Happy birthday to me. Happy birthday to me. Happy birthday to me… Happy birthday to me!
Hey, guys. It’s my birthday and I made myself a cake, ’cause that’s how I do.
The wait is over – let’s make cake!
This cake is simple, requiring just 1 bowl to make! Plus, it requires basic ingredients you likely have on hand right now.
The recipe is adapted from my Vegan GF Carrot Apple Muffins, but it needed some tweaking to get that cake-like texture.
I tested this recipe for 3 days straight (oy) until I finally ended up with this perfected version. I served it to friends (non-vegan and non-gluten-free folks) and none of them could tell that it was special-diet friendly. Score!
The base of the cake is coconut oil, applesauce, flax eggs, maple syrup, and almond milk. Organic brown sugar and cane sugar add the perfect amount of sweetness while leaving the cake light and fluffy. And for gluten-free flours, I went with almond flour and my go-to gluten-free blend.
The result is a light, airy, fluffy carrot cake that retains its moisture without being mushy (the ultimate goal). Once cooled, it’s frosting time!
For frostings, I included several options. After taking a vote on Twitter, it seemed many of you wanted to see both a vegan buttercream and a cashew buttercream. But guess what? I provide 6 frosting options below!
For my cake, I went for classic Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting – I couldn’t resist. But really, any of the options would be amazing! Just depends on how creative and healthy you want to be.
I hope you all LOVE this carrot cake! It’s:
Tender
Fluffy
Moist
Perfectly sweet
Carrot-packed
& Insanely delicious
This would make the perfect birthday cake or cake for summer celebrations, wedding showers, cookouts, and beyond! It’s insanely flavorful, rich, moist, and undetectably vegan and gluten-free. Those who are gluten-free will be happy to know there isn’t any oat flour in this cake. I also included nut-free, oil-free, and refined-sugar-free options in the notes.
If you’re into cake (who’s not?), be sure to check out our other cakes: Vegan Birthday Cake, The Best Vegan Gluten-Free Chocolate Cupcakes, Vegan Chocolate Hazelnut Cake, Vegan Funfetti Cupcakes, Vegan Pumpkin Cake, Vegan Pumpkin Roll, Vegan Apple Gingerbread Cake, and Gluten-Free Zucchini Cake!
If you try this recipe, let us know how it goes! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag a photo #minimalistbaker on Instagram so we can see what you come up with. Cheers, friends!
1-Bowl Vegan Gluten-Free Carrot Cake
Ingredients
CAKE
- 3 Tbsp flaxseed meal (to make flax eggs)
- 7 ½ Tbsp water (to make flax eggs)
- 1/3 cup melted coconut oil* (or sub other neutral oil)
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1 scant cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1/2 cup organic brown sugar* (or sub coconut sugar)
- 1/4 cup cane sugar* (or sub coconut sugar)
- 3/4 tsp sea salt
- 1 ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 3/4 – 1 cup plain unsweetened almond milk* (or other non-dairy unsweetened milk)
- 1 ½ cups loosely packed grated carrot
- 1 ½ cups almond flour* (I didn’t test with almond meal, but I think it would work)
- 1 ½ cups gluten-free flour blend*
- 3/4 cup chopped raw walnuts* (if preferred, omit, or sub 1/2 cup (70 g) raisins)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (176 C). Butter and flour two 8-inch, 1 9×13-inch, or 3 6-inch round pans with coconut oil or vegan cooking spray and dust with gluten-free flour (adjust number/size of pans if altering batch size). Shake out excess. Set aside.
- Prepare flax eggs in a large mixing bowl by mixing flaxseed meal and water and let rest for 5 minutes. To the flax eggs, add oil and maple syrup and whisk to combine. Next, add applesauce, sugars, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon and whisk to combine.
- Add lesser amount of almond milk (3/4 cup or 180 ml as original recipe is written // adjust if altering batch size) and stir. Add grated carrot and stir. Then add almond flour and gluten-free flour blend and stir. The batter should be thick but pourable. If too thick, add remaining almond milk 1/4 cup or 60 ml as original recipe is written // adjust if altering batch size). If adding walnuts, add at this time and stir.
- Divide evenly among cake pan(s). Bake for 40-50 minutes or until deep golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. When you press on the top, it shouldn’t feel too spongy, so don’t be afraid of over-baking! The gluten-free blend just takes a little longer to bake. Also, note that the size of pan you use will vary baking time.
- Remove from oven and let rest in the pans for 15 minutes. Then carefully run a knife along the edges and gently invert onto cooling racks to let cool completely.
- NOTE: This cake needs to cool completely. It benefits from plenty of airflow, and the flavors develop as the cooling process goes on. If short on time, you can speed the cooling by placing the cakes in the refrigerator or freezer until very cool to the touch.
- Once cooled, you can serve as is or frost! For frosting, you have several options! See options above.
- Store leftovers at room temperature, covered, for 2-3 days, in the refrigerator for 3-4 days, or covered well in the freezer for several weeks. However, it’s best when eaten fresh.
- Do note that, if using vegan cream cheese or yogurt in the frosting, the cake should be stored in the refrigerator. From the refrigerator, let set out for 10-15 minutes before serving so it warms a bit and becomes more tender. Let thaw completely from the freezer.
Video
Notes
*I used brown and cane sugars because they provided the best texture (fluffy and tender) for the cake. I also tested with coconut sugar, and although it was sweet enough, the texture was more dense. But, if coconut sugar is preferred, it still turns out well!
*If almond/nut-free, sub the almond milk for rice, hemp, or light coconut milk. And sub the almond flour for another nut/seed flour (such as hazelnut, sunflower seed, or brazil nut). If you can’t tolerate nuts or seeds, try subbing more gluten-free flour blend or oat flour. And omit the walnuts or sub raisins.
*I used my go-to gluten-free flour blend. If subbing your own blend, know that the results may vary. You can also use an equal amount of our NEW 1:1 gluten-free flour blend for the gluten-free flour in this recipe.
*Recipe adapted from my Vegan Carrot Apple Muffins.
*Nutrition information is a rough estimate calculated without frosting.
Leone says
Absolutely perfect. I made without adjustments, just according to the recipe. It was so good. Will be making this even when I am not catering for vegan and gluten free.
Woohoo! We’re so glad you enjoyed it, Leone. Thank you for the lovely review! xo
Nara Smith says
I cant wait to try this!
Would you mind sharing more about the baking pans you used? Did you use 3x 6in round pans? Did they have removable bottoms? And what was the depth measurement?
Thank you
Hi Nara, we used three 6-inch round cake pans. The do not have removable bottoms and the depth is 2 inches. Hope that helps!
Diana Potyok says
Couldnt find the rest of my comments so I am responding here. I didnt end up using the bundt pan, I used 2 regular cake pans and cooked it longer than recommended. It was a cooked as it could b so cooking longer wouldnt have made a difference. Not sure why it didnt turn out but it was a learning experience for me as I never have baking disasters! Ive used your recipes before and always had success..Maybe ill try this one again when Im feeling brave….just wish i knew what the issue was. To make up for my baking disaster yesterday, today I made vegan pumpkin spice cake, gf/vegan chocolate zucchini cake and gf/vegan chocolate beet cake and everything turned out great!😋 In case you’re wondering I have a few Birthdays coming up….I love cake but I love sharing cake even more!!😂🎂💞
Thank you for the follow up, Diana! And sorry again that this one wasn’t a success. Glad to hear all the others went better! xo
Abhaya Thiele says
Could you offer us a recipe for this same carrot cake using almond and coconut flour?
