Vegan Carrot Cake with Cashew-Maple Frosting
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"Vegetables are a must on a diet. I suggest carrot cake, zucchini bread, and pumpkin pie."- Jim Davis
Back in my teenage years, I took up baking because I wanted people to like me. Honestly. My Mama made the most delicious banana bread and always got lots of compliments. I guess for a change I wanted people to compliment my skills in the kitchen rather than how well I was doing in school.
One day, my mum had enough ripe bananas to make banana bread, but due to a migraine, she decided there could be no harm in letting me play in the kitchen. Mind you, at this point, I could barely toast a slice of bread the way I like it. After a successful first try, I had enough courage to look at other recipes of cakes, breads and breakfast fare. Soon I was learning about how important accuracy is when measuring ingredients (nothing sadder than a sponge cake that feels anything but spongy). Apart from cheesecake (I'm lactose intolerant), I was rather scared to bake carrot cake. The cake itself is easy enough, but with all the preparation of ingredients, the amount of oil and sugar, that's all enough to scare the 18 year-old me. I also couldn't enjoy that classic cream cheese frosting so why bother, right?
But of course one day, I did have enough courage to bake a very non-vegan carrot cake with cream cheese frosting for my dad's birthday. Everyone raved about how delicious it was and I couldn't have a slice. A few years later, I started to incorporate apple sauce in my vegan baking, learned about the versatility of cashews, and all is well with the world again.
This vegan carrot cake recipe is all you need to pair up with the joy of Spring! I always say, chocolate is for winter, apples and pumpkin for autumn, berries for summer and a big slice of carrot cake for spring. I'm sure you'll love this recipe. Now get your oven going and start grating those carrots.
Come to Mama!
Vegan Carrot Cake with Cashew-Maple Frosting
Makes 1 9x5 pan
Wet Ingredients:
- 2 cups of grated carrots, loosely packed
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/4-1/3 cup maple syrup
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/2 cup almond milk (or mylk of choice)
- 2 tbsp ground flax seeds
- 1/2 cup applesauce
- 1 tsp lemon juice
Dry Ingredients:
- 2 cups whole wheat flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- Pinch of salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/2 cup raisins or walnuts
Cashew Frosting:
- 1/2 cup raw cashews, soaked overnight
- 3 tbsp almond milk (add more as needed)
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon, optional
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 9x5 baking pan with parchment paper and set aside.
In a medium bowl, add together grated carrots, brown sugar, maple syrup and olive oil. Let stand for a few minutes. In a blender, pulse together applesauce, almond milk, lemon juice and flax seeds. Add to the grated carrots mixture and mix well.
In a separate bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Pour the dry mixture with the liquid ingredients. Careful not to overmix. Fold in raisins and walnuts, if using. If you're having difficulty getting all the dry ingredients to mix properly, add a splash of almond milk until desired consistency of the batter is attained.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Spread consistently. Bake for 50 minutes to an hour, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool on a rack.
Whilst the carrot cake is baking, prepare the cashew frosting. Blend together all cashew frosting ingredients until smooth. Taste and add more maple syrup as desired. Let sit in fridge whilst the carrot cake bakes.
Once the cake is cool, spread the frosting on top. Add as much as you want!
Enjoy! xx
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