This vegan swirled caramel carrot cake is moist, perfectly spiced, loaded with carrots and swirled with a simple maple caramel. It’s then topped with a vegan cream cheese frosting and then swirled with a little more maple caramel. This recipe is basically the best vegan carrot cake you’ll ever make, see, and most importantly… eat.

This vegan caramel carrot sheet cake is…

the perfect Easter sweet treat.
fun to make with kids.
a gorgeous, gorgeous vegan dessert that will impress your loved ones.
a sheet cake, so no fancy decorating is needed!!!

Ingredients for swirled caramel carrot cake with cream cheese frosting…

Flour: for this recipe, you’ll need AP flour. It’ll help give the cake the perfect structure and a beautiful crumb.
Carrots: I like to peel the skin off the carrots, and then grate them. The carrots not only give the cake loads of flavour, but they create a soft, moist-ish crumb.
Sugars: the cake needs soft light brown sugar, and the quick caramel sauce needs dark brown sugar.
Plant milk: I used oat milk, but any plant milk should work.
Apple cider vinegar: ok I know this may sound weird, but we need it to make our own homemade vegan buttermilk. plus, you only need a little, and I promise you, you won’t be able to taste it.
Vegan butter: as always, I used salted vegan butter but you can use unsalted if you prefer. You’ll need vegan butter for the base, the caramel and the cream cheese frosting. It’s a lot but SO worth it.
Vanilla extract: use a good quality vanilla extract, you’ll need it for the cake and caramel.
Ground cinnamon: because all carrot cakes need a good amount of ground cinnamon.
Baking soda + powder: using both gives us the perfect lift
Salt: every dessert needs a little salt to balance out the sweetness.
Maple syrup: the caramel in this recipe is a maple caramel, so use pure maple syrup!
Vegan cream cheese: use your favourite brand, and keep at room temp until needed.

All about the vegan carrot cake…

Start with making the vegan buttermilk. Just combine oat milk with a dash of apple cider vinegar. Set aside for 5 minutes.

Next, mix together melted vegan butter with the light brown sugar until everything is well combined. Add in the vegan buttermilk, grated carrots and vanilla extract. Set aside.

In another bowl, combine all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and ground cinnamon. Set aside.

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The reason we’re not combining the wet and dry yet is that for the best results, we shouldn’t wait too long between combining them both and baking.

Onto the swirled maple caramel…

Grab a saucepan, and add the vegan butter, maple syrup, vanilla extract and dark brown sugar. Heat over medium heat and once the butter has melted, bring to a boil and boil for 3-4 minutes or until the caramel has thickened up.

Back to the carrot cake batter… fold together the wet and dry together. Then transfer into the 9×13 pre-lined cake pan. Smooth the batter into an even layer with a pallet knife or using a spatula. Drizzle 3 tbsp of the maple caramel over the carrot cake batter, and swirl together with a butter knife or a chopstick. You’ll need to do this pretty quickly as the caramel does get hard the longer it cools.

Bake for 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted. Once the carrot sheet cake has baked, allow it cool for 20 minutes, and then transfer it onto a cooling rack to cool completely.

The vegan cream cheese frosting with swirled maple caramel…

While the cake cools down, start making the vegan cream cheese frosting. Beat together the room temp vegan butter and vegan cream cheese until smooth. Now, in small amounts, add the icing sugar and mix until combined. Adding the icing sugar in small amounts prevents it from going everywhere when mixing.

Back to the maple caramel…by now the caramel has probably cooled down and become hard. So to loosen it up, just add 1 tbsp of oat milk and heat over low-medium heat. Keep stirring until well combined. This should take around 2 minutes, and once loosened up, take off the heat.

The final touches…

Once the carrot sheet cake has cooled completely. Top with the vegan cream cheese frosting, and create big swirls with the back of a spoon or with a palette knife. Drizzle over the remaining maple caramel, and swirl together until it looks pretty.

This frosting is on the softer side, so it may run down the edges of the cake once sliced! But I kinda love that.

How to store the vegan carrot sheet cake

Just like all cakes, this carrot sheet cake tastes best on the day it’s made. But if you do have any leftovers you can keep them at room temp for 2-3 days. You can also refrigerate the cake if you wish for up to 4 days.

Tried this recipe?

After you try this swirled caramel carrot cake with cream cheese frosting recipe, please leave a star rating and review below! I try my best to respond to you all. Oh, and don’t forget to tag me over on Instagram – I can’t wait to repost your images!!

More vegan recipes you’ll love

Vegan Swirled Caramel Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

5 from 2 reviews

Total Time: 1 hour
Yield: 20 people 1x

Print Recipe

Description

This recipe is basically the best vegan carrot cake you'll ever make, see, and most importantly… eat.

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 180°C/356°F. Line a 9×13 cake pan.
The cake: Start by making the buttermilk by combining oat milk with apple cider vinegar. Set aside for 5 minutes. In another bowl, mix together light brown sugar with the melted butter. Mix in vanilla extract, the buttermilk and grated carrots. In another bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, ground cinnamon and salt. Set aside.
Maple caramel: Add maple syrup, dark brown sugar, butter and vanilla extract into a saucepan. Heat over medium heat, once the butter has melted, bring to a boil and boil for 3-4 minutes or until it becomes thicker.
Baking the cake: Combine the wet and dry together, and pour into the pre-lined baking sheet. Smooth out into an even layer. Drizzle 3 tbsp of the maple caramel, and quickly swirl together. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted.
Cream cheese frosting with caramel: Beat together softened room temp butter with the cream cheese. Once smooth, add in small amounts of the icing sugar at a time, and mix until combined. The maple caramel will stiffen up, so to loosen it up add 1 tbsp of oat milk to it and bring to a gentle boil until everything is mixed and runnier. Set aside.
Final touches: Once the cake is baked, allow to cool for 20 minutes in the cake pan, then remove to cool completely before frosting. Dollop the vegan cream cheese frosting all over the cake, spread and create swirls. Drizzle over the maple caramel, and swirl together. Enjoy!!

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Category: Dessert
Cuisine: American