Many people consider rice flour to have gluten in it, and they use these two other flours instead.
Using these other flours might mean some adjustments to the recipe, and I am hoping you might test it out for us!
Thank you!
Hi Abhaya, It’s tricky to get a fluffy texture with just those two flours, but we’ll add it to our requests list! In the meantime, we’d suggest this recipe for a version with coconut flour.
Alexandra says
Am I the only person who didn’t like this recipe? I made it with the recommended vegan cashew “buttercream” frosting (also not good) and it wasn’t sweet. I bake gf a lot and have never mixed flours like this so I was excited to try but the consistency was not for me and the almond flour altered the taste. Disappointed but I had fun making it at least.
Oh no! So sorry you didn’t enjoy this cake, Alexandra. What about the texture felt off to you? Is it possible that your almond flour was slightly old? Sometimes we find our older flours start to taste a bit funny. Let us know if there is any trouble-shooting we can help with!
Judy says
Can you sub your gf flour mix for all purpose gf flour mix?
I can’t wait to make this with carrots from the garden!!!
Hi Judy! This recipe does call for our homemade gluten free flour blend, plus almond flour. For the closest store-bought alternative to our DIY blend, we would recommend Bob’s Red Mill 1-1 Baking Flour. Hope this helps!
Robyn Field says
Hands down my favorite cake recipe. As a kid carrot cake was my fav. Never found one that was gluten free that had the right texture and taste. This recipe is flawless. I always make it as a sheet cake in the 9×13. I am wondering if it is easy to turn out of a pan this size ? I have never attempted to. I always make it with the vegan cream cheese frosting. No one ever believes its vegan! The real deal! I will be making it for my birthday this weekend…AGAIN! Cannot wait.
Woohoo! We’re so glad you enjoy it, Robyn! Thank you for sharing! We’re not sure about flipping it out of a 9 x 13 – it might crack. Happy early birthday! xo
Kelly says
Hands down the best gluten free carrot cake (or regular) that I’ve ever made, and keep coming back to this one time and time again. Super friendly to substitutions like using all GF flour or regular eggs. Best of all, very very easy to make and you can easily add in more carrots too. Thanks minimalist baker and team for nailing this one!
Amazing! We LOVE to hear this. Thanks so much for the lovely review, Kelly, we’re so glad it’s a staple recipe for you!
Taylor says
Omg. I just made these as cupcakes to satisfy my sweet tooth and they are SO GOOD!
I halved the recipe and made them as cupcakes, came out as 7 which was perfect. I probably could have done 8 smaller ones if I wanted. I was out of flax so I used one egg, used coconut sugar and reduced the recommended amount, and used whole wheat instead of GF flour. I also used pumpkin seeds instead of walnuts. I was worried it might not turn out with all the substitutions but I was delightfully surprised! Paired with the tangy cashew “cream cheese” frosting and wowwwww.
Woohoo! Thanks for the lovely review and for sharing your modifications, Taylor!
Diana Potyok says
Ive been hired to make a cake for a Birthday and I want to try this recipe but I am nervous now that I have read a lot of the comments. Ive gotten a good reputation for making awesome gluten free vegan desserts so I really dont want to mess this up! Im planning on following the recipe with almond and gf flours and I was thinking of using pumpkin instead of apple sauce and adding a lot more spices😋 Any advice? I am also considering using a bundt cake pan and definitely frosting but haven’t looked at the recommended recipes yet. I am also making a gf vegan chocolate beet cake for the same party this weekend….luckily ive already tested that one! Excited to get started and glad I found this recipe!
Hi Diana, pumpkin can contribute to excess moisture, so we would recommend sticking with applesauce for best results! More spices would be delicious =) We think pumpkin pie spice would work well! With a Bundt cake pan, you’ll need to cook it longer, so be sure to check that it’s done with a toothpick versus just relying on the exterior texture. A smaller pan is ideal here though! Hope that helps!
Diana Potyok says
Unfortunately this cake didnt turn out for me, it totally flopped :( I followed the recipe and used apple sauce and mostly org cane sugar rather than coconut cause I wanted to have the best chance at a fluffy cake. It turned out totally mushy so I cant use it for the party. Im am avid baker so my ingredients are all fresh, not sure why this happened. I spoke to the Birthday girl and she prefers pumpkin spice cake and she is fine the locally grown org heritage wheat flour I bought so thats what ill b using to replace the flopped cake I just made.
Oh no! We’re so sorry to hear that was your experience, Diana. It sounds like it wasn’t fully cooked. Did you let it cool fully before slicing? Did you end up using a Bundt cake pan? Admittedly we haven’t tried in that large of pan and wonder if it needed even more time? This cake can look baked on the outside, but really benefits from a toothpick test to make sure the inside is done.
Mala says
Hi good day, I have used flax egg from flaxseed meal before as egg substitutes however, although the texture comes out perfect, I find that there’s a slight bitter flax after taste. Is that the same with this?
Hi Mala, flax shouldn’t contribute much flavor at all. We’re wondering if maybe the seeds are old/rancid or perhaps you’re using golden flax seeds (vs. brown) which have a stronger flavor. We’d suggest brown flax seeds and storing in the refrigerator to keep them fresh. Hope that helps!
Mala says
Hi thank you so much for such a timely reply. It was the golden flax lol hence problem solved!
Thanks again. Appreciate it
Yay! Glad to hear it helped!
Sofía says
Hi! Can i sub the maple syrup for moscobado sugar?
Thank you!
Hi Sofía, we haven’t tested it that way so it’s hard to say how it will turn out. The texture may be impacted and the batter will likely be thicker if swapping out a liquid sweetener for dry. Let us know if you try it!
Barb says
I would like to add pineapple to this recipe; what changes would you suggest?
Hi Barb, we haven’t tried with pineapple, but think it might work in place of the applesauce. Let us know how it goes!
Kristina says
I’m making this tonight. Can’t wait! Would it be okay to use a bundt cake pan?
Hi Kristina, We haven’t tried making this cake in a bundt pan, but just keep in mind that the cake will need to bake for considerably longer (the cake is done when a skewer inserted into the center comes out with no crumbs attached) Also, resist the urge to pull it out immediately and give it time to rest — a good 10 minutes usually does the trick!
Kristina says
Thank you so much! I’m going to try it and I will report back and let you know how it goes!
Looking forward to hearing!
Kristina Covino says
It came out FLAWLESSLY. I made it for a friend’s birthday, who isn’t a vegan and tries to eat GF. She said it was the best carrot cake she’s ever had.
I am not the biggest fan of frosting cakes – it always stresses me out. So to bypass that I made the cake in a Bundt pan and made it a “deconstructed cake.” I followed the recipe exactly and cooked it about 25-30 minutes longer than the time in the recipe. I would check on it every 10 mins and use toothpicks to test. Since the cake is a few different depths throughout, you need to make sure you test all of them. I completely cooled the cake for about 2 hours before I slid it right out of the pan with ease. I used your gluten-free flour blend recipe as well as the vegan cream cheese frosting recipe. Both of which are amazing! The flour blend recipe has been perfected. It is by far the best GF recipe for flour I’ve come across. And for the frosting I used Tofutti cream cheese. I added raisins and toasted walnuts to the cake – I bought raw halved walnuts and put them in a pan over medium heat, mixing constantly so they didn’t burn. About 4-5 minutes was all they needed.
