When spring arrives, it’s time for a light and lovely cake! This is a delicious gluten free vegan carrot cake recipe that’s easy to make This lightly spiced cake is topped with a sweet dairy free cream cheese frosting.
Once we start approaching Easter, I often get requests for a carrot cake recipe. Carrot cake was a favorite dessert at my house when I was growing up, but the version my mom made had eggs, wheat flour, and nuts. So it wasn’t allergy friendly at all!
There’s no reason you shouldn’t be able to have a nice piece of carrot cake even if you have multiple food allergies. That’s why I came up with this recipe for a gluten free vegan carrot cake with dairy free cream cheese frosting.
It’s flavorful, moist, sweet, and delicious. It’s everything you want in a carrot cake, but without the allergens.
spiced zucchini cake with dairy free icing
This gluten free vegan carrot cake is so simple – it’s lightly spiced with cinnamon and ginger, and topped with a sweet cream cheese frosting. You will love the light texture of the cake, and the simple and rich frosting on top.
What brand of dairy free cream cheese should I use for frosting?
Daiya cream cheese works perfectly, but if you have another brand of vegan cream cheese that you prefer, feel free to use that. If you aren’t dairy free, just use regular cream cheese.
If you’d like an even simpler option for frosting, you can top this vegan carrot cake with coconut whipped cream.
This recipe is so easy – you don’t even need the mixer for the cake – it’s easy to mix this up by hand in just one bowl.
What else can I add to carrot cake?
You may be used to some different additions to carrot cake. This carrot cake recipe is nut free, but if you are able to eat nuts, feel free to add some walnuts or pecans to the batter, or you could also sprinkle them on top of the frosting. You could also use some pumpkin seeds for a little crunch.
If you’re someone who likes pineapple in your carrot cake, you can add that as well! Try a 1/2 cup of crushed pineapple that has been drained – and then slowly add your water – you may not need all the water that the recipe calls for.
If you’d like to, you could also add some shredded apple instead of pineapple. There are a lot of options with this cake. Just be sure that you don’t load the batter down with too many wet fruits. The cake could become too wet and heavy, and may not bake through very well.
If you’re looking for other spring time desserts, try these carrot cake oatmeal cookies, or these gluten free Easter bunny sugar cookies.
This recipe works well with a light gluten free flour mix, like my recipe for a gluten free flour blend. If you would like to use a store bought blend, you should avoid a blend that contains gums, as the cake may be too sticky and dense. There are some blends that do not contain gums. Be sure to to call and make sure a brand fits your dietary needs – everyone has different comfort levels as far as brands and allergen procedures.
Lighter blends keep the cake from getting too dense. If all-purpose flour or spelt flour is what works for you, go ahead and use that! It will still turn out just fine.
If you use a different flour and the batter seems to thick or dry, go ahead and add a little more water. Some gluten free flours really soak up the water, so you may need to add more liquid.
This gluten free vegan carrot cake is:
- made with applesauce instead of eggs
- made without nuts – try pumpkin seeds instead if you wish!
- a crowd pleaser
- perfect for Easter or any special occasion
Can I make this carrot cake into cupcakes?
Sure! You will probably get 10 cupcakes from this recipe. Just bake at 350 and watch the time – it will take less time to bake cupcakes. Start with 18 minutes and go from there.
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Gluten Free Vegan Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting.
A delicious gluten free vegan carrot cake topped with cream cheese frosting is just the thing to bake in springtime. This decadent dessert is allergy friendly, so everyone can enjoy it!
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 2 cups gluten free flour OR white spelt flour if you are not gluten free*
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- ⅓ teaspoon ginger
- ½ cup organic cane sugar
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- ⅓ cup organic canola oil or coconut oil, or melted vegan buttery spread
- 3 Tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
- 1 cup grated carrots
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup water**
For the frosting:
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 4 ounces Daiya brand vegan cream cheese softened
- 4 Tablespoons buttery spread softened
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8 or 9 inch round cake pan and line the bottom of the pan with a circle of parchment paper.
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In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and ginger. Add the shredded carrots and toss to coat. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients.
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Add the sugars, canola oil, applesauce, vanilla extract, apple cider vinegar, and water. Stir well until combined.
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Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-38 minutes (depending on the size of the pan), or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
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Let the cake cook for about 15 minutes in the pan, then run a knife around the edge of the pan and invert over a wire rack to remove. Let the cake cool fully on the wire rack.
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Make the frosting once the cake is fully cooled. In a mixing bowl whip the Daiya cream cheese and the vegan buttery spread. Sift in the powdered sugar. Mix until very smooth and creamy.
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Frost the cooled cake, and refrigerate if not serving immediately. Store leftover cake in the refrigerator.
Recipe Notes
Store leftover cake in the refrigerator. It should stay fresh for about 5 days.
I like using my gluten free flour blend for cake recipes. It does not contain xanthan gum, but that has not been a problem for me. My cakes hold together very well.
**You may need to adjust the amount of water based on what flour blend you use. Some gluten free blends require more water. The dough should not be dry or too thick.
This recipe was originally published in March 2016. It has been updated.
What are you making for Easter dessert this year?
