One Bowl MOIST Vegan Carrot Cake Loaf Recipe (2024)

Just like this award winning vegan carrot cake, this soft and incredibly moist carrot cake LOAF is perfectly spiced, not too sweet and rich with a silky dairy free cream cheese frosting. No eggs nor dairy required!

One Bowl MOIST Vegan Carrot Cake Loaf Recipe (1)

The BEST carrot cake loaf- made vegan!

If making a layered carrot cake intimidates you, then please allow me to introduce you to theeasiestcarrot cake in existence. The vegan carrot cake loaf.

Like my unbelievably vegan carrot cake, this carrot cake loaf is tender and deliciously moist with a beautifully soft crumb. It’s wonderfully spiced with a decent balance of sweetness (not too sweet though!) thanks to using brown sugar.

And you don’t even need any eggs nor dairy, and it’s made in one bowl. This loaf cake is legitimately as easy as it is delicious.

We’re then topping our carrot cake loaf with a silky dairy free cream cheese frosting to make it irresistible. The tang perfectly compliments the spices and the sweetness, like in this carrot cake cheesecake, and it is a DREAMY combination.

Serve this for any spring get together, and your guests will sure to be impressed. Especially when you mention that it’s vegan!

One Bowl MOIST Vegan Carrot Cake Loaf Recipe (2)

What do we use in lieu of eggs and dairy?

If you’re new to vegan baking, then allow me to introduce you to my favorite ingredients to keep in your vegan baking arsenal.

Dairy free yogurtis used to swap out the eggs- the high fat in the yogurt will mimic the egg yolks, lending extra moisture to our carrot cake loaves. Combined with the brown sugar, your carrot cake loaf will be perfectly moist and tender. Yogurt is easily one of my favorite vegan egg substitutes.

Then we usea neutral oil,such as avocado oil, but you can also use olive oil. I personally like oil in quick bread recipes more so than vegan butter. But you can definitely swap in vegan butter to make your vegan carrot cake loaf extra rich.

Finally,any dairy free milk,such as oat milk or soy milk, work great in place of milk or whole milk.

Should I use shredded or grated carrots?

Personally, I like my carrot cake loaf to use finely shredded carrots that I use a fine grater with over chunkier grated carrots. As long as you’re measuring the carrots accurately, it won’t matter how you use shred them.

You can use long thin shredded carrots, but I find the texture is better with finely shredded.

One Bowl MOIST Vegan Carrot Cake Loaf Recipe (3)

Overview: step by step how to make vegan carrot cake loaf:

For the full written instructions and ingredient measurements, see the bottom of this post in the recipe card. You can also hit the “jump to recipe” button at the top of this post! Here, we’ll go over a brief overview of the steps, along with providing visuals for a better understanding of the recipe.

One Bowl MOIST Vegan Carrot Cake Loaf Recipe (4)
One Bowl MOIST Vegan Carrot Cake Loaf Recipe (5)
One Bowl MOIST Vegan Carrot Cake Loaf Recipe (6)
One Bowl MOIST Vegan Carrot Cake Loaf Recipe (7)

How to pipe carrots on top:

My favorite part of any baking is decorating the finished product, and this carrot cake was so fun.

I wanted to go off of the carrots on my vegan layer carrot cake, so I piped orange and green frosting in the shape of carrots, and sprinkled crushed walnuts on top. You can also use pecans or even keep it nut free!

To do this, I simply snipped a tiny hole at the end of two piping bags. Then I filled each with about 3 tbsp each of cream cheese icing that had been colored orange and green respectively.

Then I piped the carrot portion in just a long squiggle line, easing off pressure right at the end. And piped short little leaves at the top of each carrot with the green frosting.

No piping tip required here!

One Bowl MOIST Vegan Carrot Cake Loaf Recipe (8)

Can I make this as a sheet cake?

Absolutely! I recommend baking this cake as a 9×9 square cake. Then slice into 16 slices. You’ll need about 30-35 minutes in the oven, but check with a toothpick to ensure the cake is done.

Want to save this recipe for later? Add it to your favorite recipe board on Pinterest!

If you make this recipe, please be sure to leave a comment and a rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ below. This helps others to find the recipes! As always, I absolutely love to see your beautiful creations on Instagram and Pinterest, so be sure to tag me there as well!

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One Bowl MOIST Vegan Carrot Cake Loaf Recipe (9)

One Bowl MOIST Vegan Carrot Cake Loaf Recipe

5 Stars4 Stars3 Stars2 Stars1 Star5 from 3 reviews

  • Author: Britt Berlin
  • Prep Time: 5
  • Cook Time: 75
  • Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
  • Yield: 16 1x
  • Category: Dessert
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: American
  • Diet: Vegan
Print Recipe

Description

Just like this award winning vegan carrot cake, this soft and incredibly moist carrot cake LOAF is perfectly spiced, not too sweet and rich with a silky dairy free cream cheese frosting. No eggs nor dairy required!

