This vegan carrot loaf cake is perfectly spiced with a tender crumb, gorgeous bursts of sultana and a scattering of creamy walnuts. Plus, it's totally egg and dairy-free.
I'm particularly proud of this cake because it was a tricky one to perfect, but perfect it I did!
You see, making vegan cakes is sometimes as simple as taking a non-vegan recipe and swapping in vegan butter and, say, chia egg, but some recipes take a bit more work to convert to plant-based, and vegan carrot loaf cake is one such case!
You see, standard carrot cake has a naturally loose and moist crumb, which relies on the eggs to hold it all together, so when you switch to vegan ingredients, a little tweaking is required to get everything to hold together beautifully without being stodgy or dry, tender but not too wet.
With a loaf tin, there's an extra challenge as it takes longer for the heat to reach the centre, so you have to get the balance of ingredients just right to avoid an overcooked crumb or soggy middle.
I tested this vegan carrot loaf cake recipe over a dozen times to get it absolutely perfect, and I'm happy to say it is spot on in terms of texture and flavour; and best of all, the final recipe is easy to make!
For the batter, you'll start by whisking vegan butter with light brown sugar to establish some airiness and caramel tones. After that, you'll introduce egg replacement powder (you can buy in supermarkets), along with plant milk and vanilla and whisk again.
Next, you'll fold in wholemeal self-raising flour, baking powder, mixed spice (US readers can use pumpkin spice) and a pinch of salt.
Finally, you'll fold in walnuts for a creamy crunch, sultanas for bursts of fruity deliciousness, and finely grated carrot, which you'll first squeeze the excess moisture from to ensure your final crumb is just right.
You'll then bake your carrot cake low and slow before cooling, drizzling in icing, slicing and serving.
Here's the full recipe for my vegan carrot loaf cake, complete with step-by-step photographs to help you along the way.
Instructions
Make the vegan carrot loaf cake
Grease and line a 1lb loaf tin.
Put the vegan butter, oil and sugar in a bowl.
Whisk until really pale and creamy.
Add the egg replacement powder, plant milk and vanilla extract.
Whisk again.
Sift in the flour and add the baking powder, mixed spice and salt.
Fold through.
Add the walnuts, sultanas and grated carrot (making sure to squeeze out the excess moisture in your hands over the sink before adding).
Fold everything together.
Spoon into the prepared loaf tin. Level off.
Bake for 1h 15 minutes until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
Cool for 10 minutes in the tin, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Decorate the vegan carrot loaf cake
Place the cake on a board, upside down.
Sift the icing sugar into bowl and add the plan milk a few drops at a time until you have a very thick icing.
Spoon the icing on top of the cake and let it drip down the sides.
Allow to set, then slice and serve.
Print this vegan carrot loaf cake recipe
Vegan Carrot Loaf Cake Recipe
Ingredients
For the vegan carrot loaf cake
- 165 g (1½ sticks) plant-based butter softened
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil (canola oil)
- 200 g (1 cup + 3 tbsp) soft light brown sugar
- 1 tbsp egg replacement powder
- 90 ml (3 floz) unsweetened plant milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 200 g (1⅓ cups +1 tbsp) wholemeal self-raising flour (self rising flour)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp mixed spice
- ½ tsp salt
- 100 g (⅔ cup) walnuts chopped
- 100 g (½ cup + 1 tbsp) sultanas I used golden sultanas
- 100 g (3.5 oz) carrot finely grated and excess moisture squeezed out
For the icing
- 100 g (¾ cups) icing sugar (powdered sugar)
- 2-3 tbsp plant milk
Instructions
- Grease and line a 1lb loaf tin.
- Put the vegan butter, oil and sugar in a bowl and whisk until really pale and creamy.
- Add the egg replacement powder, plant milk and vanilla extract and whisk again.
- Sift in the flour and add the baking powder, mixed spice and salt. Fold through.
- Add the walnuts, sultanas and grated carrot (making sure to squeeze out the excess moisture in your hands over the sink before adding).
- Fold everything together and spoon into the prepared loaf tin. Level off.
- Bake for 1h 15 minutes until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
- Cool for 10 minutes in the tin, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- Place the cake on a board, upside down.
- Sift the icing sugar into bowl and add the plan milk a few drops at a time until you have a very thick icing.
- Spoon the icing on top of the cake and let it drip down the sides.
- Allow to set, then slice and serve.
Video
Nutrition
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