Vegan Gluten-Free Carrot Cake

September and the floor has a new rhythm—the post-summer version where the patients who went home for August are back and there's a settling quality to the days. James, the new nurse, is finding his footing. I've been answering his questions the way the nurses answered mine when I started: fully, without condescension, because that's how you learn this job and there is no shortcut.

Liam started at a family daycare on East Broadway this week, two days a week while I work. He's eighteen months and ready in the way kids are ready—he noticed other small people when we visited and was immediately interested in their business—but the first drop-off was hard in the way first drop-offs are always hard. I drove away and then sat in the car around the corner for seven minutes. He was fine when I picked him up. He'd eaten lunch with someone else's child and shared a bucket of sand and had opinions about the afternoon that he delivered at volume for the drive home. He was more than fine. He was excellent. I take the seven minutes.

Apple cake on Sunday. Same recipe as last year, the brown sugar and cinnamon one—it's September and it's the right thing and I'm not going to vary the recipe just to have something different to say. Some things should be the same every year. Liam had two pieces and wanted a third. I gave him the third because it's September and he said please.

The fire escape plant is finally out. I cleaned the pot and put it in the corner and thought about next year's tomatoes. There will be next year's tomatoes. There is always next year's tomatoes.

The apple cake is ours now—it belongs to September the way certain songs belong to certain drives, and I’m not putting it here because some things get to stay private. But the impulse behind it, that need for something warm and spiced and exactly right for the season, that’s what this carrot cake is. It’s the same kind of baking: unpretentious, brown-sugar honest, the sort of thing you make on a Sunday afternoon while a toddler pulls on your pant leg and asks for a piece before it’s even cooled. It’s the recipe I reach for when I want the kitchen to smell like fall and I want to hand someone a plate and have that be enough.

Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 40 min | Total Time: 1 hr | Servings: 12

Ingredients

2 cups gluten-free all-purpose flour blend
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup melted coconut oil
2 flax eggs (2 tablespoons ground flaxseed mixed with 6 tablespoons water, rested 5 minutes)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups finely grated carrots (about 4 medium carrots)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
For the frosting: 1 cup vegan cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1–2 tablespoons unsweetened oat milk, as needed

Instructions

Preheat and prep. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x13-inch baking pan or two 9-inch round cake pans and line the bottom with parchment paper.
Make flax eggs. Combine ground flaxseed and water in a small bowl and stir. Let sit for 5 minutes until thickened and gel-like.
Mix dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the gluten-free flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and salt.
Mix wet ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, granulated sugar, applesauce, melted coconut oil, flax eggs, and vanilla until smooth and well combined.
Combine. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined—do not overmix. Fold in the grated carrots and nuts if using.
Bake. Pour batter into the prepared pan(s) and spread evenly. Bake for 35–40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the top springs back lightly when touched.
Cool completely. Let the cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and cool fully before frosting.
Make the frosting. Beat vegan cream cheese with an electric mixer until smooth. Add powdered sugar and vanilla and beat until fluffy. Add oat milk one tablespoon at a time until spreadable consistency is reached.
Frost and serve. Spread frosting evenly over the cooled cake. Slice and serve. Store covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

Nutrition (per serving)

Vegan Gluten-Free Carrot Cake — The One That Feels Like September