Carrot Cake with Tangy Frosting
This fragrant, rich carrot cake is surprisingly healthy. The spices bring out the sweet carroty flavor, and the tangy frosting provides a bright contrast. It’s satisfying without the frosting, too, making it a good choice for a low-fat dessert. Vegan and vegetarian.
| Servings | Prep Time |
| 12servings | 35minutes |
| Cook Time | Passive Time |
| 45minutes | 1hour |
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Ingredients
- 3cups white whole wheat flour360 grams
- 2teaspoons baking soda
- 1teaspoon cardamom
- 1teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2teaspoon nutmeg
- 1teaspoon salt
- 2cups brown sugar440 grams
- 1/4cup canola oilor other neutral vegetable oil
- 3cups grated carrots150 grams
- 2tablespoons minced ginger
- 2tablespoons apple-cider vinegar
- 2teaspoons vanilla
- 1 3/4cups water
- shortening for the cake pan
Frosting
- 4ounces vegan buttersoftened (225 grams)
- 2 3/4cups powdered sugar350 grams
- 2tablespoons aquafabaor plant-based milk
- 2teaspoons apple-cider vinegar
- 1/4teaspoon lemon extract
- 1pinch salt
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350°F with a rack in the center position. Grease a 9×13-inch baking dish.
- Whisk flour, baking soda, spices, and salt together in a medium bowl. Stir in brown sugar, using the back of a spoon to break up lumps if needed.
- Pour remaining ingredients into flour mixture and stir just until well combined. Pour into the pan and bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until top is firm and tiny air bubbles appear in the center as well as on the edges. Cool cake thoroughly before frosting.
- Put all frosting ingredients in a mixing bowl. Beat slowly until powdered sugar is mostly blended with butter, then beat on medium-high for a minute or two until fluff. Taste and adjust ingredients as needed. (At this point, I always ask my Taster to give it the official taste test.)
- Spread frosting on cooled cake. Serve within two hours or refrigerate for up to five days.
Recipe Notes
- For speedy baking, I use my food processor to mince the ginger and grate the carrots. Here’s how: peel the ginger and cut crossways into thin slices. Put the stainless steel blade into your food processor, turn it on, and drop in the ginger slices through the feeding tube. Let the machine run until the ginger stops bouncing around. Replace the blade with a small-hole grater and grate the unpeeled carrots on top of the ginger.
- For speedy eating, cut a piece or two while the cake is still a bit warm and frost them separately. Carpe diem!
- If you don’t have lemon extract for the frosting, use a scant tablespoon of lemon juice instead of the vinegar and lemon extract or replace half the vegan butter with vegan cream cheese.
Nutritional Information for Carrot Cake
Per serving (1/12th recipe), this cake has 465 calories, 22% of calories from fat, 74% from carbohydrates, and 4% from protein.
It has 4 grams protein, 5 grams fiber, no cholesterol and 12 grams of fat (6 saturated, 3 unsaturated, and 3 polyunsaturated. It’s high in vitamin A, vitamin B1, iron, niacin, potassium, and zinc.