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    Home » Recipes » Baking Recipes

    Published: Apr 24, 2023 · Modified: Jul 24, 2023 by DJ · This post may contain affiliate links · 2 Comments

    Vegan Carrot Cake with Lemon Curd & Cream Cheese Frosting

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    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 Vegan Lemon Curd and buttercream frosting. Trust me when I say that your taste buds are going to be dancing.

    For more carrot cake treats and inspiration, check out my vegan carrot cake bars and my vegan carrot sheet cake recipes that I made recently.

    Ingredients & Notes

    A photo showing the many items that you will need to make my vegan carrot cake with lemon curd.
    • Freshly grated carrots - grate them yourself but avoid using the pre-packaged variety.
    • Soy milk
    • Apple cider vinegar - to be mixed into the soy milk to create 'buttermilk'.
    • All-purpose flour
    • Light brown sugar 
    • Ground cinnamon -nicely flavours the cake, along with the cinnamon.
    • Ground nutmeg
    • Baking powder
    • Baking soda
    • Salt
    • Canola oil - this is the same thing as rapeseed oil. People simply call it different things in different countries.
    • Vanilla extract
    • Vegan butter block
    • Vegan cream cheese - just a little amount to be added to the frosting.
    • Powdered sugar
    • Cornstarch - this makes a great thickener for the lemon curd.
    • Granulated sugar
    • Freshly squeezed lemon juice
    • Lemon zest
    • Coconut oil
    • Turmeric - gives the lemon curd a bright yellow colour.
    A whole loaf of my vegan carrot cake which is has a spoon dripping homemade lemon curd onto it.

    How To Make Vegan Carrot Cake

    STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS

    For the full method and ingredient amounts, please refer to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

    Two greased loaf cake tins.

    1: Grease two loaf cake tins with vegan butter, then set aside.

    The vegan buttermilk curdling inside a large pyrex bowl.

    2: Make the vegan buttermilk.

    The dry cake ingredients, including the grated carrots inside a large bowl.

    3: Combine the dry cake ingredients inside a large bowl.

    The wet ingredients have been added to the dry and a batter has been formed.

    4: Add the wet ingredients to form a batter.

    The two cakes have been baked and are cooling down inside the tins.

    5: Pour the batter into the greased tins and bake .

    The frosting inside a large stand mixer bowl.

    6: Make the cream cheese frosting.

    The lemon curd being made inside a small pan.

    7: Also make your lemon curd filling.

    A layer of buttercream frosting has been spread onto one of the cakes.

    8: Spread the frosting onto one of the cake halves.

    The lemon curd has been spread onto the buttercream layer.

    9: Add some lemon curd on top of it.

    The other cake half has been placed on top to complete the cake. More buttercream and lemon curd has been added on top.

    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 not too pleasant, but if you fold the batter, you will get better results. Folding calms the gluten and doesn't over-work it.

    A thick slice of cake close up to the camera. The curd on top is bright yellow.

    Variations & Substitutions

    • Add extra toppings and/or fillings. I love to add chopped walnuts to my carrot cake recipes. I gave them a miss for this particular cake but I often like to fold the walnuts into the cake batter as well as sprinkling some on top.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    Can I make cupcakes with the batter?

    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.

    Storage Tips

    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.

    A slice of vegan carrot cake which is super soft and golden brown.

    More Mouth-Watering Treats

    Vegan Krispy Kreme Style Donuts

    Vegan Open Sandwich Cookie Butter Bars

    A thick slice of my vegan carrot cake on a small white plate.

    Vegan Carrot Cake with Lemon Curd & Cream Cheese Frosting

    This isn't your average vegan carrot cake recipe. This light and fluffy treat is filled and topped with lemon curd and frosting!
    5 from 2 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Bakes
    Cuisine: Carrot Lemon Curd Cake
    Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes
    Total Time: 30 minutes minutes
    Servings: 8 Slices
    Author: DJ

    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, 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 centre 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.
    Tried this Recipe? Tag Me Today!Mention @vegan_treats_blogger or tag #vegantreatsblogger!

    More Vegan Baking Recipes

    • A large slice of vegan orange poppy seed cake. It is filled with white buttercream and topped with chocolate.
      Vegan Orange Poppy Seed Cake with Chocolate Ganache
    • A moist slice of vegan flourless almond cake on a white plate. It is covered with melted chocolate and almonds.
      Vegan Flourless Almond Chocolate Cake (Gluten Free)
    • A large slice of vegan strawberry lemon cake on a white plate. It is filled and topped with strawberry jelly and lemon buttercream frosting.
      Vegan Strawberry Lemon Layer Cake
    • A close up of one of my vegan blueberry cream cheese muffins which is topped with a thin glaze drizzle.
      Vegan Blueberry Cream Cheese Muffins with Streusel Crumble

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Bea says

      May 10, 2023 at 10:27 pm

      5 stars
      BEST carrot cake that I’ve ever eaten (and I’ve eaten many)

      Reply
      • DJ says

        July 23, 2023 at 1:51 pm

        Wow! That's so kind of you, Bea! Really appreciate it, thank you.

        Reply

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