Vegan Carrot Cake with Coconut Frosting
My Vegan Carrot Cake with Coconut Frosting is the best spring cake. Warm cinnamon and sweet carrot mixed with a coconut frosting make this vegan cake irresistible. This moist, spongy gluten-free cake be the centerpiece on your Easter dessert table.
A vegan cake that is flavorful, moist, has the perfect cake texture, and even rises? Yes, you can have it all with this carrot cake. So many times baking cakes that are gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free and soy-free results in an ooey-gooey mess. The cake doesn’t rise, the middle of the cake is gooey and it really doesn’t resemble a cake a all.
Well, are you ready for a cake that turns out perfect every time? My carrot cake is the best gluten-free and vegan cake out there! A pretty bold statement, but I’m very serious when I say you are going to be blown away by this irresistible cake!
Gluten-free
Dairy-free
Egg-free
Nut-free
Warm cinnamon
Sweet carrot shreds
Plump raisins
Moist
Spongy cake texture
Fluffy
Perfect sweetness
HOW TO MAKE IT:
First, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. We’ll be using a 9” round springform cake pan. Spray the cake pan with cooking spray and set it aside.
In a small bowl add the raisins and enough warm water to cover them. Set aside and let the raisins plump up.
In a mixing bowl, combine the avocado oil, cane sugar (or coconut sugar for Paleo-option), dairy-free milk, and apple cider vinegar. Next add the cassava flour, baking soda, baking powder, and sea salt. Stir together.
Drain the raisins and add them to the cake batter. Add the grated carrots to the cake batter and fold together.
Pour the cake batter into the prepared cake pan. Bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes or until the sides start to pull away from the cake pan and are light golden brown OR until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
Remove from the oven. Let the cake cool completely before removing from pan.
– Latest Videos –
MAKING THE FROSTING (Not Paleo)
The coconut cream frosting is absolutely amazing. The frosting goes perfectly with this cake! It’s not Paleo due to the powdered sugar I use, but there are powdered sugar substitutes if you wanted to swap it out and make the entire cake Paleo-friendly.
To make the white, creamy, coconut frosting, add the powdered sugar to a large mixing bowl. Add the coconut cream and vanilla. Using a whisk or a handheld mixer, begin mixing them together. If the frosting is too thick, add one more tablespoon of coconut cream at a time until the right consistency is obtained. If you add too much coconut cream and the frosting is too runny, simply add more powdered sugar. Once the frosting is ready and the cake is completely cooled, frost the cake.
HOW TO GRATE THE CARROTS:
In the instructions, I always write in ‘grated carrots’, but truth be told, I toss the carrots in my food processor and chop them super tiny! So if you want to grate the carrots, great! If you want them chopped super fine, great! I use this food processor for all my carrot grating needs 😉
DIFFERENT KINDS OF SUGAR
For this carrot cake, I use cane sugar. When I need this cake to be Paleo-friendly, I swap out the cane sugar for coconut sugar. Coconut sugar is paleo-friendly! I have used both kinds of sugar in this cake and here are my results:
COCONUT SUGAR: Using coconut sugar makes this cake Paleo-friendly. The coconut sugar adds a brown sugar-like taste with a little hint of caramel.
CANE SUGAR: Most of the time I use cane sugar in this carrot cake recipe. If you’re not following a strict Paleo diet, using cane sugar still allows this cake to be gluten-free, dairy-free, and vegan. Cane sugar is also easier to source and less expensive! It’s found in every grocery store! I found using cane sugar in this carrot cake recipe gives the cake the same amount of sweetness, but makes the cake a little more fluffy and it rises a little higher.
OTHER DESSERTS TO TRY:
Carrot Chocolate Chip Breakfast Bread
Carrot Pineapple Gluten-free Cake
Chocolate Zucchini Gluten-free Donuts
Soft & Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies with Sea Salt
Flourless Plantain Cake with Strawberries
Chocolate Zucchini Cupcake with Orange Drizzle
- 1/2 cup avocado oil
- 1 cup cane sugar (use coconut sugar for Paleo)
- 1 1/2 cups dairy-free milk
- 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 cups Cassava flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 3/4 cup raisins
- 2 medium carrots, grated
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 2-6 Tbsp coconut cream (the thick cream from canned coconut milk)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
-
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
-
Spray a 9" springform pan with cooking spray. Set aside.
-
In a small bowl add the raisins and enough hot water to cover them. Set them aside and let soak for 3-5 minutes to plump up.
-
In a mixing bowl, combine the avocado oil, cane sugar (coconut sugar for Paleo-option), dairy-free milk, and apple cider vinegar.
-
Add the cassava flour, baking soda, baking powder, and sea salt. Stir together.
-
Drain the raisins and add them to the cake batter. Add the grated carrots to the cake batter. Fold into the the cake batter.
-
Pour the cake batter into the prepared cake pan. Bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
-
Remove from the oven. Let the cake cool completely before removing from the pan.
-
In a medium mixing bowl, add the powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons of coconut cream, and vanilla. Use a whisk or a handheld mixer and stir together. If frosting is too thick, add one tablespoon of coconut cream at a time until consistency is perfect. If the frosting is too runny, add 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar at a time until consistency is perfect.
