 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
  2. Grease a 9 in baking pan. (alternatively fill a cupcake pan with liners)
  3. In a large bowl, mix together the sugar, vegetable oil, yogurt, and vanilla.
  4. Sift the dry ingredients together and then add them to the wet ingredients.
  5. Mix until no large clump remain.
  6. Fold in the carrots, walnuts, raisins and crystalized ginger.
  7. Spread the batter evenly into a 9 in round cake pan or fill the cupcake liners 2/3 full.
  8. Bake for ~26 minutes until you can insert a toothpick in the middle and it comes out clean.
  9. While the cake is cooking, make the icing.
  10. Use an electric mixer to beat the margarine and cream cheese together until combined.
  11. Turn the mixer on slow and begin to add in the confectioners sugar in small batches.
  12. Mix until smooth and creamy and then beat in the vanilla.
  13. Set the icing in the refrigerator until the cake is ready to be iced.
  14. Transfer the cake/ cupcakes to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely before frosting.
  15. Ice the cake/ cupcakes, decorate, and enjoy!

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