Carrot Cake (Dairy, Egg and Nut Free)
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This DEN Free Carrot Cake is one of my favorites. I only make it once a year on Easter because it is so delicious that I have a hard time restraining myself. This was adapted from a family favorite recipe we had in my home growing up. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!
Carrot Cake (Dairy, Egg and Nut Free)
This carrot cake is a family favorite. It is moist, dense and absolutely delicious. You could technically call it a carrot pineapple cake because it uses pineapple as well as carrot, but the flavors compliment each other so nicely, that all you taste is delicious cake without thinking about either the carrots or the pineapple. If you do not want to make a dairy-free cream cheese frosting, you can use a dairy-free vanilla frosting. You can use a store-bought frosting like Duncan Hines or Pillsbury vanilla frosting or make the dairy-free vanilla frosting on this site. There are a couple of store-bought brands that make a "Cream Cheese" Frosting that are surprisingly dairy-free but I think the Vanilla frosting tastes better. Duncan Hines Creamy Homestyle Cream Cheese Frosting and Pillsbury Cream Cheese Frosting are both options if you are curious to try a cream cheese frosting made without dairy.
Ingredients
- 3 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups grated carrots
- 1 cup crushed pineapple, drained
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
- 6 Tablespoons applesauce
- 1 cup oil
- 2 cups sugar
Dairy Free Cream Cheese Frosting
- 8 oz Tofutti Cream Cheese Alternative
- 1 cup dairy free butter alternative (like Earth Balance or Smart Balance)
- 1 pound powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
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Heat oven to 325 degrees F. In a large bowl, stir together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
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In another bowl combine carrots, pineapple and vanilla. Mix well. Add applesauce, oil and sugar and stir until well combined.
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Add flour mixture gradually, stirring until all ingredients are just moistened. Be careful not to over-mix or cake will fall.
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Pour into a greased 13×9 pan. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until cake springs back and toothpick comes out clean.
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Allow cake to cool completely before frosting.
Frosting
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Because dairy free cream cheese is not carried in my local grocery store, I usually used a homemade or store bought vanilla frosting on this cake. There are store-bought cream cheese frosting options but I don't particularly like the flavor. If you happen to have easy access to dairy free cream cheese, you can try this cream cheese recipe with the cake.
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Beat Toffuti cream cheese alternative, softened butter alternative, and vanilla.
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Add powdered sugar 1 cup at a time and beat until fluffy.
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Frost completely cooled cake.
Carrot Grating Tip:
Use a medium size or small grating hole. Do not use matchstick carrots. They are too thick for the recipe to turn out well.
You can use a food processor to grate your carrots if you have a grating attachment and want to speed things up.
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