My mom loves carrot cake, so I created this recipe last fall for her birthday. The texture (lighter and fluffier than your normal carrot cake) and the depth of flavor from the spices earned rave reviews from both family and friends. For the frosting, I soaked raw cashews in water, then put them in a high speed blender with a bit of water to create a cashew cream. I then mixed this cream with Earth Balance, vanilla extract, a touch of lemon juice, and powdered sugar, and the result was amazing. Unfortunately, I tasted the frosting and added a little more of one thing or another so many times that I’m not sure of the exact ratio of ingredients in the finished product. I provide an outline of what I did below, and you can then adjust flavorings as you go. Or, you can easily find a vegan frosting recipe online or replace the butter or cream cheese in a regular frosting recipe with vegan butter or cream cheese. 

Prep Time: 15 min. for just the cake and another 15 if also making the frosting. Cook Time: 30-40 min. Makes 2 9×9” round cake pans (at least 12 servings)

Ingredients: 

½ cup applesauce

½ cup soy yogurt (you can also use ½ cup soy milk mixed with 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar. The result is almost as good).

½ cup non-dairy milk (I used soy milk)

¼ cup maple syrup 

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups all purpose flour

¾ cup sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon ginger

½ teaspoon nutmeg

¼ teaspoon salt

1 ½ cups shredded carrots

1. Preheat the oven to 350.
2. Mix together the applesauce, yogurt, non-dairy milk, syrup, and vanilla.
3. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt. 
4. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and stir in the wet ingredients, being careful not to over mix. Stir in the carrots.
5. Pour into a greased cake pan and bake for 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out with just a few crumbs sticking to it. 

Frosting

1 ½ cups raw cashews (soaked for at least 6 hours)

¼ cup water or non-dairy milk

1 cup Earth Balance

1 1/2 – 2 ½ cups powdered sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract 

¼ teaspoon salt

1. Blend the soaked cashews and non-dairy milk or water in a high speed blender until smooth.
2. Use an electric mixer or hand mixer to blend the cashew cream with the Earth Balance, 1 ½ cups sugar, vanilla, and salt. 
3. Taste, and add more sugar (and/or Earth Balance, vanilla, and salt), as desired. 
4. If the mixture is too runny, let harden in the freezer for a little while before frosting the cake. Also, make sure the cake is cool before you frost it.

Note: As you can see, I ringed the cake with toasted walnuts and pecans. I also constructed it as a layer cake, which is a fun option.