Oh Sweet Sunday, it's Vegan Carrot Cake.

There is a one week window every month where my love of savory and salty foods is over-powered by an intense sweet tooth. So to this I say... let's make cake.

Nut-free. Gluten-free. Egg-free. Dairy-free. Refined-Sugar-free. But yes, it still tastes like cake. :)

The cake recipe has been adapted by me from The Candle Cafe Cookbook. I make a few substitutions here and there depending on what I have on hand. I also always substitute regular wheat and pastry flours with gluten-free flours. To make this recipe gluten-free I used a blend of quinoa and oatmeal flour. I used an additional 1/2 cup of the gluten-free flour to assure it was thick enough. I also substituted olive oil for safflower oil, apples instead of pineapple, unsweetened rice milk for soy milk. It turned out to be a less sweet version of their carrot cake recipe .. but it was delish. The key is to stick the cake in the fridge after its been iced so it can get really cool before eating.

The other change I made to the original cake recipe was to the icing. The cookbook icing recipe is a sweet version of a vegan cream cheese icing. However, if you are cool with a healthy and mildly sweet icing you will love my icing recipe instead! Plus this recipe keeps the cake completely free of refined-sugar. What could be sweeter? The recipe is below.

Also note: the only high allergen included in this dish is soy, tofu (soy) is used in the icing. I easily switched out soy for rice milk in the cake with no problem. But if you are allergic to soy ditch the icing and serve the cake with some cold-pressed oil (grass-fed butter if you can do dairy) and honey or maple syrup. It will still be really yummy!

Let me also say a few things about the original carrot cake recipe. In addition to its place in the cookbook it's also served at one of my FAV vegetarian cafes EVER, located in New York City, The Candle Cafe. At Candle Cafe they serve the cake cold, which is why I say stick the cake in the fridge for a few hours. In addition to this amazing cake, the cafe has a bunch of excellent dishes and alternative desserts so I highly recommend dining there for a casual meal if you are ever in NYC.

Also worth mentioning, Candle Cafe recently started a line of frozen food entrees and desserts that are available at select Whole Foods. And guess what? The list of SKUs available includes a frozen Carrot Cake Muffin and a Ginger Miso Stir-fry.

Easy Vegan Vanilla Icing
1 1/4 cup of drained firm tofu
4-5 tbsp of maple syrup (use grade B for more mineral content)
2 tbsp of lemon juice
1/2-1 tsp of vanilla extract

Blend together all ingredients and then refrigerate.

Eat up and enjoy!

xoxoNatalie