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The Korean Vegan

DessertsGluten Free

Healthy Carrot Cake (Vegan & Gluten Free)

top view of cake with white frosting and purple flowers and chopped nuts

This Healthy Carrot Cake was born out of necessity. My husband was going through his “I want to be gluten free” phase and I absolutely needed—like truly needed—carrot cake. At that time, I was also experimenting with going “refined sugar free” (why???) and therefore, the cake (not the frosting) has no added refined sugar. I also replaced the vegan butter I would typically include with applesauce. Bottom line, this is probably one of the healthiest cakes I’ve ever developed.

top view of cake with white frosting and purple flowers

And it still tasted AMAZING.

There used to be a restaurant across the street from my office that was famous for its carrot cake. Each thick slab would be lined with elegant cream cheese frosting, with a mini “carrot” piped on the top. The cake itself was moist and soft and carrot-y and was often times the perfect way to end lunch, before heading back to my billable hours.

The problem with this decadent cake, though, was that it always left me feeling slightly sick to my stomach. Not sure how much of this was caused by heavy frosting or the inevitable “food guilt,” but it was unpleasant enough that I steered clear of the carrot cake most lunches, even if it was my hands down favorite item on their menu.

woman behind layer cake with purple flowers and nuts on top

This Healthy Carrot Cake kinda checks all the boxes—no refined flour, no refined sugar, no dairy, no eggs, no processed fat. Not to mention that it’s full of carrots and cinnamon, both of which will give you a shot of antioxidants. Not sure you can get any healthier than this and still call it a cake?

I am very sensitive to “aftertastes,” which is one of the reasons I cannot STAND using pre-mixed gluten free flours from the store. No matter what brand I used, I could always taste “something” that I shouldn’t. So, I came up with my own simple blend. It usually works out pretty well and it created a very moist and soft carrot cake. I honestly wasn’t expecting much when I decided to create a Healthy Carrot Cake, but was pleasantly surprised with these results.

Now, I didn’t include a frosting in this recipe because it’s hard to keep even this cake “healthy” with frosting. But, if you must have frosting with your carrot cake (I hear ya), I include an optional “frosting” recipe at the bottom. Enjoy!

woman standing behind cake that has white frosting and purple flowers and nuts on top

Print Recipe
8

Ingredients
  

  • 2 Tablespoons vinegar
  • 3/4 cup plant milk
  • 1 1/2 cup sweet rice flour 170 grams
  • 3/4 cup almond flour
  • 1/4 cup flax meal
  • 3/4 cup maple syrup
  • 2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 3 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 300 grams shredded carrots
  • 1/2 cup applesauce
  • 1/4 cup pumpkin puree
  • 2/3 cup golden raisins
  • 2/3 cup shredded coconut

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350° F.
  • Spray 7-inch round cake pan with cooking spray and line with parchment paper.
  • Add vinegar to plant milk and set aside until it curdles.
  • In a large bowl, whisk together sweet white rice flour, almond flour, flax meal, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and raisins.
  • Add shredded carrots, coconut, applesauce, pumpkin puree, maple syrup, and curdled plant milk to dry ingredients and stir with whisk until well combined.
  • Pour batter into cake pan and place into oven. Bake for ~50-55 minutes until toothpick comes out clean.
  • Allow the cake to cool completely (15-20 minutes) before attempting to remove from pan.
  • For cream cheese frosting, add 2 cups of powdered sugar to stand mixer. Add 1 cup of vegan cream cheese + 2 tbsp vegan butter. Mix together on low speed with paddle attachment.
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Healthy Carrot Cake (Vegan & Gluten Free) was last modified: May 20th, 2020 by the.krn.vegan@gmail.com
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I veganize Korean food. I Koreanize everything else.

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the.korean.vegan

The Korean Vegan, Esq.
Earlier today, I watched a video of a white man en Earlier today, I watched a video of a white man encourage his 3 year old son to “make fun of his Asian uncle” by pulling the corners of his eyes back into slits.  When confronted by a number of Asians explaining how offensive the video was, he grew defensive, claiming it was “just a little fun.”
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Several years ago, someone asked me what the big deal was about white people making fun of my eyes.  He claimed, “people make fun of my appearance all the time, I guess I’m just not as sensitive as you.” Being bullied for one’s appearance is always wrong and can definitely be traumatic no matter what. But when that appearance is tied to your ethnicity, and when that ethnicity is outnumbered, that kind of bullying can take on a different level of harm. If someone makes fun of my nose, I may spend the rest of my life hating my nose. But if someone makes fun of my eyes—an attribute tied to my Koreanness—then I not only hate my eyes, I also hate my Koreanness.
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Bottom line, I never thought that in 2021, I’d have to explain why making “Asian eyes” to an Asian is offensive, inappropriate, and insensitive.  But apparently, it’s a message that continues to be in demand. In lieu of yelling at people, though, I thought I’d just share a story.
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Finally, a couple translations: “Dominick’s Language” is what I used to call English, because it was the gibberish my Dad spoke at the grocery store. “Sohknehbok” is Korean underclothing, something my grandmother made me wear in summer, lol, because she was always afraid I would catch my death.
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You can find the recipe for Tteokbokki (or its popular sister recipe, Rabokki) on my blog.
I’ve been grappling with this a lot lately—the I’ve been grappling with this a lot lately—the feeling that people automatically question my authenticity, are waiting for me to screw up and reveal my non-Koreanness. I’ve been called out for using the wrong ingredients, providing incorrect translations, even typos in my hashtags—all as if these errors somehow serve as proof that I’m not as Korean as I “pretend” to be. This makes me so angry sometimes because I feel like so much of my work is directly on behalf of the Korean and Korean American community, and my choice to avoid animal products shouldn’t just erase that. Over the past two years, I’ve spent a great deal of time researching for my book. I talked to my family, went to South Korea, and educated myself on the ingredients I took for granted. But I worry that ppl will see “Vegan” after the word Korean and assume that I’m immediately disqualified from participating in the discourse of diaspora. I even thought about changing my @ but I like the challenge implied by joining Korean and Vegan. Even if it makes me nervous! Lol.
Jumeok bap for Oppa. Jumeok bap for Oppa.
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