How to Make a Vegan, Gluten-Free Carrot Cake

Traditional carrot cake can be made vegan and gluten-free to accommodate all diets.

With a vegan diet, it may seem like a lot of sweet treats are beyond reach. Because carrot cake is traditionally made with butter, eggs and milk it might be hard to imagine a vegan version of the classic treat. Harder still would be to then imagine the cake without any wheat-based gluten products. However, making a cake that is both sensitive to a vegan and wheat-free is actually quite simple so long as you are familiar with the simple conversions.

Things You'll Need

• 3 cups carrots, washed and scored
• ½ cup bean flour
• ½ cup cornstarch
• ½ cup rice flour
• ½ cup sweet rice flour
• ½ cup tapioca flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 3/4 cup organic cane sugar
• 1/4 cup vegan brown sugar
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 2 tbsp. mashed ripe banana
• ¾ cup vegetable oil
• ¾ cup gluten-free applesauce
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• ¼ tsp. orange rind
• ½ cup chopped walnuts
• 1 tub vegan cream cheese
• ¼ cup nondairy margarine
• 1 ½ cup vegan powdered sugar
• ½ tsp. vanilla extract
• Orange and green food coloring

Instructions

1. Spray a 9-inch square baking dish with non-stick spray. Lightly dust it with flour. You could also line the dish with parchment paper.

2. Shred carrots with a food grater or a food processor. Set them aside.

3. Combine dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl with a whisk. This includes bean flour, cornstarch, rice flour, sweet rice and tapioca flour. This combination can be used as an all-purpose flour substitute for most traditional dishes. Also add in baking powder, baking soda, sugars, salt and cinnamon.

4. Stir in banana, oil, applesauce, vanilla extract and orange rind. Whisk until they are well combined. Then pour in carrots. Combine with a wooden spoon.

5. Pour into prepared baking dish and bake in oven for 45 minutes. Insert a toothpick into the center to check for doneness. Cool on a wire rack. Turn it out onto a serving dish when cooled.

6. Combine vegan cream cheese, nondairy butter, vegan powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Beat well until whipped. Spread the mixture onto the cake, reserving a ¼ cup of frosting.

7. Divide the reserved frosting in half. Add orange and green food coloring to the two bowls. Decorate the cake with carrot shapes using the colored frostings.

References

• Food; Vegan Carrot Cake; Carol Bullock; May 6, 2001
• Cooking Light; Recipe Makeover: Carrot Cake; Sidney Fry, MS, RD
• Wheat-Free: Wheat-Free and Gluten-Free Flours
• Food: Gluten Free All Purpose Flour Substitute

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish