Vegan Carrot Cake With Vegan Cream Cheese Glaze {GF, DF, Vegan, Nut Free}
When I polled people on Facebook and Instagram about what their favourite type of cake was an overwhelming amount of you said carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. So here we have my friends my Vegan Carrot Cake with Vegan Cream Cheese Glaze. I have to say I am quite partial to a good carrot cake myself. One of the requirements I set for myself was to create a gluten and dairy free version as well as one that was free from eggs and nuts. That might seem a mean feat but I like to take on a challenge. Since I had a good carrot cake recipe that I normally made using all normal ingredients I set about transforming it into an allergy-friendly version. I mean if you suffer an allergy you now can indulge in a delicious piece of carrot cake again.... you can thank me later.
I simply subbed the flour with a good quality gluten free flour and added in a touch of coconut flour for a fluffy cake. I find some gluten free flours just don't give a cake or muffins a fluffy crumb so I always add in a small amount of either almond meal or coconut flour to give the cake a nice crumb. Since I wanted this to be a nut free cake I used coconut flour. In place of eggs I used ground flax seeds. I use these as lot as a binding agent in various recipes normally savoury. Flaxseed eggs are very commonly used in vegan baking and I have used them on occasions with great success. If you have not intolerant to eggs you can simply replace the flaxseed eggs with normal eggs to the same ratio three flaxseed eggs to three normal ones.
Another request of for a version of a vegan cream cheese icing. Now I didn't do the fluffy cream cheese glaze and keep it simple with a vegan cream cheese glaze purely for the fact my cream cheese icing turned into a glaze. Ha. I won't lie I was disappointed I didn't get the fluffy cream cheese icing everyone was after but after sampling a piece for taste testing purposed I really enjoyed the subtle tang of the glaze. I used a vegan version of cream cheese that I found at my local supermarket. I will give you options below for a proper vegan cream cheese icing if that is what you so desire but for me, I would be happy to put either on top of the cake. It depends on what floats your boat when you make a carrot cake. Since the cake couldn't contain nuts and traditional walnuts are used in the cake for a bit of crunch I decided to use some sultanas instead. Now if you have no problems with nuts simple swap the sultanas for walnuts or use both. That's what my husband likes in his carrot cake. A combination of both sultanas and walnuts. Don't want either then just leave them out. I topped the cake with some toasted coconut flakes for a crunchy garnish and there we have one Vegan Carrot Cake with Vegan Cream Cheese Glaze. What more could you want on this fine day!
If you have no problems with nuts I would recommend making this version of a Cashew Cream Cheese Icing by the Minimalist Baker if you want a proper cream cheese icing for your carrot cake.