Ingredients

Scale

  • 1 1/2 cups (135 g) grated carrots, about 6-8 medium carrots
  • 1/2cup (120 mL) dairy free milk, room temperature
  • 2 2/3 (330 g) cups all purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp ground ginger
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  • 1/4 tsp cardamom
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt
  • 1cup (200 g) light brown sugar
  • 2/3cup (150 g) neutral oil or vegan butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
  • 1/2cup (100 g) granulated sugar
  • 1/2cup (110 g) dairy free yogurt, room temperature
  • 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 batch vegan cream cheese frosting

Instructions

  1. Prep:Preheat the oven to 350F, and line a pound loaf pan (about 8″) with parchment paper. Measure out all ingredients. Make sure the carrots are shredded.
  2. Make the batter:Add in the oil, sugar, dairy free yogurt, vanilla extract, and whisk just until mixed. Then add in the cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cardamom, sea salt, baking powder and baking soda, and whisk again. Add in the carrots, and whisk to evenly distribute.
  3. Finish the batter:Add in the flour and dairy free milk, and whisk JUST until the flour is combined.
  4. Bake:Pour the carrot cake loaf batter into the prepared pan, and place onto a baking sheet just incase of any extra spillage. Bake for 65-75 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. If you notice that your loaf is browning too much towards the end you can cover it with parchment paper.
  5. Cool:Once out of the oven, let cool completely before you frost or ice.
  6. Make the frosting:Prepare the frosting according to instructions and ice the carrot cake loaf. Slice and enjoy!

Notes

Gluten free:I recommend King Arthur Measure for Measure gluten free flour. It’s the blend I use to test my recipes gluten free, and it’s amazing!

One Bowl MOIST Vegan Carrot Cake Loaf Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Why is my carrot cake too moist? ›

The ratio of wet to dry ingredients determines a cake's moisture level. If there's simply too much flour and not enough butter, a cake will taste dry. On the other hand, if there's too much milk and not enough flour, a cake will taste too wet. Finding the right balance between wet and dry ingredients is key.

How do you keep carrot cake moist overnight? ›

To maximize the freshness of carrot cake, proper storage is essential. Always use airtight containers, plastic wrap, or resealable bags to protect the cake from air exposure. If your cake contains cream cheese frosting, refrigerate it to prevent spoilage.

Is carrot vegan? ›

Carrots come from a plant and are vegetarian and vegan. If you cook carrots with animal products such a cheese, butter, or honey, they will no longer be vegan, but a carrot in and of itself is always vegetarian and vegan.

Why is my carrot cake soggy in the middle? ›

When a cake is wet in the middle it is because the edges have cooked faster than the centre. This happens because of the way the cake cooks naturally in the tin – the sides of the cake tin heat up first.

Is butter or oil better for carrot cake? ›

Carrot cake is oil-based, rather than butter-based. This keeps it moist and helps it last for days. Unfortunately, it also means you lose the leavening power that creaming butter and sugar would bring. (Creaming, or beating together the two ingredients on high speed, aerates the butter.)

Should I refrigerate carrot cake before frosting? ›

That's right, you won't be frosting your cake at room temperature; a chilled cake is essential before applying any frosting. "This step is the most important.

What do you soak a cake in to keep it moist? ›

The most common cake soak is simple syrup, equal parts sugar and water cooked until the sugar is dissolved.

Can you leave carrot cake batter overnight? ›

In the morning, bake the batter straight from cold and it will be ready in under 1 hour. The overnight option deepens the flavor and maximizes digestibility. Or, you can do a same-day bake if you prefer. Flavored with chai spice: Most carrot cakes are made with ground cinnamon only.

What is surprisingly not vegan? ›

Beer and Wine

Isinglass, a gelatin-based substance derived from fish, is used as a clarifying agent in some beer and wine. Other non-vegan ingredients sometimes used are casein (from milk) and egg whites.

Which fruit isn t vegan? ›

The presence of the wax or beeswax means that zest from the peel of some oranges, lemons and limes are not appropriate for vegans to use in cooking, although buying only organic produce should allow shoppers on a strict plant-based diet to sidestep the problem.

What is a vegan who eats meat? ›

People who eat a mainly plant-based diet may still choose to eat small amounts of meat, poultry, fish, seafood and dairy (also known as semi-vegetarian, flexitarian or pescatarian). The beauty is that there is no 'one-size fits all' approach.

Why does carrot cake taste weird? ›

Using baking powder (a chemical leavening agent) often becomes tricky. How much is enough to leaven dense, oil-based cakes like carrot cake? Sometimes, we end up using too much baking powder to help this type of cake rise, and this mistake can unfortunately make them taste bitter or like chemicals.

How to prevent carrots from turning green in carrot cake? ›

If your carrots are turning green every time you make the recipe, the ratio of baking soda in the recipe is probably off. Try reducing the amount by a quarter teaspoon next time you make the recipe.

How do you fix dry carrot cake? ›

Soak your cake in milk or cream.

Soaking your cake in milk or cream is one of the best ways to moisten a dry cake.

Why does my carrot cake topping go runny? ›

Frosting is too runny.

This could be because the butter was too soft or you added too much milk if it is buttercream frosting or it could be that you have overbeaten it if you're making cream cheese frosting. Also, a hot kitchen can make frostings go runny, so be mindful of the temperature.

Why does my cake feel wet? ›

A cake that's wet in the middle, in most cases, has not baked long enough. Put it back in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes. Be sure to check every 5 minutes with the toothpick test for any changes. If sliced, cover with aluminum foil to prevent the top from browning even more.

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