Ingredients

The following ingredients have 4 Servings
  • 3/4 cup canola oil ((or another oil that's suitable for baking))
  • 3/4 cup crushed pineapple*
  • 1/2 cup unflavored non-dairy milk
  • 2 tablespoons ground flaxseed
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour ((or sub whole wheat pastry))
  • 3/4 cup organic granulated sugar
  • 3/4 cup organic granulated brown sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon powdered ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 1/2 cups finely shredded carrots ((about 5 medium carrots or 1/2 pound))
  • 1 cup chopped walnuts, (plus more for topping (optional))
  • 8 ounces vegan cream cheese
  • 1/2 cup vegan butter ((1 stick))
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 4 cups organic powdered sugar, (plus up to 1 additional cup)

Instruction

  • Begin by making the cake. Preheat the oven to 350°. Oil and line the bottoms of 2 (9-inch) round cake pans with parchment paper.
  • In a small bowl, stir together the oil, milk, pineapple, flaxseed and vanilla. Allow the mixture to sit for at least 10 minutes.
  • Meanwhile, stir the flour, sugar, brown sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and salt together in a large mixing bowl. 
  • Add the wet mixture to the dry, and stir just until blended, being careful not to overmix. Fold in the carrots and walnuts.
  • Distribute the batter among the two prepared pans, smoothing out the tops with a spatula.
  • Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cake comes out clean, about 45 minutes.
  • Transfer the cake pans to a cooling rack and allow them to cool completely.
  • While the cake layers cool, make the vegan cream cheese frosting. Place the cream cheese, butter, vanilla and salt into a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer at high-speed until smooth.
  • Begin beating in the powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time. Beat in 4 to 5 cups total, until the frosting reaches your desired consistency. If the frosting is still a bit runny after adding 5 cups, place it in the fridge until it firms up a bit (this shouldn't take longer than it takes for your cakes to cool).
  • When the cake layers are cool, carefully remove them from the pans and peel off the parchment paper.
  • Invert one of the layers on a plate, and slather the top with half of the cream cheese frosting. Top with the other layer, also inverted, and slather the top with the remaining frosting.
  • Optionally, frost the sides of the cake and garnish the top with chopped walnuts.
  • Slice and serve.