The Ultimate Dairy-Free Carrot Cake
This moist and tender dairy free carrot cake is filled with warming, spiced flavours from the cinnamon, ginger and vanilla extract. It is studded with crunchy pecans and laced with cinnamon for the ideal tea time treat. Covered in the most tart yet creamy vegan frosting, it finishes off this cake perfectly to make it taste as good as it looks!
This is a great option for afternoon tea for those on a dairy free diet or trying to reduce their consumption of refined sugar and flours.
I have used NUSH almond milk cream cheese to make the delicious frosting, and if you want the carrot cake to be gluten free, substitute the plain flour for gluten free rice flour but bake the cake in one tin, instead of two.
Ingredients
- 200 g coconut sugar/ soft brown sugar
- 3 eggs
- 200 ml melted coconut oil or olive oil
- 300 g wholemeal flour
- 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, plus extra to decorate
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 300 g carrots, grated
- 150g pecans
For the Vegan cream cheese frosting:
- 100g icing sugar, sifted
- 100g vegan cream cheese, I used NUSH almond cream cheese (Buy here)
Method
- Preheat the oven to 175°C (160°C fan)/Gas 4.
- Put the sugar, eggs and oil in a bowl and mix with a handheld electric whisk and beat until all the ingredients well. Slowly add the flour, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, salt and vanilla extract and beat until well mixed
- Stir in the grated carrots and pecans
- Pour the mixture into 2 x oil/lined cake tin. Bake for 25 mins. Use a knife to check the cake is cooked through – if not bake for an extra 5-10 mins.
- Leave the cakes to cool for about ten minutes before taking out of the tin.
- Whilst the cakes are cooking making the vegan cream cheese frosting. In a large bowl beat together 100g of icing sugar with 150g of vegan cream cheeses – I used Nush almond cheese. Set aside.
- When the cakes are cold, spread one-quarter of the Cream Cheese over the top of one of the cakes. Pop the second cake on top and spread the rest of the frosting over the top.
- Dress with more pecans and a sprinkle of cinnamon.
To make this gluten-free:
Substitute the plain flour for gluten free rice flour (Buy here) but bake the cake in one tin instead of two. Frost the top and sides of the cake.