I set aside some of the toasted walnuts and chopped them up for garnish. I also made candied carrots to top it off. Everything about this recipe is amazing. I will never use another.
I put the Bundt cake on a cake stand and served the cream cheese frosting in a bowl next to it; same with the chopped walnuts and candied carrots. I thought it was a nice diversion from the norm. It’s a beautiful presentation.
So making the cake in a bundt pan is possible! And it’s so delicious! Thanks so much for this fantastic recipe.
PS I’m going to email you guys a picture because it’s too cute not to share! And maybe you can post it somewhere.
Aw, this sounds like such a beautiful cake! Thanks so much for the lovely review, Kristina! We are so glad it worked out so nicely!
cam says
One of the best vegan cakes I’ve made!
My mom said it could be from a bakery! We were like : well, NOW, that’s cake
I made a few substitutions following this rexipe though: I used 1 cup plain flour and 1/2 cups buckwheat flour instead of the mentioned mix. I used 1 small spotty banana well mashed instead of the applesauce. And,because I thought it would be sweeter that way, I added only 3 tbsp of sugar!!! Still, it came out really good and im very grateful i could enjoy it! Thank you a lot!
Woohoo! We’re so glad you both enjoyed it! Thank you for the lovely review and for sharing your modifications!
Monica says
I made this cake a few nights ago but substituted regular flour and it was light, fluffy and very moist. I ended up using a real cream cheese icing so I don’t know what the vegan version would be like but it was so good that I’ll be adding this to my recipe repertoire! The cinnamon levels were perfect and it yielded a light, springy cake that easily held the weight of the frosting without collapsing. It has been in the fridge, quickly disappearing, for the past 3 days and still tastes just as good as the first day, especially if you warm it for 30 seconds in the microwave!
Amazing! We’re so glad you’re enjoying it, Monica. Thank you for sharing! xo
Sonya says
Amazingly delicious, my favourite cake so far! I also swapped the flaxseed for 3 eggs! For some reason my flaxseed never seems to thicken?
Though I do not like how many trackers you have on your website.
from this page alone my computer has blocked 61 trackers, I do not like this.
We’re so glad you enjoy this cake, Sonya! Is it possible you’re using whole flax seeds (vs. ground flaxseed meal)? As for the tracking, thanks for the feedback and sorry for any inconvenience. We always try to optimize for user experience, while also having ads to keep the content free.
Sonya says
Oh gosh ! So my partner brought home self raising flour instead of normal flour!! Will this be okay to use instead? I have never baked with self raising flour before!
Hi Sonya, We haven’t tried it, but would suggest backing down a bit on the baking powder if using self raising flour. Let us know how it goes!
Terryn says
Thanks for sharing this recipe :)
It turned out really well. (but tasted much better after a few days in the fridge, rather than most baked goods which taste better straight out of the oven).
I followed the ingredients exactly except that instead of gluten free flour I used wholemeal spelt flour (contains gluten).
I filled a loaf tin with the batter and cooked it for 60-70 minutes on 160 degrees, and once it cooled down I sliced it horizontal so I could put layers of cashew icing inside.
So glad you enjoyed it, Terryn. Thank you for sharing!
Patty says
Would love to try a smaller version of this, but adjusting the above guide down to 8 servings from 12 would be so much easier if the ingredients were by weight. Thanks!
Hi Patty, you can find the weight measurements by selecting “metric” beneath the ingredients header. Hope that helps!
Brigitte says
Would this work with maple syrup as a substitute instead of brown/white sugar? I’m trying to make this Candida-diet friendly and maple syrup is the only sugar I can have right now.
Thanks!
Hi Brigitte! We haven’t tried this with just maple syrup, but it could work. Just keep an eye on the texture and make sure it’s similar to the batter texture in the recipe video, if it seems to watery add a little extra flour! Let us know how it goes! xo
Karen says
I made this cake as a trial prior to a birthday. I followed the recipe except I forgot to put the walnuts and used Bob’s 1:1 gluten free flour blend. It has excellent flavor, but it is not as fluffy as I thought it would be from the picture. I may have overcooked it 5-10 minutes, could that be the reason? I feel like any cake I make does not rise like it should and I’m feeling quite discouraged. Any ideas on why the lack of fluffiness? Or maybe my expectations are too high and this kind of cake is not supposed to rise much? I’m not much of a Baker so any input would be greatly appreciated. I really liked the taste of the cake.
Hi Karen, we don’t think overcooking would cause that. A few ideas: 1) is your baking powder expired?, 2) it’s possible it needed slightly more dry ingredients (like almond flour) to compensate for omitting the walnuts. Hope that helps!
Karma M Arslanian says
I have made this cake multiple times for my gf/df family and it is always moist and delicious!! I made it for my grandparents 50th wedding anniversary, it was beautiful and yummy! My non-gf friends and family couldn’t tell the difference.
I am wondering if I could make baked donuts with the batter?
Aw, love that! Thank you for sharing, Karma! We think baked donuts could definitely work with this batter. Let us know if you try it!
Jess says
O.M.G.
I seriously cannot believe how good this cake is. I followed the recipe exactly, except using 2 large eggs in place of flax egg and almost doubling the cinnamon (we love the flavor). We are GF and DF and have never made a successful cake with these dietary limitations and I am just so excited that we finally found a recipe that works!! We used the Vitacost brand GF baking flour and dark brown sugar. Added raisins as well along with the walnuts. Used the vegan cream cheese icing recipe with the Tofutti cream cheese…it turned out delicious as well….I added a smidge of vanilla and almond extracts. THANK YOU SO MUCH Minimalist Baker for sharing such an excellent recipe! You are incredible!
Aw, we’re so glad you enjoyed this recipe, Jess! Thank you so much for the lovely review! xo
Gemma says
Hi! Just wondering if I can bake one cake first and the other one after, or will that not work because of the baking soda? Unfortunately my oven is too small to fit more than one cake pan.
Hi Gemma, we think that should be fine!
Stacey says
Hey there!! This looks great 🥕🥕 Could I use coconut flour to substitute the gluten free blend? Also, if okay with using eggs would it call for one or two eggs?
Hi Stacey, we would suggest 2 large or 3 small chicken eggs. Coconut flour is going to be more absorbent than the GF blend. If you try it, we would suggest using less (maybe 1/3 as much). But just know coconut flour will make it more dense and the texture/flavor might not be as pleasant. Hope that helps!
SFerd says
This is a terrific recipe. Carrot cake is my hubby’s fave, so I HAD to make it for his birthday gathering. I baked it in a 9 x 13 sheet pan. Followed the recipe fairly closely except for these substitutions:
-Canola oil (instead of coconut)
-White Whole Wheat flour (instead of GF blend)
-Chopped roasted unsalted almonds (instead of walnuts)
Served with the cream cheez frosting. It was a HUGE hit with our omni guests–they were like jackals eating multiple pieces each. Sadly, only 2 small pieces left for the next morning.
NOTE: it would be great to have guidance on how to halve the recipe as we usually wouldn’t need such a large cake.
We are so glad everyone enjoyed it! Thank you for the lovely review and for sharing your modifications! You can adjust the number of servings to 6 for a half batch and the ingredient amounts will change automatically. We’d suggest baking in an 8-inch round pan or perhaps an 8 x 8 inch square baking dish for slightly less time. Hope that helps!
