How great are Mums?! I’m crazy about mine. On the weekend she invited me down to her place so we could catch up and watch the latest episodes of Tough Love Miami. Have you seen this show? When my Mum, sister and I watched the first season we dubbed it ‘Skanky Town’ because it was non-stop drama, tantrums and cat fights. The ladies in this season were much better behaved but still so clueless in love that it was just as entertaining. Steve Ward is a brave, brave man. Keep fighting for love, Steve! Make us proud.
We watched the entire season back-to-back. Oh yes we did, and because she’s the coolest Mum in the world, Mum made sure we watched it in style. The heater was lit, the French champagne was chilled and she’d made an incredible carrot cake to sustain us through all of the show’s emotional ups and downs.
Vegan or not, this was the best carrot cake I’ve ever tasted. I took the leftover slices home for two vegan friends and they scoffed it just as fast as I did. SO. GOOD. Mums rock.
Mum's Amazing Vegan Carrot Cake
Ingredients
Cake
- 1/4 cup applesauce
- 1/2 cup vegan margarine
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 3/4 cup agave syrup
- 1 1 /4 cups self-raising flour
- 1/4 cup soy milk
- 1 cup grated carrots
- 1 cup walnuts chopped
Frosting
- 1/2 cup vegan margarine
- 2 cups icing sugar
- Juice from 1 lemon
- 1/2 cup walnuts chopped
Instructions
Cake
- Pre-heat oven to 180C. Grease and flour a 9-inch square baking pan.
- Combine applesauce, margarine, salt, cinnamon, agave, flour and soy milk until well mixed. Add carrots and walnuts.
- Spread evenly in baking pan and bake for 45 minutes.
Frosting
- Mix icing sugar and margarine with a butter knife.
- Add lemon juice very slowly - a little at a time - until desired consistency and taste is achieved.
- Once cake is completely cooled, top with frosting and chopped walnuts.
- Enjoy with your Mum, a glass of champagne, and much love. x
Oh mum!! She sounds absolutely awesome! Please thank her for this recipe – eyeing the carrots in my frige with renewed interest.
haha, this is definitely the best way to eat carrots! 🙂
This sounds all kinds of crazy delicious 🙂 Your mom is so awesome making a vegan carrot cake for you! I love getting vegan-skeptic to try vegan food unknowingly then revealing your secret, so satisfying!
Absolutely and we were so excited to find it was the best carrot cake we’ve ever had! Vegan rocks, WHOOHOO!! 🙂
Your mom rocks! I like that she made for the cake for the special occasion, but I LOVE that it was vegan! Soooo cool!
hehe, I know, I was so proud and so excited! 🙂
This would be the perfect cake to make for my sister! Carrot cake is her favorite and I have been looking for a good recipe! I will have to try the gluten-free version of this asap!
Oh you will, definitely! She will love you for it! 🙂
Hi just happily stumbled onto your site!
How would I make this gluten free? I am new to baking gluten free and not sure what flour to substitute. I have a basic GF flour from trader joes. Same measurements?
Thanks from a newbie!
Jill
Hi Jill! It’s so lovely to have you here. 🙂
You can substitute with the same amount of GF plain flour (1.25 cups) and 1.5 tsp baking powder and a dash of salt.
The first vegan dessert I ever made was carrot cake and my co-workers loved it. But this recipe is even easier. I love the idea of having it with champagne. I swear Bex, you and I are kindred souls 🙂
haha, YAY, then I really hope we do get to meet someday very soon! 🙂
MMMMMMMM,…Indeed: what a truly awesome carrot cake: looks so special too! 🙂
Your mom sounds like a true treasure!
She sure is. I’m very blessed. 🙂
Wow this looks great!!! I’ve got some maple syrup on hand that would be a nice substitute for the agave. Thanks for sharing 😀
Oooh, it sure would! Enjoy! 🙂
Yummmmmm! Thank you for sharing! One question, do you think almond milk in place of soy would work okay?
Absolutely, Kim. Any non-dairy milk would work. Enjoy! 🙂
I have made your lovely carrot cake but without the frosting! I loved it so much! So good! xxx
Oh FAB, Sophie, that’s so great to hear! I hope you eat it more slowly than I did! haha 🙂
This cake was delicious! I made this today, and even my husband who is a chef,(and I have a hard time pleasing when it comes to my cooking) LOVED this cake!!!
Oh YAY, that’s so great to hear, Andrea! Your hubby obviously has great taste – in more ways than one! 🙂
Looks yummy! You know I’ve never even had carrot cake before!!
Whaaaaaat??!! Oh Brandi – you need to try it immediately! SO GOOD 🙂
MUST. HAVE!!!
Definitely!!!
I just made this cake, its cooling now. I broke off a corner and its indeed the best carrot cake I’ve ever had!! I’m wondering if a touch of nutmeg would make it even better. And maybe raisins. But even with out those things its the best carrot cake I’ve had!!! Thanks for sharing!
Oh fantastic, Jessica! I’ll give my Mum the feedback. 🙂 Nutmeg and raisins could only make it tastier, I’m sure!