Follow The Pretty Bee (Allergy Friendly Eats)’s board SWEET Top 8 Allergen-FREE Recipes. on Pinterest.
How about using coconut oil instead of canola?
You can use any other oil. I used melted coconut oil.
Great!
Thank you Karla :)
Yes, that will work fine!
Hi there!
I have made this before and it is absolutely delicious! Do you think I could make this a couple days ahead….
If so, how would I store it.
Thanks!
I think you could make the cake two days ahead and just wrap it really really well in plastic wrap, and maybe store in an airtight container. I would make the frosting the day of.
I made this cake as a test for Easter dinner. It was phenomenal the day of baking but after refrigerating overnight, it was very dense. I did make some of my own tweaks based on our family: coconut oil in place of canola and 1 egg I stead of applesauce.
Is it possible to leave the cake at room temp overnight and frost it the next day to ease up on tasks for Easter day?
Yes, that would be fine to leave it out!
This turned out great! Thanks for sharing.
Great recipe. Delicious cake.
Hi Kelly
I made the Vegan carrot cake with
all purpose flour, 1/4 cup applesauce to replace oil and added 1/2 cup crushed pineapple.
It is Delish! Will be making this for family.
Again, another great recipe!
Thank you.
Thanks for sharing! Is there a flour blend you prefer? I’ve never seen vegan cream cheese before.
My flour blend will work well in this recipe: https://theprettybee.com/make-your-own-all-purpose-gluten-free-flour-mix/
Love your recipes Kelly! This carrot cake looks absolutely mouthwatering. ❤️
Can I use all purpose flour instead?
Tried it ! Great recipe, moist and cooked through.
I used orange juice instead of water, added 1 flax egg and gingerbread spices, and normal flour.
The perfect vegan carrot cake.
Thanks for sharing.
Cheers from France
So glad you liked it!
Did you still add the sugar since you added orange juice?? I’m sensitive to cane sugar so trying to figure out what to do to substitute.
Thanks!
This cake was a hit! Due to flourflour my batter was a bit heavy/thick, but thanks to the comments, I added a bit more liquid, and success! Thanks. Love making GF yummies that are actually tasty!
This cake is AMAZING! It was a crowd pleaser in a crowd of TOUGH critics. I substituted coconut oil for the canola oil and used palm coconut sugar instead of white sugar. Thank you so much for sharing!
Yay! So glad you liked it, your substitutions sound great!
I wonder if you could sub. the oil for 1/3 cup of applesauce and get the same result? Have you tried?
I haven’t tried that, let me know if you do!
How could I adjust at this to make cupcakes? Thanks!
Just divide the batter into a cupcake pan and watch them carefully – start with about 15 minutes, but it could take up to 20 to bake.
Biggest fail every, I have no idea what I did wrong but it was watery and took forever to cook. I used almond flour.
Straight almond flour is very different from a gluten free flour blend. Almond flour is gluten free, but it won’t act the same way as a gluten free flour blend will.
I’m making this carrot cake for the second time now. It’s absolutely amazing! Thank you. It’s the best carrot cake I’ve ever had. So moist! :)
I couldn’t find Daiya cream cheese so I used Violife vegan cream cheese instead and that works out fine.
Greetings from Iceland. :)
Yay! So glad you love it! Thanks for letting me know!
This looks delicious and I can’t wait to try it!! I once had a carrot cake with chocolate chips, and I can’t decide if I want to add those or walnuts!
I had a question though– would any vegan cream cheese work? Other than ordering from Amazon, my local stores have others, but not the Daiya brand.
Any brand of cream cheese that you like should work just fine! :)
Can I use maple syrup or honey instead of the sugars for the cake and for the frosting? And coconut oil instead of butter? Thanks
Carrot cake is my favourite dessert! I love how this one is vegan and seems to be much healthier than regular carrot cake! Can’t wait to give it a try!
Hope you love it!
would there be any different cooking instructions for making this as cupcakes?
thanks!
I work on a guest ranch in Montana and have a few lactose intolerant wranglers and they love this cake. They actually have to fight the dairy eaters off to get a piece. Not only does this recipe come together easily it’s very flexible to a little zhusshing. I made the cream cheese frosting with Biscoff Cookie butter, and added a lower layer of melted biscoff butter (drip cake style) – What a hit! Today is my THIRD time making this recipe, so I figured a GREAT review was in order.
Awesome! Thank you so much for letting me know! I really love hearing that this is a hit! And your cookie butter adaptation sounds wonderful!
This recipe meets all of my new medical requirements. However, I usually put crushed pineapple in my carrot cake. Do you have any idea how I might be able to incorporate pineapple into this recipe?
I think you could just try adding it! Just make sure it’s drained well.
I haven’t tried to make gluten free carrot cake yet but can’t wait to give this a whirl. I’m a huge fan of Bob’s Red Mill 1to1 gluten free flour.
I love that flour as well! We don’t use it because of the risk of cross contamination from nuts, but it’s a great flour!
This cake looks so pretty, Kelly! I love the fluffy texture and cream cheese frosting. Definitely such a classic dessert for this time of year!
This looks incredible!