SFerd says
Thanks so much for the tip!! I’ll definitely do that when it’s just us!!
Seth Ashworth says
Will this work as cupcakes?
Yes! We’d suggest baking ~30-35 minutes. Use a toothpick to check for doneness. Hope that helps!
Beatrice says
I made this for Mother’s Day yesterday. I added in the walnuts, a handful of raisins, and about 1/4 of shredded coconut. I used 1/4 of applesauce and 3/4 of crushed pineapple because I really love pineapple in carrot cakes, it adds a nice moisture to it and light sweetness. I baked this in a bundt cake pan for about 50 minutes.
Everyone says it’s the best carrot cake they’ve ever had and are surprised that it’s GF and vegan. I used the recommended sugars (brown sugar and regular cane sugar) and Bob’s GF 1 to 1 flour in addition to the almond flour. I made a regular cream cheese frosting to top it. So good!
Woohoo! We’re so glad everyone enjoyed it! Thanks so much for the lovely review and for sharing your modifications, Beatrice! xo
Cecile says
Considering making this for mother’s day. Which is your favorite frosting? I know you give several options but curious as which one your prefer.
Hi Cecile! For the carrot cake I think the vegan cream cheese frosting would be the best for a classic carrot cake flavor! xo
SFerd says
I’m wondering if another kind of flour could be used instead of the GF blend? We’re not GF, but we do have almond flour on hand.
Thanks!
Hi, other readers have mentioned subbing the GF all purpose with regular all purpose. We’d suggest starting with slightly less and adding more as needed. Let us know how it goes!
SFerd says
I ended up using White Whole Wheat Flour instead of the GF blend. It subbed perfectly. What a great recipe.
Thanks for sharing!
Rotha Irven says
Looks yummy! If I sub actual eggs instead of flax eggs, do I still use three eggs?? Thanks.
Hmm, I’d start with two actually! That should be sufficient (the volume of eggs is a little greater than a flax egg). Good luck, Rotha!
Olivia says
Yuuuum. I think I made this before and it turned out great, as far as I can remember haha
Made this again as I have a friend who asked for a nut free vegan cream cheese frosting and you can’t have cream cheese frosting without carrot cake (or red velvet cake) 😉
It’s in my oven cooling and looks great.
So just wanted to ask, is it possible to make it without the almond flour?
Could you use gf oat flour or something?
Almond flour lends to a crumbly texture. The next best sub is cashew flour, but to keep nut free a blend of GF flour and oat flour, OR a blend of coconut flour and potato starch may work!
Natalie says
If someone is ok with oat flour, can I substitute the GF flour for all oat flour, not a mix? I have yet to find a GF flour that works for me, and am reluctant to buy all the ingredients to make the DIY blend, when oats are so cheap. I only bake GF/vegan 2-3 times per year
Hi Natalie, we think it would be too dense, unfortunately.
Sally says
If I’m not concerned about it being gluten free, could I just use regular flour? Like light spelt flour or a combo of that with oat flour? Any recommendations of which flour to use if I’m not concerned about it being gluten free?
Hi Sally, we haven’t tried this one with non-GF flours, but other readers have used all purpose in place of the GF blend with success. We recommend searching the comments to see what they have tried. If you press “ctrl+f” on a PC or “command+f” on a mac, a find bar should pop up that allows you to search for specific words (such as “all purpose”) in the post and comments. Hope that helps!
Jane D says
Thank you for perfecting this recipe! Made it for Easter and it was a big hit as well as gorgeous!
Yay! We’re so glad to hear it, Jane. Thanks for the lovely review! xo
Lisa says
I made this carrot cake for Easter and it was so moist, tasty and delicious! And did I mention easy? Everyone loved it, and the non-vegans were pleasantly surprised it was a vegan carrot cake! Thank you for sharing this recipe I can’t wait to make and taste again!
Woohoo! Thanks for the lovely review, Lisa! xo
Momo says
hello! i want to make this recipe. can I substitute some of the gluten flour blend with rolled oats? what about shredded coconut? also instead of coconut oil can I use nut butter? thank u! looks so tasty :)
Hmm, we haven’t tried those swaps but they may work! Let us know if you try, Momo!
Momo says
Hello!!! So I replaced apple sauce with coconut yogurt, replaced coconut oil with almond butter, and kept the same amt of almond flour but replaced half of the gluten-free flour with rolled outs!!
it came out DELISH! Minimalist baker recipes always turn out so yummy even on the first try!! LOVE IT!
Great! Thanks so much for sharing! xo
Rebecca says
This cake is FANTATIC! I made two 8 inch layers and it worked very well. I used all brown sugar as I didn’t have any cane sugar and I used regular milk. Hands down this is the best gluten free cake I have made.
We’re so glad you enjoyed it, Rebecca! Thank so much for sharing! xo
CJ says
I used almond meal and Bob’s gluten free flour and unfortunately it didn’t rise at all. The cake layers were like mushy pancakes. I wouldn’t make this again. Good flavor though.
Hi there, sorry to hear it didn’t turn out for you! Which Bob’s GF flour did you use – the all purpose blend or 1-1 baking flour?
Celia Fulco says
I used the 1-1 GF baking flour.
Hmm, did you change anything else about the cake? Admittedly we haven’t tried it with that blend but it shouldn’t have been flat like pancakes. Were your leavening agents fresh?
Celia says
Leavening agents are pretty fresh and have worked in other recipes recently. I am wondering if the coconut oil may have solidified when I added applesauce, as the applesauce had been in the fridge.
Oh yes that may be why!
Mary Beth says
This was EXCELLENT – small changes, my basic GF flour is pretty starchy so I substituted a half cup of amaranth flour for a half cup of plain flour for some nutrition (this was a bit random as I was just using it up) and I pureed some canned pineapple to use instead of the applesauce. I also used a tangy cashew vanilla frosting. We loved it! No real pineapple taste – but amazing texture!
Sounds incredible! Thanks for sharing, Mary Beth! xo
Natalie says
I no longer use coconut oil in baking for this reason. Because it solidifies at room temperature, I find it just makes all baked good dense and stodgy after they’ve cooled down. Since I started substituting with rice bran oil – neutral flavour – I haven’t had that problem
Hannah says
This came out amazing. Everyone loved it and was shocked that it was vegan and gluten free. For the frosting I used the Country Crock plant butter and it tasted so good!! I’m so thankful I found this recipe because it is pure gold!! Also it is very easy to follow which makes it even better !!
Yay! We’re so glad you enjoy it, Hannah. Thanks so much for sharing! xo
Jenny says
I halved this recipe and baked it in a 9×9 square pan. I also used raisins and walnuts, and I made your vegan cream cheese frosting to top it off (with miyokos products). YUMMMMMM 🔥!
Amazing! Thanks so much for sharing, Jenny! xo
Carly says
This recipe is incredible! This is by far the best gluten free/vegan cake I have ever made. I added some golden raisins, unsweetened shredded coconut and a little crushed pineapple. The batter was a tad thick once completely together so I thinned it with pineapple juice instead of the additional almond milk. For the frosting I made a vegan maple buttercream. The cakes came out of the pans beautifully. It was incredibly moist and nobody could believe it was vegan/GF. This will be my new go-to cake for holidays and celebrations. Thank you so much!
