Vegan Maple Date Carrot Cake

It’s carrot cake season! Every spring I have to make at least one, and so recently I decided to bake a carrot cake because it’s tradition and it just sounded so good! This time I decided to make a Vegan Maple Date Carrot Cake, because maple and dates go so well with the spices in a traditional carrot cake. It turned out so good I had to share!

I love a dessert that includes veggies, so carrot cake is right up my alley. For this one I used my vanilla cake base with warming carrot cake spices like ginger, cinnamon, cardamom and nutmeg. For the flour I used whole wheat pastry flour but you could use regular all purpose flour instead or even a gluten free all purpose baking flour like Bob’s Red Mill (which I have had good results with before). I used granulated sugar but brown sugar would also work well in this or maple sugar if you’d like a less refined version.

A lot of carrot cakes have raisins and walnuts but I don’t really care for raisins so I thought dates would be perfect. Dates are like caramel in fruit form. I added pecans to this cake for a nice crunch as well. For the maple flavor I added maple extract to the cake along with the vanilla and maple syrup to the frosting to give it a delicious flavor. I just made a simple buttercream for this and it was perfect!

This cake turned out so heavenly! Layers of soft, sweet lightly spiced carrot cake with sweet dates and crunchy pecans throughout and a luscious maple buttercream frosting. I loved it and my husband loved it as well, so I think you will too! If you are a carrot cake fan, definitely give this Vegan Maple Date Carrot Cake a try!

Vegan Maple Date Carrot Cake

Makes one 2 layer 6 inch cake

Ingredients:

Cake:

• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 3/4 tsp baking powder (1/2 tsp plus 1/4 tsp)
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 2 flax eggs (2 Tbsp golden ground flax seed mixed with 1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp filtered water, allowed to sit 15 minutes)
• 1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp avocado oil or other neutral oil
• 1/2 cup plant based milk
• 1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• 1/2 cup chopped dates

Frosting:

• 1 1/2 cups vegan butter, I used Earth Balance (at room temperature)
• 1 Tbsp maple syrup
• 2-3 Tbsp oat milk (I used Oatly, but you can use what you prefer), add 3 then if needed add another if frosting comes out too stiff
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 tsp maple extract
• 4 cups powdered sugar

Garnish:

1/4 cup chopped pecans

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F degrees, and line 2 6 inch round cake pans with parchment on the bottom and oil the sides.
2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, spices, baking powder and sea salt and whisk to blend.
3. Add the flax eggs, avocado oil, oat milk, and vanilla and beat with an electric mixer for about a minute (or 3 minutes if doing it by hand with a whisk).
4. Fold in the carrots, pecans and dates.
5. Pour the batter into the prepared pans evenly.
6. Place the cakes in the oven and bake for about 30 minutes until the cakes are done in the center (you are able to insert a toothpick into the center and it comes out almost clean with a few moist crumbs).
7. Remove from the oven and let cool 20 minutes, then remove the cakes from the pans by cutting around the sides, placing a plate on top then inverting it and tapping on it.  Allow them then to cool completely once they are out of the pans.
8. To make the frosting, beat the butter with the milk, maple, maple extract and vanilla extract until fluffy.
9. Add the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, and beat until completely mixed and light and fluffy (if the frosting is too stiff add that other Tbsp of milk).
10. When ready to frost, Place one cake layer on a plate, spread about 1/2 inch thick layer of the frosting over it.
11. Place the next cake layer on top.
12. Spread the remaining frosting on the top and down the sides of the cake evenly.
13. Sprinkle chopped pecans over the cake, then place the rest of the frosting in a pastry bag and use it to decorate the top.  This frosting recipe makes enough that you should be able to do some generous piping decorations on top, because I like a lot of frosting!
14. Serve the cake and enjoy!