There's a saying in Spanish that goes "No es oro todo lo que reluce". Which translated means "Not everything that shines is gold". Meaning, that things aren't always what they seem.
That can be particularly true when it comes to food. And carrot cake is the perfect example. Or any veggie based dessert for that matter. We automatically assume they're healthy because they contain a vegetable!
Ever since we started the blog, we've been wanting to come up with a vegan carrot cake recipe. And since carrot cake isn't something we grew up eating, we had to do some "research" first.
We were pretty shocked to see that most of the regular carrot cake cake recipes we found were super high on fat and sugar. Between the cake and the frosting, a slice can be just as indulgent as your favorite chocolate cake. Something most people don't even realize!
So, of course, we had to do something about that. We had to find a way to make this just a little bit healthier. Not completely guilt free (it is a dessert after all!) but just a little bit better.
And we did it. And it only took us two tries.
The first time around, we substituted applesauce for some of the oil, something you'll find very often on lightened up recipes. Which didn't work AT ALL here, probably because of the added moisture from the carrots. After baking for almost 2 hours in the oven, we ended up with a gummy cake, very wet in the center.
Second try, we skipped the applesauce all together and just reduced the total amount of oil. And since we were going to use GO Veggie!, a dairy free cream cheese alternative, for the icing, we thought it would work great also in the batter, to add moisture and richness to the cake. Keeping it dairy and cholesterol free, low in saturated fat and heart healthy.
The cake had great texture and flavor, just the right amount of sweetness. Once again, mission accomplished 🙂
To learn more about non-dairy cream cheese and other dairy free alternatives, click here.
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Rainbow Carrot Bundt Cake
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 mins
- Yield: 1 cake
Ingredients
- ⅔ cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk, lukewarm
- 4 tablespoon ground flax seeds
- 3 large rainbow carrots (we used one purple, one orange and one yellow)
- 1 medium golden delicious apple, peeled and cored
- 2 teaspoon lemon juice
- ¼ coconut oil, at room temperature
- ¼ cup GO Veggie! Plain Dairy Free Cream Cheese Alternative at room temperature
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- ¾ cup sugar
- ¼ cup pure maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon natural vanilla extract
- 2 cups white/whole wheat flour
- 1 ½ tablespoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup walnuts or pecans, chopped
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- Icing:
- ⅔ cup GO Veggie! Plain Dairy Free Cream Cheese Alternative, at room temperature
- ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoon confectioner's sugar
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil, at room temperature
- 2 tablespoon natural maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon orange juice
- 1 teaspoon natural vanilla extract
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- Chopped pecans or walnuts for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a large bundt cake pan
- Combine almond milk, flax and lemon juice in a small bowl. Mix well and set aside
- Cream coconut oil, cream cheese and oil for one minute. Add sugar, maple syrup and vanilla and beat for 3-4 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add flax mixture and continue beating for 2 more minutes
- In the meantime, cut the carrots into large chunks and place them in the food processor. Pulse just a few times until chopped into little pieces. Transfer to a bowl and do the same with the apple. Set aside
- Combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice and salt in a bowl. Reduce speed of the mixer and slowly add to the wet mixture. Beat until just incorporated. Turn off the mixer, add carrots and apple and beat again until just incorporated. Let the batter sit for 2-3 minutes and using a spatula, fold in nuts and cranberries
- Transfer batter to prepare bundt cake pan and bake at 350F for 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean
- To prepare the icing, beat cream cheese, confectioner's sugar and coconut oil using and electric mixer, until creamy. Add maple syrup, orange juice, vanilla and cinnamon and continue beating until well combined. Refrigerate until ready to use. Pour over cooled cake and top with chopped nuts (if using)
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: Kosher / Vegan
Yuri Volpin
Did I get the first one or the second? If it was the first one, I have to say it was very very good and I'm only left to fantasize about how delicious the second one is. Moist Shmoist, I love it! Thanks for sharing it with me. My "F-15" is always fueled for another pick up. Seriously, it was really very good and I very much appreciate that you provide me with my breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Couldn't Be Parve
Yum, I love carrot cake. This lightened version sounds delicious!
Ronnie Fein
Looks delicious. I can't use walnuts or pecans but I am sure cashews would work and I love the idea of adding dried cranberries.
Sarah Klinkowitz
Love love love! So perfect for the season!