Aw, yay! We’re so glad you enjoy it, Carly. Thanks so much for the lovely review! xo
Kristina Josselyn says
Could I bake these as cupcakes instead?
Yes! We’d suggest baking ~30-35 minutes. Use a toothpick to check for doneness. Hope that helps!
Laura Ember says
I am a retired wedding cake baker. I made a four-tier wedding cake for my daughter’s wedding on a Malibu farm. She wanted vanilla and chocolate and I insisted on a tier of this marvelous carrot recipe. Guess which tier went the fastest and had people coming back for seconds?
The other cakes I have in my vegan repertoire are quite pedestrian and not as amazing as the cakes I used to be known for before going vegan, but this is a total winner.
When you eat cake, you know it is not for nutrition.
If you don’t crave it, once you taste it, it is not worth it to me.
Aw, love this, Laura! Thanks so much for sharing! xo
Julianne says
Hi there, I am a big fan of yours ❤️ I will be making this for Easter! Do you have a frosting recipe to recommend?
Hi Julianne, we’d suggest the vegan cream cheese frosting!
Lori says
Just made this for my daughter’s birthday. This was THE best carrot cake! The cream cheese frosting made it even more delicious! A definite keeper and we’ll be making this again for special occasions. Thank you for all of your recipes. They are always a hit!
Yay! We’re so glad you enjoyed this recipe, Lori. Thanks so much for your kind words and lovely review! xo
Amber says
Hi Dana!
Are there any subs for applesauce? I have really ridiculous dietary restrictions :/
Thanks!
Hmm, that’s tough. What about some dairy-free yogurt?
Amber says
1-1 applesauce to yogurt? I might be able to swing that.
Thanks!
Yes!
nahomi says
if i only use one type of flour and one type of sugar would it still come out good?? for example only using almond flour and brown sugar
Hi Nahomi, unfortunately it won’t be as good. You can learn more in our Guide to Gluten-Free Flours. Hope it’s helpful!
Maria says
I have made this many many times as is with no subs and it is the BEST VEGAN GF Carrot Cake. PERIOD.
Fast forward to this Easter where I have to accomodate Vegan, GF and KETO. Whaaa? Keto and vegan is hard in baking. This was my first attempt at adjuating this one and it went well. Other recipes I tried to alter were flops.
3 batches flax egg (3 Tbsp flaxseed meal + 7 ½ Tbsp water as original recipe is written)
1/3 cup melted coconut oil* (or sub other neutral oil)
1/4 cup lakanto monkfruit maple syrup
1 scant cup unsweetened coconut yogurt.
1/2 cup lakanto golden sugar
1/4 cup lakanto granulated monkfruit sweetener
3/4 tsp sea salt
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 1 /2 cups loosely packed grated carrot
2 1/2 cups almond flour 1/2 cups tapioca starch
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
3/4 cup chopped raw walnuts
FROSTINGS working on a vegan butter allulose vanilla buttercream. I do not like vegan cream cheese subs. Allulose supposedly does not have a cooling effect. I have not been able to create a sugar free dairy free frosting yet. Maybe SWB made w aquafaba.
Jeez I miss raisins. No sub there.
I do NOT recommend you change this recipe, but if you are trying to accommodate a ton of restrictions, try this. I baked this for 47 min in 3, 6 in pans.
Woah, nice job Maria! Thanks so much for sharing! xo
Adrienn says
Hugh congrats for this recipe, it’s really tasty, with perfect moisture. Usually at all recipe I reduce the sugar part with 10-20%, but here it was not needed as it was really not too sweet, but just simply perfect. The only slight change at my end was the mix of the gluten free flour (1/2 cup brown rice, 1/4 tapioca and 1/4 white rice flour), but the result is really lovely.
Lovely!! Thanks for sharing, Adrienn!
Megan says
WOW this was good.
I tweaked this so that it has less added sugar, and I used real eggs. So regular eggs instead of the substitute, and I used Lakanto brand “maple syrup” and “cane sugar”, which are 1:1 substitutes (lakanto.com). I did use real brown sugar (because that’s all I had), but I swapped the amounts of brown sugar and cane sugar. So I did 1/2 cup Lakanto “cane sugar” substitute, and only 1/4 cup real brown sugar.
Everything else the same. For the gluten-free flour blend and almond flour, both I used were Bob’s Red Mill brand. I did add chopped walnuts, I also added raisins.
I used the vegan cream cheese frosting recipe – to make it sugar-free, I used Lakanto “powdered sugar”, and since this sub is much sweeter than regular sugar, I only used a total of 2 cups, rather than 3-5 suggested for real powdered sugar. I probably could have gotten away with even a little less, tbh.
It came out even better than I could have hoped for, I could have eaten the entire thing last night LOL Amazing considering it’s gluten-free, and my version only has a 1/4 cup “real sugar” in the entire thing – frosting included!
It came out so good I would absolutely bring this to a dinner party and everyone would be wow’d by it!
SO lovely! thanks for sharing, Megan!
Joseph says
That seems like a lot of baking soda and I reading this correctly 1 1/2 teaspoons… I’m making a double batch so three teaspoons?
Hi Joseph, yes, that’s correct. We haven’t tried a double batch – it’s possible you could get away with less in that case, but we can’t guarantee results!
Andrea says
Hi! I don’t care about GF but just looking for a delicious vegan cake- can I just sub white and whole wheat flours in?
Hi Andrea, we haven’t tried this one with non-GF flours, but other readers have used all purpose with success. We recommend searching the comments to see what they have tried. If you press “ctrl+f” on a PC or “command+f” on a mac, a find bar should pop up that allows you to search for specific words (such as “all purpose”) in the post and comments. Hope that helps!
Ellen says
THIS WAS DELICIOUS!!!!! My kids also gobbled it up. I used coconut sugar and almond meal instead of almond flour. We put almond butter on top and it was yummy. It was pretty dense, but we didn’t mind. It turned out to be more bread like due to the gluten free flour, and lack of brown sugar to make it fluffy. I did bake it a little longer because my gluten-free flour mix ( from Costco) takes forever to cook through! I will make this again! :)
Yay! We’re so glad you and your family enjoyed it, Ellen. Thanks so much for the lovely review! xo
Talia Sawyer says
I made pancakes with the excess batter and now I will never go back to eating normal pancakes ever again.
Amazing! Thanks so much for sharing, Talia! xo
Allie says
Can you use monkfruit sugar in place of brown and cane sugar? If so, what would the ratio be?
Love all your recipes!!
Hi Allie, we haven’t experimented with monk fruit, but a couple other readers have used it in this recipe with success. We’d suggest using a granulated form for best results and referring to the packaging for the substitution ratio. Let us know if you try it!
Celia says
Hi! I loved the recipe and ingredients. I tried it last weekend and it came out very dense, rather than fluffy consistency. I followed the exact recipe and i m wondering what I did wrong.
I saw the cake rise and got excited that it will be a bit airy but flattened out fast and the result was too dense. I have an old gas oven.
Would love to hear if you have any tips for me to improve my baking skills :)
Oh no! Sorry to hear that, Celia. Is it possible your baking powder is expired? Or what brand of GF flour were you using? Do you usually have success with baking in that oven?
Tina Walker-Brinson says
This was a thumbs up recipe!! Only thing I will do different next time, is making the cashew cream frosting a bit thicker.
Great! Thanks for sharing, Tina! xo
hiba says
hello! i tried this the other day and the flavours were lovely. Does the centre of the cake remain a little bit wet? the sides were over browned but the centre was not fully dry. Thanks!
Hi Hiba, it should be fully cooked in the center. A few ideas: 1) it may have needed more flour, 2) baking at a lower temperature for longer can help, and 3) the type of GF blend can make a difference- we prefer our DIY blend for best results. Hope that helps!
hiba says
Thanks. ill give your suggestions a try
missi weinhart says
Insanely delicious!! I made this for my husband’s birthday and he was thrilled! I used two 8” pans which gave me a bigger surface to decorate. I added both raisins ( 1/3 c) and nuts ( 1/2 c) which was a perfect combo. I frosted the cake with your cream cheese frosting and topped with chopped walnuts.
Thank you, thank you!!!
We’re so glad you enjoyed it, Missi! Thanks so much for sharing! xo
Sasha says
Is there an almond flour alternative I could use?
Hi Sahsa, see the notes section beneath the recipe for guidance.
Britt says
Made this for my dads bday. Everyone was blown away. I only had about 1/4 c applesauce so I used some crushed pineapple for the rest (3/4 cup). I also just used AP flour because I didn’t have any gluten free flours. Thank you so much. Making these without the sugar this week for my kids lunchboxes. ❤️
Aw, yay! We’re so glad everyone enjoyed it. Thanks so much for sharing, Britt! xo
Katie says
Did you use the same amount of flour with AP flour?
Joseph says
Can I use eggs?
Hi Joseph, we haven’t tried it that way, but other readers have used 3 chicken eggs with success. Let us know how it goes!
Jamie says
Looks delish! Could I sub anything for applesauce if I don’t have any in the house, and use oat flour instead of almond flour? Thanks!
Hi Jamie, For the applesauce, you could try another mashed fruit or veggie purée such as banana or pumpkin. You could try with oat flour, but we think it would impact the texture. A mix of more gluten-free flour blend and oat flour might work better, but we haven’t tried it that way and can’t guarantee results.
Danielle S says
I made this last night and it came out dense, like brownie consistency rather than fluffy cake consistency. I followed the exact recipe w the exception of using Bobs 1-1 flour as I saw other readers had success. I used three 6in cake pans, and when they came out of the oven after 50 mins, the cake looked very nice and fluffy, then collapsed in size once they cooled. Should I have left it in longer? Should i bake one pan at a time in the oven rather than all 3? Next time I’ll try the suggested flour blend, but I didn’t think that would make a difference as I saw many others had success with Bob’s.
Hi, Danielle! Any time you sub out an ingredient the results may vary, but that shouldn’t have been the case. This cake is more dense than others, as it’s got carrots, oats and nuts. Did you enjoy the flavor overall?
Emily says
If I’m using regular all purpose flour could I substitute the amount of both the almond flour and GF flour for an equal amount of regular flour? Thank you! Excited to make this :)
Hi Emily, we haven’t tested it that way but would guess it would be a 1:1 sub? But if possible, we think it would be better to include the almond flour and just replace the GF blend with all purpose flour. You can also see what others have tried by doing a search in the comments. If you press “ctrl+f” on a PC or “command+f” on a mac, a find bar should pop up that allows you to search for specific words (such as “all purpose” or “regular flour”) in the post and comments. Hope that helps!
Amanda says
My son has so many allergies I am trying to make a cake for his 1st birthday.
Can I sub almond flour for a non nut flour?
Can I sub flax egg with regular eggs?
Thank you 🙏
Aw, poor guy! We hope he gets to enjoy it =) You can try subbing more gluten-free flour blend or oat flour, but we haven’t tried that modification and can’t guarantee results. Regular eggs should work well though!
Stef says
I don’t have apple sauce, could I sub with pumpkin purée?
We haven’t tried it that way, so can’t guarantee results. But we do think it would work. Let us know how it goes!
Tara Hoang says
Hi everyone! This cake has been a winner and I’ve made it a few times. Today I decided to make double the batch so the cake can be grand for a birthday. I’m not sure what happened but it completely overflowed and despite being in the oven for 1.5 hours at 175 Celsius, it did not cook. It sunk in the middle, overflowed on the sides and completely uneven at the top. What went wrong? Is it because of double the batch size? I really should have done two separate cake pans! I’ve also never tried making a big cake before so keen to hear everyone’s feedback. I love this cake, it’s been so consistent and wonderful all the other times. Thank YOU! 😁
Oh no! Sorry to hear it didn’t work out this time. We’re thinking the larger batch didn’t allow it to cook fully in the center. We’d suggest 2 pans next time.
Maureen says
Just so you’re aware, this is a staple in my home. I make this recipe as muffins and they are gone with 12 hours.
Aw, yay! Thanks so much for the lovely review, Maureen! xo
Katie says
How long do you bake them for as muffins? I have only done the cake version, but I would like to try this.
Hi Katie, we would recommend using our carrot muffins recipe as a guide for baking. Hope that helps!
Rachel says
Fantastic recipe!! Didn’t use true measurements because I don’t have standard kitchen utensils. Used whole wheat flour instead of the gluten free blend and added fresh ginger.
Don’t own a cupcake tin but used the foil cupcake wrappers and they still set up wonderfully. Super pleased and exited for the gang to try them!
We’re so glad it turned out well! Thanks for sharing, Rachel!
Victoria says
I can’t eat any fruit, can I use soy yogurt instead of apple sauce?
Hi Victoria, we haven’t tried it that way, but we do think it would work. Let us know how it goes!
Nestor says
Hello,
I don’t need the cake to be gluten free. Should I use 3 cups of regular white flour or is it better to use 1 1/2 cups of white regular flour and 1 1/2 almond flour?
Thanks so much for the recipe! Can’t wait to try it out.
Hi Nestor, we’d suggest 1 1/2 cups each for best results!
Soo says
Hi, is it possible to use a chia egg instead of a flax egg in this recipe?
That should work! But we haven’t tried it. Let us know if you do!
Nestor says
Perfect! That’s what I did yesterday. It was sooooo good! Thank you!
Yay! Thanks for sharing!
Woan says
I don’t need the cake to be gluten free. Would I use regular white plain flour or wholemeal plain flour as a substitute for the gluten free flour blend?
Either would work. You could do 1/2 and 1/2 if you would like! If you are not using the GF blend then add the full amount of almond milk. Let us know how it goes!
Ginger says
Wonderful recipe! I love that I needed one bowl and that my daughter (6) loved the cake! She was worried it would taste like carrots! Haha! I used coconut sugar instead of brown sugar and only had white sugar on hand for the cane sugar. I also used a homemade chunky applesauce and 3/4 cup oat milk as my non-dairy sub. The cake was more moist in some parts (almost mushy), but I believe that was due to my chunky applesauce. It tasted amazing. You couldn’t tell it was vegan or gluten free. It is a keeper in our family. We also ate it without frosting and it still is delicious!
Amazing! Thanks for sharing, Ginger! SO helpful.
Natalie says
I am excited to try this recipe for the holidays! Is there a preferred or more popular frosting out of the 5 choice provided?
Hi Natalie, we’d suggest the vegan cream cheese frosting! Let us know how it goes =)
Karrie says
Hi! I don’t have the correct pan, can I make this in a 9 x 13 size? What might the cook time be? Thank you!!
