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This moist, spiced vegan carrot cake topped with vanilla cashew cream frosting and toasted walnuts is pretty awesome and SO delicious! AND it’s super easy to make.

Carrot cake is always a hit with my family and friends. Though we have one friend who keeps claiming veggies shouldn’t be added to sweet desserts, everybody else who has tasted my vegan carrot cake loved it! Most of them even ask for a second piece. That’s how good it is!

Are you a carrot cake lover too or do you think veggies have no place in sweet treats?

We think it is pretty good. The cinnamon and carrots in this cake go so well together. They are like peanut butter and jelly. To give this cake an extra punch I also added some fresh grated ginger and nutmeg for an additional dose of warming spices.

And wait until you smell the aroma when the cake is baking…. simply irresistible and mouthwatering!

VEGAN CARROT CAKE WITH VANILLA FROSTING AND TOASTED WALNUTS

INGREDIENTS

For the frosting

1½ cup raw cashews, soaked
1-2 tsp vanilla extract
¼ cup maple syrup
¼ cup cashew milk or any other plant-based milk

FYI: my friends at “GIVE KEFIR” in Kampot make an amazing fermented cashew milk.So good.

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For the carrot cake

1¾ cup carrots, grated

FYI: I used baby carrots as we love their taste!

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Dry ingredients

1½ cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp Himalayan pink salt
1 tsp cinnamon powder
⅛ tsp ground nutmeg
¼ to ½ tsp grated fresh ginger

Wet ingredients

1 cup brown sugar
¾ cup cashew milk
½ tsp vanilla extract
½ cup coconut oil

Topping

Walnuts, toasted

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DIRECTIONS

In a blender, mix all frosting ingredients until a smooth paste. Let set in the fridge for a few hours or overnight.

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Grate carrots. I used a blender for this. gently pulse until there are no big pieces left.

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Preheat oven to 350F (180C)

Grease a cake pan with oil and dust with a little flour. Shake off excess flour.

In a mixing bowl add all dry ingredients. Stir well.

In a second bowl add all wet ingredients and stir until well combined.

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Then you can either mix very well by hand or use an electric mixer (I used and electric mixer), to mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until you got a smooth batter.

Using a fork, gently mix in the grated carrot.

Pour batter into the prepared cake pan. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until a knife or screwer comes out clean.

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Allow to cool completely.

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Cut the cake horizontally. Add a layer of frosting on the bottom piece. Put the top piece on the frosting layer and using the remaining frosting for the top and sides of the cake.

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(FYI: Sorry for the bad quality of some of the pics, it was getting dark while I made the cake and I didn't want to use a flash! )

Sprinkle with toasted walnuts.

Serve immediately if you like a spongy cake or store it in the fridge for later.

Storing the cake in the fridge will firm up the cake. See the difference? We had a piece in the evening when the cake was ready and ate the rest the day after. We like both - the spongy and firmer version.