Soft & Simple Carrot Cake Slices
My vegan carrot cake bars are an Easter recipe that I think you'll adore. This is by far the best carrot cake that I have ever made after many varying attempts and to make it even better, each cake 'bar' is topped with dairy free cream cheese frosting, chopped walnuts and vegan chocolate eggs!
Now that really is a happy Easter. My vegan carrot walnut loaf cake is also a great option for you.
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Ingredients For This Recipe
- Freshly grated carrots - don't but pre-grated carrots. Grate them yourself.
- Walnuts - for both the filling and the topping.
- Soy milk
- Apple cider vinegar - for the vegan buttermilk.
- All-purpose flour
- Light brown sugar
- Ground cinnamon
- Ground nutmeg
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Canola oil - this is the same thing as rapeseed oil.
- Vanilla extract
- Vegan cream cheese - the main ingredient for the cream cheese frosting.
- Vegan butter block
- Powdered sugar
- Vegan chocolate eggs - these are totally optional. I opted for the dairy free Swiss Truffle eggs from Rhythm 108.
Why You Will Love This Cake
- It's super soft and light.
- The flavours are out of this world.
- They can be made as an Easter dessert.
- The cream cheese is super complimentary to the cake.
- This recipe is fully vegan and dairy free.
What Kind Of Frosting Goes On This Cake?
For this recipe, I have created a cream cheese frosting recipe which is to die for. Ad most of you will know already, it goes so well with carrot cake so nicely. This one is no exception. I can't wait for you to give it a try!
How To Make Vegan Carrot Cake Bars
Step-By-Step Instructions
For the full method and ingredient amounts, please refer to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
1: Line a square cake tin with parchment paper. Set aside.
2: Make your buttermilk. Let it curdle.
3: Add the dry carrot cake ingredients to a bowl.
4: Add the wet ingredients. Fold.
5: Pour the batter into the lined pan. Bake.
6: Let the cake cool. Prepare the topping.
7: Make the cream cheese frosting in a stand mixer. Top the cake with it. Slice and serve.
Tips For Making My Carrot Cake
Avoid Over-Mixing The Cake Batter
When mixed correctly, this cake is one of the lightest and fluffiest on my entire blog. However, by over-mixing this cake could become very sad. You've bought all of your ingredients and the last thing you want is a dense lump of cake. Not ideal. Be conscious when mixing. Fold instead.
Use Fresh Carrots
Freshly grated carrots are where all the moisture is. Pre-packaged ones may have been sat around inside shops for a long time and little moisture may have been retained.
I've tested both options and fresh wins each and every time.
How To Make Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting
The vegan cream cheese frosting is made inside a stand mixer. In the past, I have made them by hand occasionally but it's much better watching a machine do the work for you!
It's really is easy to make. You just need to cream the ingredients together and then it will begin to thicken nicely.
Can I Freeze These Cake Bars?
Yes, you can and what makes these even better is that you can also freeze these with the frosting on them! Freeze for up to 3 months. I like to use airtight containers.
Frequently Asked Questions
This could be due to your baking powder and/or your baking soda being expired.
Perhaps the cake batter was over-mixed which can cause this. Another reason could be because you didn't use room temperature ingredients.
How To Store This Carrot Cake
My favourite ways to store these vegan carrot cake bars are at room temperature or in the fridge. I often leave them at room temperature for 24-48 hours after baking, then I transfer them over to the fridge. For a further 2-3 days.
More Delicious Recipes
Vegan Cranberry Orange Muffins
PrintVegan Carrot Cake Easter Bars
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 12 Cake Bars 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
These soft and fluffy vegan carrot cake bars are topped with a delicious dairy free cream cheese frosting and vegan chocolate eggs!
Ingredients
For the carrot cake batter:
- 165g freshly grated carrots
- 60g walnuts (finely chopped)
- 200ml soy milk
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 190g all-purpose flour (sifted)
- 150g light brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 0.5 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 50ml canola oil (rapeseed)
- 1.5 teaspoons vanilla extract
For the cream cheese frosting:
- 100g vegan cream cheese (room temperature)
- 65g vegan butter block (room temperature)
- 250g powdered sugar (sifted)
- 0.25 teaspoon vanilla extract
Topping:
- Finely chopped walnuts (optional, to taste)
- Vegan chocolate eggs (optional, to taste)
Instructions
Preparation:
- Preheat your oven to 177 Celsius. Grease an 8x8 inch square baking tin and line with non-stick parchment paper.
- Make sure that your carrots are grated, and your walnuts are chopped beforehand, then make the vegan buttermilk by mixing the soy milk with the apple cider vinegar.
- Set the grated carrots and chopped walnuts aside. Let the vegan buttermilk curdle for 8 minutes.
Make your carrot cake batter:
- In a large mixing bowl, mix the dry cake ingredients (including the carrots and the walnuts) until combined.
- Next, pour in the curdled soy milk, canola oil and the vanilla extract. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet until just combined and all the flour lumps are gone. Don’t over-mix the carrot cake batter.
- Pour your cake batter into the lined, square pan. Spread the carrot cake batter to the corners. Make sure it is even and flat.
Bake the cake:
- Bake your carrot cake in the centre of the oven for 25 minutes. A toothpick will come out clean when it is ready.
- Let the cake cool inside the tin for 10-15 minutes, then transfer over to a cooling rack to cool completely. Don’t add the frosting until all the warmth has left the cake.
Make the cream cheese frosting:
- In a stand mixer, using the whisk attachment, cream together the vegan cream cheese with the vegan butter on a high speed until creamy.
- Gradually, add in the powdered sugar. Allow the stand mixer to keep mixing while you add it. Once all of the powdered sugar has been added, pour in the vanilla.
Decorating the carrot cake:
- Spread your cream cheese frosting over the cake and smooth out with a palette knife. Sprinkle chopped walnuts on top and vegan chocolate eggs/vegan mini eggs if you wish to make this cake Easter themed. If you are making this cake at another time of the year, feel free to skip the eggs.
- Slice the cake and serve the carrot cake. Enjoy!
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Bakes
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Carrot Cake Bars
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Cake Bar
- Calories: 321
- Sugar: 34.1 g
- Sodium: 341.7 mg
- Fat: 12.8 g
- Carbohydrates: 49.7 g
- Protein: 3.6 g
- Cholesterol: 8.4 mg
Keywords: carrot cake, carrot cake bars, vegan cakes, vegan carrot cake, vegan baking, vegan treats
Sue says
I tried this recipe out with my two grandchildren over the Easter period and it didn’t disappoint. We used different vegan chocolate eggs and the cake was so yummy 😍
★★★★★