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
How to make buttermilk at home if I have yogurt? Can you please tell me the ratio of yogurt and water to make buttermilk
Hi Ramya..you can make buttermilk by adding 1 tablespoon white vinegar to 1 cup milk, let it sit for 10 minutes until it slightly curdles and then use in the recipe
Best eggless carrot cake. Been looking for a good recipe
glad to know 🙂
Hi i am shoba maharaj. Would love u to post some savoury receipes
there are hundreds of savory recipes on the blog..please use the search box to see what you are looking for..
Hi Manali, You are really a baker! I so loved the presentation of your cake. Do You make the cream cheese at home or buy it.
If You do make it, then please be kind enough to share the recipe too.
Going to make it today. I hope it turns out good. 🙂
I buy cream cheese from store, hope the cake turned out okay for you 🙂
Hi Manali, I tried out your recipe this weekend & it turned out fabulously. I’m no baker so I was so impressed with the final product, the cake was soft, moist and delicious. I added pecan nuts to the recipe which gave it a bit of crunch. Thank you so much for sharing xxx Shaithal
I am glad to hear that Shaithal! Glad you enjoyed!
Can we substitute maida with whole wheat flour.
you may! the cake just won’t be that lighter!
Hi, I am just wondering what oil you used here? Thanks
Canola oil….vegetable oil will work as well!
Carrots and egg-less – what’s not to love??!! While I eat eggs, I prefer to make eggless cakes on some days simply because…
Lovely website! I recently stumbled onto it …
Thanks Prajakta !
Gorgeous presentation, Manali! simply flawless! and egg-less part is my favorite!
Thanks Savita!
I love a loaded Carrot Cake – but even more than this yummy carrot-filled-cake are those amazing BRIGHT orange rosettes on top of this cake. BEAUTIFUL!
Thanks Rachel!