Carrot Cake (Eggless)
Jul 15, 2014, Updated May 07, 2023
Super moist eggless carrot cake with classic cream cheese frosting!
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Carrot cake is one my favorite cakes and if you have been following my blog you would know that I mentioned the same when I posted Carrot Cupcakes recipe on Easter this year. I got the opportunity to bake carrot cake again during my stay in India this time. The occasion was special, it was my mom & dad’s 34th wedding anniversary and so I obviously wanted to make the PERFECT CAKE. This was the first time I was going to bake something for my parents and it made me excited and also nervous.
My grandmother doesn’t eat eggs and so I made this eggless version of carrot cake and it turned out exactly the way I wanted it to be – soft, moist and bursting with cinnamon and carrot. Because I didn’t use eggs I used little extra oil and buttermilk to get the right texture for the cake. I always prefer using oil over butter for carrot cakes because of the moistness that it imparts to the cake. I don’t miss the butter flavor because the frosting more than compensates for it.
Buttermilk again makes the cake moist, you can use milk in stead but I prefer using buttermilk. To make your own buttermilk at home in 5 minutes take 1 cup measuring bowl and add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice to it. Add milk till the cup is full, let sit for 5 minutes or till milk curdles sightly. You can then use this homemade buttermilk in your recipe.
My cake had a lot of carrots you can cut down on it but as far as I am concerned my carrot cake should have loads of carrots in every bite and hence I added 2.5 heaping cups of shredded carrot to the batter.
The classic frosting with carrot cake is cream cheese frosting and that’s the frosting I used for here. I am a cream cheese frosting fan but I think a light whipped cream frosting would also taste great with this cake.
This cake was a big hit and everyone finished it in minutes – that obviously made me super happy not only because it turned out perfect but also because for the first time I was able to bake something for mom & dad : )
Happy Anniversary Mummy Papa. I love you!
PS: I used Wilton tip 2D to make the big 3 roses on the cake and wilton tip 18 to make the rosette border.
*Adjust consistency of the frosting as per your requirement. Add more heavy cream/milk for a more spreadable consistency and more sugar for a stiffer frosting.
Carrot Cake (Eggless)
Ingredients
Cake
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1.25 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2.25 teaspoons cinnamon powder
- 1 cup oil
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1.5 cups sugar
- 2.5 heaping cups carrot shredded
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 2 tablespoons yogurt
Cream Cheese Frosting
- ½ cup unsalted butter [1 stick]
- 4 oz cream cheese softened
- 1.5-2 cups powdered sugar
- ½ tsp vanilla
- 1-2 tablespoons milk or heavy cream
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Spray a 9 inch round baking pan with non-stick spray and set aside. I used a spring form pan and it was big enough, if using regular cake pans you can divide the batter into 2 pans.
- Grate the carrots finely using a food processor or using a hand grater. Set aside.
- In a bowl sift together all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon powder. Set aside.
- In steel bowl of your stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment or using your hand mixer beat together oil and sugar till well combined.
- Add in the yogurt and mix.
- Now start adding the flour mixture alternating with buttermilk. Add flour in 3 parts and buttermilk in 2 parts starting and ending with flour. Mix till batter is smooth but do not overmix.
- Finally fold in the shredded carrots.
- Pour batter in prepared pan and bake at 350 F degrees for 35-40 minutes or till a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool the cake completely before frosting it.
Frosting
- In the steel bowl of your stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment or using your hand mixer beat butter and cream cheese together till smooth and creamy.
- Add vanilla and mix.
- Start adding confectioners sugar 1/2 cup at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Add milk/cream and mix till frosting is smooth.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Hi Manali,
Lovely looking cake and even lovelier frosting!! Did you use the cream cheese frosting for the rosettes too?
yes I did!
Hi Manali,
I was wondering if there was a way to make this with unrefined sugar or even better honey.
Thanks!
maybe but the recipe will need to be re-tested with honey, won’t be a 1:1 substitute
Hi..what is the yogurt to water ratio to make buttermilk??
it’s actually vinegar to milk ratio that works best- use 1 tablespoon vinegar and add it to 1 cup measuring cup. then fill that cup with milk , let sit 10 minutes and then use in the recipe in place of buttermilk.
Hi Manali. I have been following your healthy cake recipes and am a fan. Somehow missed this carrot cake recipe. Tried 4 other recipes , none worked – won’t rise at all . But my baking powder and soda are working well for other cakes. Just the carrot cake won’t come out well. I am gonna try this recipe tomorrow. What care should I take so that the cake rises well? Plz comment. Thanks in advance.
this recipe also isn’t a very rise recipe, maybe you are expecting the cake to rise like a vanilla cake? the carrot cake doesn’t have the same texture.
Hi Manali, Can I use this recipe to make cupcakes instead?
sure
Hey,
I am going to bake this carrot cake using wheat in cooker tomorrow.
What points should be remembered?
Can I add only nutmeg?
Hello I have never baked in cooker, so I am afraid I can’t help there. Nutmeg alone will not give the flavor which we want. In fact you can skip nutmeg but do add cinnamon in carrot cake
Hi Manali,
I tried the carrot cake and my family loved it! It was delicious and moist even though i reduced the oil to 3/4cup. Thanks for posting the recipe!
Hello Manali,
I made your cake for my mom (for Mother’s Day) and she absolutely loved it -said it was sooo moist and could not believe that I made it and thought I bought a premade cake!! EXCELLENT RECIPE! Will definitely make it again. Thanks so much!!