Easy & fluffy vegan sponge cake with carrot juice

The previous recipe was a potato casserole for the lazybones. Today we are dealing with an equally lazy cake recipe. This is a lighter version of a carrot cake, more fluffy and light. Although I really appreciate a good, moist and slightly heavy carrot cake (I recommend my favourite carrot cake recipe), in this case we will definitely be making a vegan sponge cake. It is perfect for preparing a multilayer cake with frosting or baking it quickly as an emergency cake. Beautifully orange in colour & really delicate. For the most basic version I recommend preparing it with an intensely chocolate glaze and crispy roasted pumpkin seeds.

The laziness of this cake means that you do not have to worry about peeling and grating carrots. It is a sponge cake with carrot juice – without the addition of any plant-based milk. To prepare it you need one larger bowl and a springform cake tin. Sitter!

Easy & fluffy vegan sponge cake with carrot juice

Ingredients for a round tin with a diameter of about 20 cm

  • 250g wheat flour (i.e. two almost full glasses, you can also try spelt flour, type 630)
  • 200g sugar (one almost full glass)
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 2 tsp ginger
  • 1 tsp turmeric (can be omitted)
  • 1 and 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 400ml carrot juice (100%, unsweetened – not thick juice from concentrate)
  • 50ml rapeseed or sunflower oil
  • 1 tbsp apple (or wine) vinegar

For the icing:

  • 4 tbsp water
  • 2 tbsp sugar
  • 1/2 bar dark chocolate (minimum 70% cocoa)
  • A good pinch of cinnamon, ginger and salt

For decoration:

  • A large handful of pumpkin seeds (it will also taste good with walnuts or even sunflower seeds)
  1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Before it heats up, you will be ready to put the cake in the oven.
  2. In a large bowl, combine all dry ingredients for the cake, then add the oil and carrot juice. Mix everything thoroughly, then add a tablespoon of vinegar and briefly mix everything again.
  3. The batter should be quite runny. Just before putting it to the oven, pour it into a leakproof cake tin lined with baking parchment.
  4. Bake for 35-40 minutes. At the end of this time, check the cake with a toothpick. It should be moist, but not covered with wet dough.
  5. When the cake is in the oven, put the pumpkin seeds (walnuts or sunflower seeds) on any baking tray and roast together with the cake for about 10 minutes. Be careful not to burn them!

Icing and the grand finale

  1. When the cake is slightly cooled – prepare the chocolate icing. At the bottom of the pot, heat a little bit of water and dissolve sugar. Then add salt, ginger and cinnamon. Bring to a boil and turn off the gas.
  2. Add the chopped chocolate and mix it all thoroughly until the icing is thick and smooth.
  3. Pour the chocolate over the cake and spread it. Before the icing sets completely, decorate with roasted pumpkin seeds or nuts and set aside to cool for at least … a few moments 🙂

Still hungry?