Carrot cake with cashew icing

One bowl, no eggs, and a cashew icing that genuinely behaves like cream cheese frosting.

The BetterDay Kitchen2 min read

Carrot cake is the easiest cake to make vegan, because the things that make it good are already plants. Grated carrot keeps it wet, spice carries the flavour, and nobody was ever eating it for the butter.

Applesauce replaces most of the fat and does the job the eggs would have done, which is hold everything together while keeping it tender. Whole wheat flour gives it enough structure to carry the carrots and walnuts without collapsing.

Grate the carrots yourself

The bagged shredded carrots from the grocery store are cut thick and dry, and they stay crunchy through the bake. Use the large holes of a box grater and you get soft ribbons that melt into the crumb. It takes four minutes and it is the single biggest difference between a good carrot cake and a gritty one.

The icing is the whole trick

Soaked cashews blended with coconut cream, maple and lemon juice give you something genuinely close to cream cheese frosting. The lemon is not optional. Without the acid it tastes like sweet nuts. With it, your brain reads cream cheese.

The recipe

Vegan Carrot Cake with Cashew Icing

A moist whole wheat carrot cake sweetened with maple and applesauce, topped with blended cashew icing.

Prep

25 min

Cook

35 min

Total

1 hr

Makes

One 9x13 inch cake, 12 squares

Ingredients

For the cake

  • 2 cups whole wheat flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
  • 1/2 cup maple syrup
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
  • 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 cups grated carrots, from about 4 medium carrots
  • 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

For the cashew icing

  • 1 cup raw cashews, soaked in water at least 4 hours
  • 1/4 cup maple syrup
  • 1/4 cup coconut cream
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • Pinch of salt

Method

  1. 1Heat the oven to 350F and line a 9x13 inch pan with parchment.
  2. 2In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt.
  3. 3In a second bowl, whisk the applesauce, maple syrup, almond milk, melted coconut oil and vanilla.
  4. 4Pour the wet into the dry and mix until just combined.
  5. 5Fold in the grated carrots and chopped walnuts.
  6. 6Spread into the pan and bake 30 to 35 minutes, until a toothpick in the centre comes out clean.
  7. 7Cool completely on a wire rack, about an hour. Do not rush this.
  8. 8For the icing, drain and rinse the soaked cashews and add them to a high-speed blender with the maple syrup, coconut cream, lemon juice, vanilla and salt.
  9. 9Blend until completely smooth, scraping down the sides as you go. It should take 2 to 3 minutes and have no grit left in it.
  10. 10Spread the icing over the cooled cake and chill for 30 minutes to set before slicing.

Keeps

Covered in the fridge for up to 5 days. The iced cake also freezes well in slices.

Chef’s note

If your blender is not high-powered, boil the cashews for 15 minutes instead of soaking them cold. They break down far more willingly and you avoid a grainy icing.

Rather not cook tonight

We make this kind of food every week.

See this week’s menu

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