I think that carrot cake and banana bread are my two favorite things! At least they are a good way to eat your fruits and veggies! 😉
haha, absolutely the best way! 🙂
Going to make this in the next few days, the recipe looks so simple!! Fingers crossed! 🙂
Good luck, Hazel! I hope you enjoy it as much as we do! 🙂
Looks amazing!! Think it will work well as little muffins??
I made them!! here’s how they turned out 🙂 (also featured are my other vegan sweets 🙂 ) thanks for the recipe. Also! with your permission am I am to link your blog and recipe on my blog?
thanks,
tash
Oh they look ADORABLE, Tash! I was writing back to you yesterday to say I’ve made them in cupcake version before and just to add a little more oil and turn the heat down a little – when my laptop battery died and I was in a WiFi cafe!
So happy to see you figured it all out and they look delicious!
I would be honoured to be linked from your blog. 🙂
http://i.imgur.com/PUBud.jpg
Hey! Do you just put the margarine in cold from the fridge? And mix the hell out of everything with a spoon/whisk so it combines? Or is it melted of softened first?
Thanks!!
Hi Tash! Over here in Perth things heat up pretty quickly so I just leave the margarine out of the fridge for a bit so it’s nice and soft. If it’s a bit chillier over there in NZ, just melt it first. 🙂
Hey luv!
Instead of vegan margarine, do you reckon maybe coconut oil would work alright? and maybe coconut cream for the icing?
Sounds delicious, wanna give this one a go!
Thanks for being lovely,
XX
Hi Betty! Coconut oil will definitely work in the cake. I’ve used it before and had success – maybe just add a little more oil than you would margarine so that it doesn’t dry out.
I like the coconut cream idea for the icing! I’d love to hear how it is if you try it. 🙂 xx
Hi! I want to make this today for my birthday! But want to make sure I get it right-when you say ‘icing’ sugar, is that granulated sugar, powdered sugar or something else? Thanks!
Happy Birthday, Erin! 🙂
‘Icing’ sugar in Australia is the same as Confectioners or Powdered Sugar in the US. You can find it in the cake baking section of your supermarket.
Have fun! It’s definitely a birthday-worthy cake!
Thanks for this recipe! It looks great. Making a birthday cake for my baby’s 1st! i’ve never used self-raising flour before – how can I substitute the all-purpose flour I have on hand? I imagine some baking powder/soda is in order. Any idea? Thanks in advance!
Hi Lindsay! You can substitute with the same amount of all-purpose flour and 1.5 tsp baking powder and a dash of salt.
Can’t wait to try this! It looks amaaaazing!
Love your blog by the way! It exudes so much positive energy that it’s like a virtual vegan hug!
Lots of vegan love from Brisbane,
Lisa
Nawww, what a beautiful compliment! Thanks so much, Lisa! It’s so lovely to have you here. 🙂 x
I tried this recipe but it turned out heavy and uneatable, I will try it again just in case I did something wrong as usually my cakes turn out lovely. I love carrot cake so have to get it to work for me
Oh dear! Are you sure you’re using self-raising flour, Mel?
Would it be possible to use a different type of flour? Not sure I’ve seen self-raising flour? But maybe I haven’t been looking either! Looks great!
Hi Moira, you should be able to find self-raising flour in your supermarket but if not, you can substitute with the same amount of all-purpose flour and 1.5 tsp baking powder and a dash of salt. 🙂
Hey Rebecca
I made this a few days ago and it was v.tasty but it didn’t rise very much (I did use self-raising flour). Also, with your recipes, do you use Australian or American measurements? I found several conversion sites that all said different things :/ I live in the UK so always use lbs or grams to measure ingredients.
Thanks 🙂
Hi Hazel! 🙂 No, this one doesn’t rise very much – it’s more of a ‘slice’ size, really. I use Australian (metric) measurements although I’ve been including US conversions in my latest recipes to try to cover everyone.
Hi! I can’t wait to try this recipe. Just wondering if you have ever used almond milk in lieu of the soy? I can’t handle too much soy and always have almond milk on hand. Thanks for the wonderful recipe!
Hi Angela! My pleasure. 🙂 Absolutely, you can use almond milk (or any plant-based milk) in lieu of the soy.
Simply amazing! I switched it up a bit and used almond milk, whole wheat flour, hickory nuts and a cashew /honey cream sauce for the topping. So good! Thanks so much for the great recipe!
Oh wow, those substitutions sound incredible, Shannon! 🙂 x
Hi, I baked this carrot cake 2 days ago and it was awesome. My boyfriend and I loved it.
I substituted agave syrup with maple syrup as I couldn’t find it in local stores but it still turned out great. My boyfriend said it was the best carrot cake 🙂
However, how can I best substitute agave syrup? I think using maple syrup is quite unhealthy.
Thank you for sharing the recipe, I’m going to bake it again this afternoon.
Hi Cherry, I’m so glad you guys loved it as much as we do! 🙂
If you can find pure, organic maple syrup in your health food store (rather than the processed syrup from supermarkets), it’s a great agave substitute. Alternatively you can use coconut sugar which is much lower GI and easily ordered online if you can’t find it locally. x