Name: Vegan, gluten-free carrot cake
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 45 min
Ingredients: 1 cup gluten-free flour; 1 cup ground almond; 1 tsp baking powder; 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda; 2 tsp cinnamon; 250g finely grated carrot; ½ cup muscovado sugar; 3 Tbsp Maple syrup or honey; 2 Flax Eggs (see recipe); 50 ml vegetable oil; 1 tsp vanilla extract; 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar; ½ cup apple juice; ½ cup chopped walnuts (optional); ½ cup almond milk (approx.); Frosting:; 150 ml vegan “cream cheese”; Juice of ½ lemon; 2 Tbsp almond milk or soya cream; 1 Tbsp maple syrup; 2-3 Tbsp stevia or icing sugar; Few drops of vanilla extract

Vegan, gluten-free carrot cake

17 Apr 2019

by Wholeness

Prep Time

20 minutes

Cook Time

25 minutes

Total Time

45 minutes

Background

I have made many vegan and gluten-free cakes in the past that went straight into the trash - so I’m always suspicious of “yummy” recipes. However, this vegan and gluten-free carrot cake was a total success! I combined two recipes and halved the sugar content (as carrots are naturally sweet) and ended up with a succulent, truly yummy cake! The only criticism I can say is that the cake must be eaten fresh - the next day it was a bit dense, not as moist as a carrot cake should have been.

Ingredients

1 cup gluten-free flour
1 cup ground almond
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 tsp cinnamon
250g finely grated carrot
½ cup muscovado sugar
3 Tbsp Maple syrup or honey
2 Flax Eggs (see recipe)
50 ml vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
½ cup apple juice
½ cup chopped walnuts (optional)
½ cup almond milk (approx.)
Frosting:
150 ml vegan “cream cheese”
Juice of ½ lemon
2 Tbsp almond milk or soya cream
1 Tbsp maple syrup
2-3 Tbsp stevia or icing sugar
Few drops of vanilla extract

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 180°C.
Make the flax eggs: mix 2 Tbsp ground flaxseed with 6 Tbsp of warm water and set aside.
Grease two 20 cm round cake tins and line the base with parchment paper.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon. Add the sugar, mix well.
Mix the oil, vanilla, vinegar and flax eggs in another bowl, then pour this mixture into the batter together with the grated carrot. Combine well, adding the apple juice as you’re stirring the batter. Rest for 5 minutes.
If the batter is too thick, stir in some almond milk. Lastly, fold in the chopped walnuts if used. The batter should not be dense but not runny either.
Divide the mixture between the cake tins, spreading it out evenly.
Bake in the middle of the oven for about 25 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
Transfer the cakes to a wire rack and let them cool completely.
Meanwhile, prepare your frosting: mix the vegan cream cheese with lemon juice, almond milk, sugar, vanilla and maple syrup. Adjust it to your liking (it should be spreadable but not too thin!).
Spread some frosting on top of one cake, then put the other one on top and frost the cake all over (top and sides).
Sprinkle some chopped walnuts on top of the cake and it's ready to serve.