Carrot Cake (made with carrot juice pulp)
Carrot Cake (made with carrot juice pulp)
FIRST PUBLISHED 04/03/21; LAST UPDATED 08/05/24
Carrot cake can be quite the hot topic.
From whether it’s good or not, to what you put in it, people have a lot of opinions surrounding the subject. But I, for one, love it. In fact, I feel like it’s often a very underrated and overlooked cake. And I have no idea why. I mean, YOU GUYS. It’s literally vegetables parading as cake. Like I’m pretty sure it’s the only way you can get a serving of veggies and still eat your cake, too. I mean, I’m not a nutritionist or anything so, you know, don’t quote me on that, but the proof is pretty much written in the recipe.
See, it’s packed with carrots (a few cups to be exact) which means it’s basically a vegetable which also means, therefore, that it’s basically a health food. I mean, how can you not love this cake??
And don’t even get me started on the whole debate of adding pineapple and coconut (Both for me please!) as well as nuts (Also, yes!) and raisins (hard pass). If my Instagram DM’s are any indication, everyone is extremely, extremely opinionated and specific when it comes to their carrot cake. And basically everyone likes something different.
Good news is that this carrot cake is pretty flexible. You can easily eliminate the spices you don’t care for (or don’t have), and you can skip the nuts and/or the coconut. The pineapple and ginger, however, are a bit more of a challenge as this cake is actually made with the pulp leftover from my favorite carrot juice, which, you guessed it, has pineapple and ginger in it. But if you really, really just can’t do the pineapple (or ginger), be sure to check the notes on what to do.
Also, let’s just take a second for that juice pulp thing. Because I don’t know about you, but the one thing I hate about juicing is the excess of waste that it produces. Sure, I throw them in the compost, but it still always seems like such a shame. So, I try to incorporate the leftover pulp into recipes whenever I can. And the pulp from this juice is always just begging to be made into a carrot cake, which is, obviously, exactly what I decided to do here. I mean, make a juice so I can make cake? Sure, twist my arm. You don’t need to ask me twice. You know I’m all about that cake, er I mean juice, life! Ha!
And tbh, this cake is so good, you would never even know that it’s sustainable aka made with leftover juice pulp. And also refined-sugar free (when made with the coconut sugar). And that the frosting is made with vegan cream cheese (although tbh I find the best dreamiest, fluffiest, creamiest cream cheese frosting to be made with regular cream cheese but vegan butter…I know, just trust me on this one). It’s truly so moist, not too sweet and packed with the perfect amount of flavors. It’s totally worth juicing for, and also, if we’re being honest, ditching all your other carrot cake recipes for. It’s that good!
I mean, cheers to juicing, am I right?!
P.S. YOU CAN ALSO WATCH ME MAKE THIS CAKE OVER ON INSTAGRAM!
CARROT CAKE
YIELDS ONE 9” DOUBLE LAYER CAKE that serves 12-14
CARROT CAKE (MADE WITH CARROT JUICE PULP) WITH VEGAN CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups liquid coconut oil
- 1 3/4 cups coconut or brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 large eggs
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- A generous dash of fresh ground nutmeg (optional)
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 cups of carrot juice pulp (I use the leftovers from this recipe; see notes if you don’t have juice pulp)
- 1 cup coarsely chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)
- 1/2 cup coconut flakes (optional)
- 8 ounces vegan cream cheese (I like to use Miyokos), softened to room temperature
- 8 ounces vegan butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- Pinch of sea salt
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 3 1/2- 4 1/2 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 9-inch round cake pans (I use coconut oil for mine) and set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the oil, sugar, vanilla and eggs until combined. Next, whisk in the salt and spices. Lastly, whisk in the baking soda.
- Use a rubber spatula to fold in the flour. Then add the carrot juice pulp and nuts and coconut (if you’re using them), and gently fold them in just until incorporated.
- Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cake pans. Bake until the tops are springy to the touch and a knife or toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 45-55 minutes.
- Cool the cakes in the pans for 15-20 minutes, then gently remove them to a baking rack to allow them to cool completely.
- Once the cakes have cooled completely, transfer one to a serving dish. Frost with half of the frosting, gently place the second cake layer on top and frost with the remaining frosting. I like to keep mine as a naked cake, but feel free to coat the sides with icing, as well. Decorate with flowers, nuts or whatever else you like, slice and serve.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the vegan cream cheese and butter, on speed medium, until well combined and smooth, about 2-3 minutes, stopping to scrape the sides of the bowl as necessary.
- Add the vanilla, sea salt and cornstarch and mix on medium speed until incorporated.
- Lastly, with the mixer on low, add the powdered sugar, a cup at a time, mixing for a few seconds to incorporate after each addition. Continue adding until you’ve reached your desired consistency. If you prefer a thinner frosting, I’d stick to the 3 1/2 cups of powdered sugar, but for a thicker frosting (and my preference), you’ll want to add the full 4 1/2 cups. Once you’ve added the desired amount of powdered sugar, continue beating until the frosting is fluffy, smooth and full combined.
- While the frosting can be used immediately if necessary, I’d recommend refrigerating it for at least 1-4 hours prior so that it can thicken up to an ideal spreading consistency.
- Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Just be sure to remove from the fridge about 20-30 minutes prior to using so that the frosting has some time to soften for easier spreading.
Notes
FOR THE CAKE
- This recipe can easily be cut in half if you’d prefer to make just a single 9” round cake.
- The cake and frosting can be made a day in advance. In fact, I think the cake tastes even better if it is made ahead of time. Just be sure to store the cake and frosting separately, the cake covered in plastic wrap and the frosting stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container. Remove the frosting about 30 minutes prior to when you want to frost the cake.
- If you don’t have carrot juice pulp, you can use 3 cups of finely grated carrots or, if you’d like pineapple in your cake as well, use 2 1/2 cups finely grated carrot and 1/2 a cup of crushed pineapple. Be sure to add 1/2 teaspoon of ginger powder, as well.
FOR THE FROSTING
- Be sure to look for vegan cream cheese, not cream cheese spread. While you can use spread, the consistency will be thinner and won’t hold up quite as well. For the most traditional-style cream cheese frosting, use a vegan cream cheese as opposed to the spread if you can. My personal favorite to use is Miyokos.
- The cornstarch helps thicken the frosting but if you don’t have it you can just add additional powdered sugar to reach your desired frosting consistency.
Nutrition Facts
Calories
785Fat
43 gSat. Fat
25 gCarbs
99 gFiber
5 gNet carbs
95 gSugar
69 gProtein
8 gSodium
619 mgCholesterol
62 mgThis information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. Although we attempt to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates and come from online calculators. Variations may occur due to substitutions used, food preparation, freshness of ingredients and product availability, among other factors.You are solely responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information obtained is accurate.
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