Vegan Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

I'm going to come straight out and say it, I don't like making carrot cakes. 

Every time I've tried in the past, it's always been so tedious to get the carrots grated (yes I do own a food processor), and no matter what I try, the cream cheese frosting always fails. Miserably fails. I'm talking it fails so much it makes me grumpy. 

Some top tips I have found for making cream cheese frosting is to not over-beat the cream cheese, and my own personal tip is to have an endless supply of icing sugar available!

I also find that the vegan butter than comes in tubs is no good for icing, you really want a block butter such as Flora Block Butter Alternative (Unsalted preferably). This is key to making sure your icing is not too soft, and will really make all the difference.

This recipe does omit one of the typically ingredients in a carrot cake, walnuts. However this is my own personal choice (well not really a choice) as I am highly allergic to all nuts! So if you're feeling like adding walnuts, feel free! Just know that's why I never use any nuts in my recipes. 

If you do have a food processor, it is so much less time consuming to use that to grate the carrots than grating by hand, although both produce the same result so really it's up to you which you choose to do! 

Carrot cakes are a pretty heavy cake on the cake spectrum, so don't worry if you don't see your cakes rising much. I also highly suggest using a digital thermometer to check the internal temperature of the cake and using this to determine when your cakes are ready, when the internal temperature of the cake reaches 200˚ Fahrenheit, your cakes are done. 

Another top tip is to let your cakes cool for 5 minutes in the tins, then transfer to a cooling rack and let them cool for a further 5 minutes before gently removing the greaseproof paper, as the cakes are fragile when warm and might fall apart otherwise. 

If you make this recipe, please tag #susiechef in your social media posts so I can see your creations.

Total time: 1 Hour 15 Minutes plus Cooling Time
Yield: One Cake, Serves 6-8 People
Cake Ingredients

• 250g Plain Flour
• 1 Tsp Baking Powder
• 1 Tsp Bicarbonate of Soda
• 3 Tsp Ground Cinnamon
• 250g Grated Carrot
• 325g Brown Sugar
• 2 Vegan Eggs (I used Orgran Egg Replacer)
• 120g Dairy Free Butter (Melted)
• 1 Tsp Vanilla Essence
• 1 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar

Cream Cheese Frosting Ingredients

• 100g Dairy Free Block Butter (I like Flora Plant Based Block Butter - unsalted)
• 300g Icing Sugar
• 80g Vegan Cream Cheese (I use Tesco's Free From Soft Cheese or Violife Creamy Cheese)
  

Cooking Directions (Please read above for tips before you begin!)

1. Preheat your oven to 180˚ Celsius. Grease and line two 7-inch round cake tins.
2. Sift together the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and ground cinnamon in a large mixing bowl.
3. Fold in the grated carrot and sugar until the carrots are fully mixed in.
4. Stir in the vegan eggs, then stir in the melted butter an vanilla essence.
5. Finally, fold through the apple cider vinegar.
6. Divide your mixture between your two cake tins.
7. Bake for approximately 30 minutes.
8. Allow your cakes to cool completely.
9. Begin by lightly beating the butter until softened. 
10. Slowly fold in the icing sugar, gently mixing until combined.
11. Mix in the cream cheese, slowly folding it into the mixture. 
12. Assemble the cake by sandwiching the two cakes with half the icing, then topping with the remaining icing.

* If you aren't allergic to walnuts like me, feel free to top with some walnuts! *

Enjoy!

Note - This recipe was updated February 2026.

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