Hi Karrie, A 9 x 13 pan will work. We’d still suggest 40-50 minutes or until deep golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let us know how it goes!
Boris says
I modified the recipe somewhat. I dropped all sugars except the scant 1/4 cup maple syrup. I added raisins, substituted the apple sauce for 1 cup crushed pineapple, added walnuts, ground cloves, and nutmeg. The 9 x 13 pan was consumed by two of us in less than 24 hours. (I also used oat flour instead of the mixed gluten-free flour) Thanks for the basic recipe.
We’re so glad it turned out well! Thanks for sharing, Boris!
Amy says
Hi, can I use a blend of oat and almond flour?
Hi Amy, we haven’t tried it that way, but think it would be more dense. Might be okay though. Let us know if you try it!
Ayesha I says
Hello, Loved the carrot cake!!! Thank you for an amazing recipe!! I want to make it again with pineapple tidbits and walnuts!
Yay! Thanks so much for the lovely review, Ayesha! xo
Arielle says
Hello! I’ve made this recipe before and loved it! If I wanted to make them into cupcakes instead of a cake, how would you suggest I change the recipe/timing of baking?
Hi Arielle, we’re so glad you enjoyed it! We’d suggest baking ~30-35 minutes. Use a toothpick to check for doneness. Hope that helps!
Jessica Parisi says
This is AMAZING! Just made it today and I’m blown away at how good it is! The only thing I changed was that I added 3 eggs instead of flax eggs and I used white and raw sugar as I didn’t have the others mentioned. We also omitted the walnuts and raisins (I know, not a true carrot cake!) but other than that everything was according to recipe exactly.
I haven’t frosted it yet but unless it’s for a birthday or special occasion, I don’t think it needs it! I divided the cake between a loaf pan and a small 8in cake pan. Kids were patiently waiting for it to be done to have as dessert but time ran out so carrot cake/bread for breakfast it is! Thanks for a marvelous recipe, one we will certainly use again and again! I’m just wondering if the cake, without any frosting would freeze well? If you can answer I’d be very grateful!
We’re so glad you enjoyed it, Jessica! Thanks so much for sharing! Yes, it will freeze well before frosting =)
Lauren says
This looks delicious! Carrot cake is my favourite cake ever, but I have a question about the recipe: Instead of your GF flour, do you think I could sub it for coconut flour? I’m needing to go grain-free this month, so I can’t have rice flours. Only coconut and nut flours. What would you recommend?
Thanks so much!
I wouldn’t do all coconut flour because it lacks structure and is far more absorbent / drying. I’d try subbing a blend of potato starch and oats, almond flour / oat flour if I were you! Or another store-bought GF blend.
Anna Logan says
Hi :) love your recipes and have made a few of your cakes! Thee best I’ve ever found! Wondering if I could sub strawberries instead of carrot? I’m dying for a vegan gf strawberry cake.
Hi Anna, Maybe! But we think strawberries might work better in this cake: https://minimalistbaker.com/1-bowl-vegan-gluten-free-vanilla-cake/
Rachel says
Soooo good! Didn’t have ingredients for gf flour so used whole wheat instead – still came out fine and YUM! Delicious. Thanks!
We’re so glad it turned out well! Thanks for sharing, Rachel!
Stacey says
This looks delicious! Could you sub for oat flour?
Hi Stacey, we think it would be too dense, but let us know if you try it!
Margaret says
Made this today so delicious! I did however have to substitute the apple sauce with one medium-large size banana, chia seed jelly instead of flax egg (same measurement as recipe) and used all parts coconut sugar. Thanks for the recipe!!
We’re so glad you enjoyed it, Margaret! Thanks for sharing!
Alexis says
Loved this! Made this a couple weeks ago with my sister, we didn’t have apple sauce on hand so we used pumpkin purée instead. Turned out great! We forgot to add a little more almond milk at the end but overall really liked it!
We’re so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for sharing, Alexis!
Pam says
This cake is absolutely delicious! It’s definitely my go to recipe for carrot cake now and so easy. I did add 1/2 cup of crushed pineapple as I had some I needed to use up.
Lovely! Thanks for sharing, Pam!
Frank says
I am going to give it a go. Just one thing, cashews and apples are no-nos when using the fodmap diet. I will use egg replacer; think about the applesauce substitute, and use my favourite toffuti cream cheese icing with lemon, not too much sugar, and sprinkled with coconut and nutmeg.
Let us know how it goes!
Rhon says
I just made this for Birthday… I love it. It came out soo moist! Delicious!!
Thanks so much for the lovely review, Rhon. We are so glad you enjoyed it! Next time, would you mind leaving a rating with your review? It’s super helpful for us and other readers. Thanks so much! Xo
Rachel Sweet says
My favorite carrot cake. I’ts super moist. I use regular white flour instead of gluten-free and only bake for 30 minutes. It’s perfect every time!
We’re so glad you enjoy it, Rachel! Thanks so much for sharing!
Kamakshi says
Hi Minimalist Baker!
I always love your recipes. ❤️ I am really looking forward to trying this. I was just wondering that can I substitute the flours mentioned above with either whole wheat of oat flour?
Please do suggest!
Hi Kamakshi, whole wheat flour would probably work if subbing for the almond flour and gluten-free blend 1:1. Let us know if you try it!
Herlinde says
What an amazingly good carrot cake! I made it for my son’s first birthday this weekend and all the guests loved it.
I replaced the cane sugar with coconut sugar, used your (heavenly!) cashew buttercream and some homemade marzipan decorations to finish it. One little hiccup: as I made the cake the evening before to save time, the white icing turned yellowish in several places. I covered it up with grated coconut which actually made it look even better in the end :).
Would you know what the reason for this sort of “oxidation” of the icing could be? I waited about 4 hours for the cake to cool at room temperature before putting the icing, so I guess that can’t be the problem.
Thanks for sharing, Herlinde! Hmm, strange! We wonder if it could be some sort of reaction between the lemon zest and coconut oil? Not sure though.
Herlinde says
Forgot to mention we replaced the coconut oil with another neutral vegan butter. My first guess was the coconut sugar caused it, but as I am very new to baking, I have only limited experience to draw from.
Maja says
Hi Dana
Just wanted to say I made this cake for my birthday yesterday and it was a massive hit with the family!
They couldn’t believe it didn’t have any wheat, eggs or dairy.
I made it with your tangy cashew cream frosting – omg. It. was. delicious. It did get a bit slipper as I was putting it on the cake – and maybe that’s because the cake wasn’t completely cool, but then popped it in the fridge and it hardened pretty quickly.
It honestly turned out amazing.
Thank you so much x
We’re so glad everyone enjoyed it, Maja! Thanks so much for sharing! xo
Amanda says
Hi there,
I’d love to make this with all purpose flour instead of almond/gluten free — what ratio do you recommend?
I haven’t tested it that way but I’m guessing it would be a 1:1 sub?
Kimberly says
I made it with almond flour and all purpose flour, with a 1:1 substitution and it worked great!
We’re so glad it turned out well! Thanks for sharing, Kimberly!
Nikita says
Hello! Do you think this would work with chickpea flour instead of the gluten-free flour mix?
Hi Nikita, we don’t think that would work, unfortunately.
Dolly says
Hi! I am planning on making this for a bday this weekend, and I was wondering if I could potentially double this recipe for two 9 inch pans? Or do you have suggestions for the measurements for two 9inch pans?
Hi Dolly, we don’t think you’d need to adjust the recipe for two 9-inch pans. The layers will just be slightly thinner. Hope that helps!
Lindsay Fehrenbach says
This recipe is amazing! I used regular gluten free flower instead of the diy blend suggested in the recipe. I used 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1/4 cup coconut sugar. The cake is extremely moist and SO tasty. Highly recommend.
We’re so glad you enjoy it, Lindsay! Thanks so much for the lovely review! xo
heather says
I am wondering about an adjusted baking time for making this in a Bundt pan. Any advice? Thank you!
Hi Heather, We haven’t tried making this cake in a bundt pan, but just keep in mind that the cake will need to bake for considerably longer (the cake is done when a skewer inserted into the center comes out with no crumbs attached) Also, resist the urge to pull it out immediately and give it time to rest — a good 10 minutes usually does the trick!
heather says
I made this with an adjustment & an addition. I added 1 cup of grated zucchini and replaced one of the flax eggs with an egg (2 flax eggs + 1 egg). I baked it for an hour in a Bundt pan and it came out perfect! It’s light, not too sweet and very delicious.Next time I’ll follow the directions better :) Thank you!
Thanks for sharing!
Alayna says
I’m so glad you posted this as I don’t have time to do the diy gf flour blend but will just need to use one store-bought. Her recipes always come out amazing so I can’t wait to make this for a friend’s bday this weekend!
Lydia says
I’m going to make this for my brother’s birthday – he’s vegan but not gluten intolerant. Can I just replace the gluten free flour with self raising flour? Should I still include the almond flour?
Thanks
LS
Hi Lydia, we haven’t tried with those modifications, so we can’t guarantee results. But yes, we’d suggest still including the almond flour. Let us know how it goes!
Laurene L. Lewis Ross says
Hi, I was wondering if anyone has ever used Aqua Faba instead of flax for the egg substitute?
Thanks:)
Hi Laurene, We would recommend a chia egg over aquafaba in this recipe. Let us know if you give it a try!
Reema Farhat says
Delicious cake and I loved the vegan cream cheese frosting! Love, love, love. This is a keeper recipe.
Yay! Thanks so much for the lovely review, Reema! xo
Harp says
Hi! When it says 1 scant cup of applesauce does that mean almost a full cup?
You got it! =)
Tara says
This recipe was easy to follow and tasted delicious! I ended up not having enough almond flour and ended up using about a half cup of coconut flour to make up the difference. For the non-dairy milk, I used oat milk, as it was what I had at hand. Both of these tweaks worked great! I used the the vegan cashew buttercream frosting, also an easy and great recipe.
Lovely! Thanks for sharing, Tara!
Esmeralda says
Awesome recipe! Family loved it!
Whoop! Thanks for sharing, Esmeralda!
Nicol says
I’m a huge baker, and this has become my go-to cake recipe! May who have tried it says it’s their favorite carrot cake they’ve ever had (all day it’s better than what restaurants make!)
I’d give more than 5 stars if I could
Whoop! We’re so glad you enjoy it! xo
MacKenzie says
Delicious! I used oat flour instead of the gluten free flour blend and was a little nervous but these turned out FAB. Made them w your tangy cashew frosting. Usually I roll my eyes at all the “even non vegans loved them!” Comments but I think this cake would easily stand up to a traditional carrot cake :)
Whoop! We’re so glad it turned out well! Thanks so much for sharing, MacKenzie! xo
Natasha says
Hello! Sorry, I have a few questions :)
If using a shop bought gluten free flour, would you suggest the plain or self raising variety? And would I need to add xantham gum?
I also need it to be nut free – would I sub almond flour with more gluten free flour 1:1?
And by brown sugar, do you mean Demerara or light brown soft sugar?
Thank you!
Hi Natasha, No worries! 1) plain GF flour, 2) xanthan gum isn’t essential, 3) see notes section, and 4) light brown soft sugar. Hope that helps!
Natasha says
Thank you so much for getting back to me – really helpful! :)
I made the cake and it was a great success! If I were to make it as a three-layer, 8 inch cake, do you know how much of your cream cheese frosting I would need to cover it ?
We’re so glad you enjoyed it, Natasha! One batch should be enough for a light coating.
Nita Sault says
Outstanding and excellent recipe. Baked this for my daughters birthday. Came out perfectly moist and yummy. I added pineapple tidbits chowed walnuts and raisins. Only one cup of powdered sugar in the vegan cream cheese frosting with a squirt of lemon and a dash of vanilla.
Thanks so much for the lovely review and for sharing your modifications, Nita. We are so glad it turned out well! Next time, would you mind leaving a rating with your review? It’s super helpful for us and other readers. Thanks so much! Xo
Angela says
Wanted to make this for Easter but I can’t find white rice flour anywhere for the gf flour blend, what would be a good alternative for it? Oat flour?
Hi Angela, we’d suggest a mix of more brown rice flour + potato starch.
Lindsay says
Truly wonderful! I subbed regular sugar for the coconut sugar, and topped with Tofutti cream cheese frosting.
We’re so glad it turned out well! Thanks so much for sharing, Lindsay!
Pilar says
I made it but used eggs. It was delicious!!
Thanks for sharing, Pilar!
Lesley De Sanctis says
I followed the recipe to the letter.
One exception. I used 3 8″ pans. Cake did not rise. Birthday party tomarrow:(
Sorry to hear that, Lesley! We wouldn’t expect the pan size to effect the rise. Were your baking soda and baking powder fresh?
Daphnye says
This was amazing!! My daughter specifically wanted a carrot cake for her 7th birthday. I looked around and decided to use this recipe. I did everything exactly as it’s explained and it came out sooo good!! My daughter loved it. All the family members that tried it, loved it! I used the cream cheese frosting. We plan on making it again soon. :)
Thanks so much for the lovely review, Daphnye. We are so glad everyone enjoyed it! Next time, would you mind leaving a rating with your review? It’s super helpful for us and other readers. Thanks so much! Xo
Melanie says
I made this for my husbands birthday and it was a huge success. Perfect for me gluten, dairy and egg free family. Everyone loved it! I iced it with cashew ‘cream cheese’ icing which was also delicious.
I used regular gluten free flour instead of the blend and only brown sugar.
This one is a keeper!
Yay! We’re so glad you and your family enjoyed it, Melanie! Thanks so much for sharing!
Abigail Jacob says
I love minimalist baker and have tried loads of recipes from her. I just made this cake and it tastes delicious. Moist and flavourful. But it didn’t rise at all – not sure why – and it all could have baked in 1 tin. I used 2 8inch squares and the amount of batter I had I could easily have baked it in just 1 8 inch cake tin. This way I have 2 super thin layers. If I hadn’t already greased both tins I would have just baked it in one. My baking soda is not old and the only change I made was I used spelt flour rather than gluten free. Otherwise I followed the recipe exactly.
Hi Abigail, thanks for sharing! It won’t rise quite as much as a gluten-containing cake, but it should a little. That’s interesting about the spelt- maybe it’s more dense? We’re not sure what else would have caused the smaller volume and no rise is your leavening was fresh!
T.Payment says
I was wondering if I could put into 9×13 pan instead of 9inch rounds. If so what bake time and temp would you suggest?
Yes, that works! Same temperature and bake time. Use a toothpick to check for doneness.