Have you ever tried a vegan carrot cake which is also filled with mouth-watering lemon flavours? This carrot cake is filled and topped generously with my easy vegan lemon curd and buttercream frosting. It also takes less than 30 minutes to make which is amazing.
Trust me when I say that your taste buds are going to be dancing. The two spring flavors compliment each other greatly and with their tanginess and sweetness.
If you're a big carrot cake fan, you'll love this recipe as it takes the treat to a whole new level. This cake loaf is the softest, it's so flavorful and the buttercream frosting makes it so creamy too!
For more carrot cake recipes and inspiration, be sure to check out my vegan carrot cake bars, vegan carrot walnut loaf cake and my vegan carrot sheet cake recipes which are all super delicious.
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Why You Will Love This Cake
- So Many Delicious Flavors - From the woody flavor of the cinnamon, to the sweet carrot cake, to the zesty nature of the lemon curd, there is so much going on with this cake. There's also the frosting on top of the cake which brings all of the flavors together.
- Quick & Simple - This recipe is one you can complete fast. Simply fold together the cake batter and bake the cake. While it is in the oven, prepare the frosting and curd. After that you just need to assemble it all.
- Wonderful Texture - The cake is so light, fluffy and airy and this alone makes eating it an extremely pleasant experience. It's up there with some of my softest cakes, which include my vegan lemon poke cake and eggless orange blueberry cake loaf. On top of this, the creamy buttercream makes this recipe even better!
- Allergy Friendly & Plant Based - This vegan carrot lemon cake recipe is completely vegan and dairy free.
Ingredient Notes
- Freshly grated carrots - I highly recommend that you grate them yourself so that the carrot cake is as fresh as possible. Definitely avoid using the pre-packaged variety of grated carrots as this will make the cake much drier.
- Apple cider vinegar - This is to be to be stirred into the soy milk at the beginning to create the vegan 'buttermilk'. Don't skip this step or else the texture of the cake will be affected negatively.
- Vegan cream cheese - You only need to add a little amount of this to the frosting but it improves the consistency of it greatly.
- Cornstarch - This underrated and useful ingredient makes a great thickener for the lemon curd. If there was no cornstarch in the curd, it would be far too thin and runny. I also used it as a vital ingredient in both my vegan blueberry cream cheese muffins and vegan tres leches cake.
- Freshly squeezed lemon juice - Don't use any artificial lemon juices for this recipe. We want the zesty and tangy natural lemon flavors that make lemon cakes so great.
- Turmeric - This gives the lemon curd that beautiful bright yellow colour.
See recipe card for full information on individual ingredients and quantities.
Substitutions & Variations
- You can add extra toppings and fillings if you want that little bit extra for your carrot cake. I love to add chopped walnuts to many of my cake recipes such as, my vegan apple walnut crumble cake. I often like to fold the walnuts into the cake batter as well as sprinkling some on top.
- If you don't particularly like lemon treats but you love a carrot cake, you can remove the lemon curd from this recipe. This way you can still enjoy a nice carrot loaf cake without the citrusy undertone.
How To Make Vegan Carrot Cake
For the full method, please refer to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
1: Grease two loaf cake tins with vegan butter, then set aside.
2: Make the vegan buttermilk.
3: Combine the dry cake ingredients inside a large bowl.
4: Add the wet ingredients to form a batter.
5: Pour the batter into the greased tins and bake.
6: Make the cream cheese frosting.
7: Also make your lemon curd filling.
8: Spread the frosting onto one of the cake halves.
9: Add some lemon curd on top of it.
10: Place the other cake over the fillings then add more of each on top. Slice and serve.
Expert Tips
Use freshly grated carrots - Avoid buying pre-packaged and pre-grated carrots that you would find at a supermarket or a convenience store. Fresh carrots have moisture, whereas pre-grated carrots will have dried out and little moisture will have been retained. Therefore, your cake won't be as moist and delicious as you would like.
Don't over-mix the batter - This will cause the texture of your carrot cakes to become dense and unpleasant, but if you fold the batter, you will get better results. Folding calms the gluten and doesn't over-work it.
Use a vegan powdered sugar - Not all powdered sugar is vegan as some brands use bone char. If you're a vegan, make sure that the one you pick up is suitable.
Recipe FAQs
You sure can! Line a large cupcake tray with liners and bake for roughly the same amount of time. When a skewer comes out clean they are done. Also check out my vegan carrot cake cupcakes, which are paired with a lemon glaze.
Store this cake at room temperature and inside airtight containers for up to 4 days. You can also store it in the fridge for the same amount of time if you like, but I definitely prefer to keep it out.
Carrot cake is traditionally oil-based as opposed to butter-based, as it keeps the cake moist and therefore, it last longer both at room temperature AND in the fridge without drying up as quickly.
More Mouth-Watering Vegan Cakes
If you tried this Vegan Carrot Lemon Cake Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how you go in the 📝 comments below. I love hearing from you!
Vegan Carrot Cake with Lemon Curd & Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
For the carrot cake batter:
- 165 g freshly grated carrots
- 200 ml soy milk
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 190 g all-purpose flour sifted
- 175 g light brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 50 ml canola oil rapeseed
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the frosting:
- 230 g vegan butter block
- 50 g vegan cream cheese
- 240 g powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
For the lemon curd:
- 10 g cornstarch
- 30 g granulated sugar
- 40 ml plant milk
- 20 ml freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 25 g coconut oil room temperature
- ⅛ th teaspoon turmeric
Instructions
Preparation:
- Preheat your oven to 177 Celsius (350F). Grease two rectangular 20cm x 10cm loaf cake tins with vegan butter and set aside.
- Grate your carrots if you haven’t already. Set aside.
- Make your vegan ‘buttermilk’ by stirring the soy milk and apple cider vinegar together. Set the ‘buttermilk’ aside to curdle for 8 minutes.
Make the carrot cake batter:
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients, including your grated carrots.
- Now, add in the curdled ‘buttermilk’, canola oil and vanilla extract. Fold the dry into the wet gently. Don’t over-mix. Be patient and continue to fold the cake batter until all the pockets of flour are gone.
Bake the two cake halves:
- Pour the carrot cake batter into the two greased tins, evenly.
- Bake them in the center of your oven for 20 minutes. By this point, a skewer will come out clean.
- Allow the cakes cool down inside the loaf cake tins for at least 15 minutes. After that, transfer them to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Make the frosting:
- Add the vegan block butter and vegan cream cheese to a stand mixer. Cream with the whisk attachment on a high speed for 2 minutes. Switch to a medium speed and add in half of the powdered sugar and beat again until combined.
- Now pour in the rest of your powdered sugar and the vanilla and beat once again until a thick buttercream forms. Set aside.
Make the lemon curd:
- Mix the cornstarch with the granulated sugar inside a small saucepan.
- Stir in the plant milk, lemon juice, lemon zest, coconut oil and turmeric, then place over a medium-low heat.
- When it begins to simmer, whisk continuously for 1-2 minutes. As soon as you notice that it has thickened a little, remove from the heat and pour into the jar. It will continue to thicken while it cools. Let it cool fully.
Assemble the cake:
- Spread half of your frosting onto the flat side of one of the cooled carrot cake halves, followed by half of the lemon curd on top of it.
- Place your other half of carrot cake on top of the fillings then spread the remainder of the frosting on top of the cake. Drizzle some more of the lemon curd on top of the cake. If you have any left over, it makes a brilliant topping for other treats such as, pancakes and ice cream.
- Slice the cake and serve.
Video
Notes
- Avoid buying pre-packaged and pre-grated carrots that you would find at a supermarket or a convenience store. Fresh carrots have moisture, whereas pre-grated carrots will have dried out and little moisture will have been retained. Therefore, your cake won't be as moist and delicious as you would like.
- Over-mixing the cake batter will cause the texture of your carrot cakes to become dense and unpleasant, but if you fold the batter, you will get better results. Folding calms the gluten and doesn't over-work it.
- Not all powdered sugar is vegan as some brands use bone char. If you're a vegan, make sure that the one you pick up is suitable.
Bea says
BEST carrot cake that I’ve ever eaten (and I’ve eaten many)
DJ says
Wow! That's so kind of you, Bea! Really appreciate it, thank you.