Healthy Carrot Cake, Vegan

This vegan healthy carrot cake is THE best. It is sweetened with maple syrup and dates and has the most luxurious vegan cream cheese frosting you'll ever taste. File this recipe for any celebratory ocassion!

Carrots are just about to enter their peak season later this Spring, so let's celebrate with this vegan healthy carrot cake. It has the most perfectly moist crumb which pairs beautifully with the thick, luscious cream cheese frosting. This is the perfect cake for those who like their desserts to have a lot of flavor but not be overly sweet. It's also incredibly adaptable and you can customize it by adding a different type of nut (pecans or almonds), omitting nuts, adding chopped up raisins or dates, or adding more or less powdered sugar to the icing to control its sweetness. And, then of course you could also bake this in a muffin tin or loaf pan if you adjust the time accordingly!

This healthy carrot cake is

Free of refined sugar

Packed with whole, nutritious ingredients

So delicious and moist

Quick and easy to make

Wonderful year-round

A few tips for working with carrots

Fresh carrots have better flavor. If possible, purchase your carrots from your local farmer's market for the best tasting carrots. In general, fresh produce carries much more flavor (and nutrients). But, we've all had that sad bag of carrots sitting in the fridge that need to be used. I found myself in that situation and can attest that the cake will still be insanely delicious!

Freshly grated carrots will have more moisture. I personally avoid buying pre-grated carrots because they tend to get really dried out and are sometimes too large. For a cake like this, you'll want thin, juicy carrot shreds that will infuse moisture into the cake. But, if you do see a really fresh (and appropriately sized) bag of grated carrots in the grocery store then snag it! I

A food processor is your best friend. Grating carrots can be a major pain in the a** sometimes. If you have a food processor, simply add the grating attachment to it and you'll be done within minutes. Otherwise, you can grate by hand like I did!

Add the carrots with the dry ingredients. Usually you fold in your filling at the end, but when working with carrots you're going to add in with the mixed dry ingredients. Coating the carrots with the flour mixture will prevent them from sinking to the bottom of the cake.

How to make date paste

Date paste is arguably one of healthiest sweetners and it happens to be so easy to make!

1. Start with about 8 oz of pitted medjool dates
2. Add them to a heat safe bowl and pour boiling water over them. Let sit for about 15 minutes.
3. Once the dates have softened, drain well and add to a food processor. Blend until a paste forms (about 5 minutes).
4. Store any extra date paste in an air tight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

You'll be glad you'll have date paste on hand - it's great for healthy baking and especially good on toast and sandwiches!

You'll love these other vegan cake recipes

Oreo Cake

Olive Oil Cake

Orange Blossom Bundt Cake

Blood Orange Cake

Spiced Pear Cake