I really worked hard on this one! I think I could still make it better but I figured that people needed it for lockdown so here it is. I did a pole on my Insta about plant-based cake recipes and the majority wanted this vegan carrot cake. Here is my version with chopped walnuts and an attempt at a “cream-cheese” frosting.

Tips:

Please don’t sub the ingredients unless you are swapping the flour. You can swap the ground almonds for flour. I would keep the rest the same as with all baking, it matters when you change things and it matters even more with vegan baking.
If you don’t have ground flaxseed, you can blend flaxseeds or linseed to make the flour. You will need a good blender for this but it works.
Keep the icing in the fridge until you need it and you can put in the freezer to chill it faster.
You can half the recipe if you want to make a smaller cake and still use a 9inch baking tin or do a make-shift one like in my insta IGTV video.
Make sure the cake is completely cool before cutting and icing. It makes a difference to the texture.

Vegan

Serves 8

Ingredients:

4.5 flax eggs (4.5 tbsp ground flaxseed and 80ml water (13.5 tbsp))

250g caster sugar

90ml sunflower oil (or any other neutral oil)

180g spelt/plain/gluten-free flour

30g ground almonds

3/4 tsp baking powder

Small 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1.5 tsp cinnamon powder

Few gratings nutmeg

Pinch of salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

150g grated carrots (about 2)

50g walnuts, (30g finely chopped and 20g roughly chopped for the topping)

For the icing:

250g cashews (soaked in boiling water for 15 minutes or overnight in cold water)

180 ml coconut yoghurt (I used vanilla flavoured Coyo for an extra vanilla kick)

2 tbsp lemon juice

3 tbsp maple syrup

1 tsp vanilla extract

How to Make The Best Vegan Carrot Cake

Preheat the oven to 180 C degrees and grease line a 8-inch square tin with baking parchment. You can use a 10-inch cake tin but I think the cake is too dense for a loaf tin. You can make a tin foil square shape tin using two pieces of tin foil and latch it onto a standard baking tray. Check out my IGTV video for a visual.

In a small bowl, mix the ground flaxseed and water together and leave to sit for 3 minutes. This will allow it to thicken.

In a large bowl mix the sugar and oil together. In a separate bowl, mix the dry ingredients together (flour, baking powder, bicarb, ground almonds, cinnamon powder, nutmeg and salt). Then add thickened flax egg in with the oil and sugar followed by the vanilla extract. Next, add in the dry mix and beat until well combined. Then add the grated carrots and walnuts. The batter should be sticky and a little tough. Use a spatula to tip everything into the prepared tin and make sure you push the batter evenly all over the tin. Bake for 1 hour until a golden top has formed and a skewer inserted comes out nearly clean. Leave to cool completely before icing or cutting.

While the cake bakes you can make the frosting. Drain the cashews and weigh 250g. Then add this to a blender along with all the other ingredients for the icing. Blend to a smooth consistency. Some blenders will be better than others for this. I used a Nutribullet. The mix should come together without adding any more liquid but you can add 1 tbsp of plant-based milk if needed. Be careful not to add loads or your icing will not hold and go too runny. Check the seasoning adding more lemon juice or maple syrup to taste. Then store in the fridge (1hr) or freezer (20mins) to set.

Ice the cake when it is cool and the icing is also cold. Then top with crumbled walnuts and serve! This keeps for 3 days. Keep covered and in a cool dry place and then in the fridge after 2 days.