Classic carrot cake, perfectly spiced & topped with delicious homemade frosting. Scrumptious & allergy-friendly too 🎉
This might just become your absolute favorite Vegan Gluten-free carrot cake. It is crazy good, perfectly sweet, & delightfully paired with a luscious homemade frosting.Β It is absolute, allergy-friendly perfection!
Two moist layers of carrot-y goodness,Β without the tricky ingredients. No nuts, no pineapple, no raisins, just pure simplicity. Carrots & spice and everything nice, that’s what this crazy good carrot cake is made of.
Just don’t forget the frosting. Nothing goes better with carrot cake than homemade, buttery frosting! Just like the kind we topped these carrot cake donuts with…..simple & delicious. (You’ll have to try those too).
And don’t think for 1 minute that you have to wait until Easter to make thisβ’β’ Heck no!!!!! We are breaking the rules with this one and making it for our Fall holidays. Move over pumpkin, we’ve got a new orange dessert in town.
Don’t you just wanna grab that fork and take a great big bite? I know the photo is a little blurry, but that’s what happens when you’re trying to snap a pic + your kids keep coming in the room. Just part of working from home….but at least there’s laughter & cake!!!! Lots of cakeΒ 🍰.
If you haven’t figured it out yet, I’m ridiculously excited to share this recipe with you all!
This crazy good carrot cake is BETTER than any youβll pick up at the grocery store. It is easy to make, using real ingredients. Good stuff…. Allergy-friendly stuff. That is something extra special!
Print your Vegan Gluten-free Carrot Cake Recipe Here
Crazy Good Carrot Cake
Impress your friends with a Classic carrot cake, perfectly spice & topped with yummy homemade frosting. Delicious, allergy-free + vegan.
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 2.5 cups gluten-free flour (I used Bob's 1-to-1 gluten free flour)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 3/4 cup melted coconut oil
- 4 flax eggs (1/4 cup ground flaxmeal + 3/4 cup water, mixed)
- 2 cups light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla
- 3 cups finely chopped carrots (chop in food processor)*
For the Frosting
- 4 cups powdered sugar (Wholesome BrandΒ is vegan)
- 1 1/2 stick vegan butter (Earth Balance)
- 3 tablespoons coconut milk or creamer
- 1 teaspoon pureΒ vanilla extract
Instructions
Make the Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350°. Spray two 9" round cake pans with non-stick cooking spray then lightly dust with gluten-free flour.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, cloves and ginger until combined.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the coconut oil, egg replacer, brown sugar, and vanilla extract until combined.
- In a food processor, finely chop peeled carrots. Add to your wet mixture & mix together to combine.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and just mix until combined, making sure to incorporate all the dry spots.
- Pour the cake batter evenly between cake pans. Bake 30-35 minutes or until tops of cake are set and toothpick inserted comes out clean. Remove from oven, transfer to wire rack and let cool completely before frosting.
How to make Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting:
- Combine all the ingredients in a bowl of a stand mixer and mix until smooth and combined. Add a little extra creamer if too thick or a little extra powder sugar if too watery.
Notes
Tip: grab your favorite purchased "safe" cream cheese frosting to save a little time.Β
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 626Total Fat: 28gSaturated Fat: 20gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 46mgSodium: 406mgCarbohydrates: 92gFiber: 3gSugar: 67gProtein: 4g
Nutritional information is only an estimate based off of using an online calculator. Numbers will change depending on brands used.
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Wow, I can’t believe that’s gluten-free and vegan Nicole – the crumb looks so, so perfect!
Thanks Alisa! It’s always tricky doing both GF & V but when it’s a win, I’ll take it π
Using coconut oil makes this a nut recipe, not nut free.
Hey Rosemary, although the FDA now is starting to label coconuts as nuts, there is a lot of disagreement among different groups. Coconuts are still not included in the list of nuts under the Food Allergy guidelines since it is technically a fruit. I’m including a really great blog post in my response you can check out in more detail. However, if you would like to change out the oil and use a vegetable oil or canola oil, that would still work in this recipe.
does almond flour work well in this recipe?
We cannot use almond flour do to an nut-allergy but I would think so. You just may need to adjust the liquid if it seems too dry. Please come back and let me know how it turns out.
Hi! I am wondering if this is also Soy free.
Thanks
It sure is but make sure the butter you choose is the Soy-free version. I use Earth Balance, which is vegan but they do have 1 that contains soy.
Is their an alternative to flax egg? Like a egg replacer or apple sauce?
You can use a different egg replacer like Ener-G or Bob’s egg replacer. I can’t speak for applesauce in this recipe though.
You can do 1/4 cup of yogurt for each flax egg.
I haven’t tried vegan yogurt in its place, but that should work in theory. Let me know.
I noticed step #2 asks me to βIn a large mixing bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, cloves and ginger until combined.β But there is no cloves listed as an ingredient. Should I add cloves? Iβm making the recipe right now for Easter. I hope you get back to me soon. Thanks!
It’s just a pinch (1/8 tsp) of cloves but even if you omit it, you’d be alright. I’ll be sure to correct that in the instructions! Happy Easter
How many eggs would I use if I’m not vegan, just gluten free & nut free?
Although I haven’t made it with eggs, I used 4 flax eggs which should be the equivalent of 4 regular eggs. I’d love to hear how it turns out for you with that adjustment.
Can you use regular all purpose flour in place of gluten free flour
Yes! Just sub the same amount andyiu wonβt have to many any other changes.
How long does it take in the oven if I want to make cupcakes?
Typically for a cupcake it would be 18-20 minutes
Delicious cake! It was so nice to have a cake that everyone in our family can eat! Thank you!
I’m so glad! This one is my daughter’s favorite which we make every Christmas for her.
Do you devide the cake for having the cream layer in the middle?
This makes 2, thin 9″ rounds. If you use GF flour, then it won’t rise as much but will still produce 2 pans.
What is sprinkled on top of the cake’s frosting in the photos? It looks so pretty but I don’t see that step mentioned. Excited to try this recipe for a friend with a lot of allergies!
I love toasted coconut chips which is what is on top of the cake. You can either toast them in your oven OR theres a company called DANG Foods that makes them and they are amazing.
As I will be putting the icing on tomorrow, can I ileave it on the bench in a container or best in the fridge?
I’d recommend the refrigerator and then removing about 20 minutes before icing. You may need to whip up real quick to get it nice and fluffy.
Have you tried adding a df cream cheese to the icing for a cream cheese icing?
Yes! I used DF cream cheese for the frosting on my Red Velvet Cake, you can see it here. I wanted another option for those who need to be “free from” soy or nuts since most df cream cheese is made from one or the other.
Hi,
Whatβs a good substitute for coconut oil?
any neutral oil like vegetable oil.
I followed the recipe to a T, but both batches turned out very chewy and dense in the middle, almost undercooked. Any suggestions? The toothpick came out clean and the tops were perfectly cooked, but once cut into, seemed undercooked. Still tasted amazing, but the texture was not good.
Any chance you used a GF Flour?
Doesnβt recipe call for gf flour? I want to make but not if not good.
You can use regular flour or a 1:1 gluten free blend like Bob’s Red Mill. I’ve made it with both depending on who I am hosting. As with any carrot cake, it is a little more dense than a chocolate cake, but its my kids and father’s most requested cake….GF too.