This Vegan Carrot Cake is quite possibly the best 100% plant-based cake I have made, so I’m excited to share this with you. And I’m especially happy to share this because it makes the perfect birthday cake this month for both me and my daughter. Maybe you have a birthday coming up too, or just need an excuse to bake someone (yourself) a carrot cake.

It’s light and lovely and completely free of refined sugar, dairy, eggs and gluten. So make no excuses! You can even eat this for breakfast with your oatmilk latte.

Recently, my friends at Oatly asked me to create something with their oatmilk, and given that I am stalker obsessed with their oatmilk, I just knew I could make something delicious. And that’s how this vegan carrot cake with oatmilk frosting came into the world.

Carrot cake is definitely a favorite around here! I thought it would be the perfect cake to bake since my youngest daughter and I both have June birthdays. We are celebrating with this vegan carrot cake covered in oatmilk frosting. I think two carrot cakes might be even better than one!

Yes, instead of the classic cream cheese frosting, I made a creamy oatmilk frosting using cashews, macadamias, lemon juice, and Oatly oatmilk. To keep this refined sugar-free, I used a little maple syrup (rather than powdered sugar) to give it a hint of sweetness. You can find powdered monkfruit “sugar” in most health food stores, which is a great addition too. Just be mindful of how much you use, because monkfruit can be sweeter than sugar. The fun thing about baking vegan is that you can absolutely taste the batter without concern of eating any raw eggs. (Raw flax seed “eggs” are really good for you, by the way. Just in case you needed permission to lick the spoon.)

I made a few changes to the classic carrot cake so that it could be healthier. I know, you’re thinking, well carrots are already the healthy part, right? Yes, definitely carrots are the healthy part, but I really wanted to make this cake delicious while also keeping it low in natural sugar and full of whole food ingredients.

This carrot cake is made with coconut oil, applesauce, maple syrup, flax eggs, and Oatly! oatmilk, adding a little raw coconut sugar to add just a little more sweetness. Originally the idea was to make this carrot cake with oat flour, but after baking a few versions using oat flour, well, oat flour made it much more dense than I prefer. So I decided to go with almond flour and all-purpose gluten-free flour instead of oat flour, as tempting as it was to make this cake with oatmilk and oat flour combined. Great ideas don’t always work. Oatmilk for frosting, however, is a genius idea that does work.

Yes, the most wonderful (and healthy) thing about this vegan carrot cake is, of course, the oatmilk frosting made with Oatly.

KITCHEN NOTES:

You’ll want to store this cake in the refrigerator to keep the oatmilk frosting. I recommend keeping extra frosting on hand to touch up another layer (or try an extra spoonful just to make sure it tastes good) if you do this. You can store the naked (unfrosted) cake at room temperature. Add the decorations just before serving to keep things looking fresh.

You will need two 9” inch cake pans with removable bases. The smaller your cake pans, the longer you’ll need to bake. Allow cake to cool before frosting, and definitely frost the cake the day of serving. I’ve noticed that it looks better the same day and you’ll get the most flavor as well.

If you make this Vegan Carrot Cake with Oatmilk Frosting, leave me a comment here, and/or tag me at: @plantfullkitchen in the post on Instagram! You can also tag @stephaniekordan if you like, and hashtag #plantfullkitchen. Have fun baking!

Vegan Carrot Cake with Oatmilk Frosting

INGREDIENTS

CAKE

• 3 flax eggs  (3 tbsp flaxseed + 6 tbsp water)

• 1/3 cup melted coconut oil (or fruity olive oil)

• 1/4 cup maple syrup

• 1 cup unsweetened applesauce

• 1 cup organic raw coconut sugar

• 3/4 tsp sea salt

• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda

• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder

• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

• 3/4 – 1 cup Oatly oatmilk

• 2 cups grated carrots

• 1 1/2 cups almond flour 

• 1 1/2 cups gluten-free flour

• 3/4 cup chopped raw walnuts or pecans (optional)

OATMILK FROSTING

• ½ cup raw macadamia nuts (soaked and drained)

• ½ cup raw cashews (soaked and drained)

• ¼ cup Oatly oatmilk

• ¼ cup maple syrup

• 2 tablespoons coconut oil

• 1 teaspoon vanilla

• 2-4 tablepoons fresh lemon juice

• ½ teaspoon sea salt

• 1 probiotic capsule (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS FOR CAKE:

Heat oven to 350F degrees. Butter pans with coconut oil or vegan butter or cooking spray, then lightly flour two 8-inch, 1 9×13-inch, or 3 6-inch round pans with gluten-free flour. Set aside.

1. Prepare flax eggs in mixing bowl: mix flaxseed with water ratios.

2. Add coconut oil and maple syrup to the flax eggs, then whisk all to combine.

3. Add applesauce, coconut sugar, sea salt, baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon and whisk to combine.

4. Add a small amount of Oatly oatmilk and stir. Add all grated carrot and stir. Add the flours and stir. The batter should be somewhat thick.

5. Add remaining oatmilk. Add walnuts or pecans and stir.

6. Divide evenly into the cake pans.

7. Bake for approximately 40 minutes or until golden brown. You can toothpick test to see if the center is mushy, as sometimes gluten-free baking takes a little longer.

8. Remove the cakes from oven and allow to cool in the pans. Unlock the cake tin round to give cooling space (for removable cake pan base) once the cake has cooled awhile.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR OATMILK FROSTING:

1. Blend all oatmilk frosting ingredients in a high speed blender until smooth and creamy, about 1 to 2 minutes. You can add an extra tablespoon of oatmilk if needed.

2. Taste and add a little more oatmilk if too thick. You’ll want this frosting to be creamy and spreadable, so refrigerate for about 30 minutes before frosting.

3. If too thin, add extra soaked nuts, a little bit of your favorite vegan butter, or a spoonful of vegan cream cheese.

NOTE: I recommend using a very high speed blender (Vitamix or similar) for this frosting.