Eggless, Vegan & Healthy Carrot Teacake

No Maida (all-purpose flour). No Sugar. Eggless. And no Butter either. Wao. I can’t believe that even without all these ingredients this cake turned out absolutely soft, moist, and delicious. Sometimes, I wonder why these ingredients are even necessary. If you can make a cake (or teacake) healthy, clean and green and satisfy your sweet cravings, then why not.

By the way, this cake is vegan too. That makes it even more special because it feels like you are fulfilling your cravings consciously 🙂

Story Time

Recently, my neighbor’s little daughter came to me and asked me if she can bake a surprise birthday cake for her mother. I could not say no to such a sweet little girl. Then we started thinking about which cake can we bake together. She had everything ready in her mind so I did not need to think much about anything. She wanted to make a two-layer carrot cake for her with buttercream frosting. I got all the ingredients and then we started baking. We spent around 4 hours preparing that entire cake. Huh! Making a cake is time-taking. And even more tedious is keeping a little girl engaged all the time 😀

Anyway, the cake turned out just perfectly and everybody at the party enjoyed it a lot. We were showered with tonnes of appreciation. Sadly, we couldn’t eat that. Not even a small piece. Because it had eggs in it and we both don’t eat that. But we both started craving a carrot cake and I had some frosting left which I wanted to use. So, I made an eggless cake for us. And I even thought that if I am making then why not make it all healthy too? And here it is – a healthy, whole wheat (aata) flour, no sugar carrot cake. I feel happy while eating it because it is so delicious and healthy at the same time. And it literally makes me wonder why we need to add all those ingredients. We really don’t need them.

Tips to bake it right

1. Room Temperature: Make sure that all the ingredients are at room temperature. It is very important in baking.
2. Measure Accurately: Correctly measuring the ingredients is very important. Adding extra flour is one common mistake. Fill your measuring cup with the flour using a spoon and then level it off with a knife. For better results, always use a kitchen scale.
3. Sifting: Sift the dry ingredients – flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and salt. This ensures that there are no lumps in the batter. Sometimes the flour or the sugar looks just fine until you sift them.
4. Over-mixing: This is something that happens accidentally. Over-mixing crushes all the air bubbles and you end with a dense cake. To ensure that the cake is light, mix the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients until they are just combined. That means you don’t see any dry ingredients left in the bowl.
5. Leavening Agent: Baking Powder & baking soda helps the cake rise. Double-check to make sure they are not expired.
6. Baking Time: Baking time depends on a lot of factors. Every oven bakes at a different time even at the same temperature setting. So be careful with that. After around 40 minutes, insert a toothpick at the center of the cake and if it comes out clean, remove the cake from the oven. If the toothpick doesn’t come out clean, let it bake for another 10-15 minutes. Also, the time of baking depends on the baking tray size.

Easy Swaps

1. Flour: You can use any other flour of choice (all-purpose flour, almond flour, oat flour) but you need to understand the texture of the batter needed. Every flour has a different liquid-absorbing capacity. Hence, you can not just change one ingredient and keep the rest of the ingredients exactly the same. I would suggest trying the same recipe first and then start making adjustments. Also, the texture of the cake may change with different flours.
2. Jaggery: Instead of jaggery powder, you can use liquid sweeteners like maple syrup, agave syrup, date syrup, honey (not plant-based), or sugar too. Be careful with the liquid sweeteners because they would add up to the amount of wet ingredients.
3. Applesauce: It is a great substitute for eggs. You can even use flax egg, or chia egg too.
4. Curd & Milk: Use any plant-based curd or milk of your choice. If you are not vegan, use dairy substitutes instead.
5. Olive Oil: Instead of olive oil, you can use any other unflavored cooking oil.
6. Almonds: Use any other nuts like pecans, walnuts, etc.

How to keep the whole wheat cake extra soft and moist after baking?

Once the cake is baked, remove it from the oven. Let it rest for 5 minutes and then take it out of the baking tray and keep it on the cooling rack. Cover the cake with a towel on top. This traps the moisture inside and makes the cake even softer.

Why does my cake become soggy after baking?

If you let the cake rest in the baking tray, condensation happens and forms water droplets inside the tray. This makes the cake moist and soggy from the bottom and the edges. That is why remove the cake and place it on a cooling rack and let it cool down completely before slicing.

Can I make it in the Microwave?

Yes. Of course. If your microwave has a convection mode, you can easily bake this cake in it.

To bake this cake in the microwave, you just need to preheat the microwave to 180°C for around 10 minutes or as specified in your machine. Once preheated, place the baking tray in it and let it bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until well baked. Now, every machine is different. So, keep an eye on it and once you see the golden edges, insert a toothpick at the center to check if it is fully baked.

If the toothpick comes out clean, it means the cake is perfectly baked. But if it doesn’t, bake it for a couple of extra minutes.

How to store this tea cake?

You can store it in an air-tight container. Leave them at room temperature on your kitchen counter for two days (depending on the temperature at your place). You can easily refrigerate them for a week.

The best part of this cake is that it remains soft even on refrigeration. This is because it has no butter in it.

Can we freeze this cake?

I never froze any cake but my friend does. You can surely freeze this carrot cake. Just slice them up and put them in an air-tight container or zip-lock bag. Put it in the freezer. Whenever you want to enjoy it, just take it out and heat it in your microwave. You can freeze it for up to a month.

Is this recipe vegan?

Yes. It is a 100% vegan and plant-based recipe. I used applesauce instead of eggs, olive oil instead of butter, and plant-based curd and milk too. All the ingredients used in this recipe are plant-based.

Tools & Equipment Needed

1. Baking Tray – 25 x 11 x 7 cm cube

More recipes to try

1. Banana Walnut Muffins (Vegan)
2. Blueberry Muffins
3. Lemon Teacake

Now you are all ready to make this healthier and more delicious carrot teacake at home. It is perfect for your sweet cravings in this lovely weather. You don’t need to wait for your cheat days to enjoy this deliciousness. Grab all the ingredients, and let’s get baking.

If you like the recipe, please share the photo on Instagram and tag us too @thefearlesscooking. We love to see your recreation of our recipes.

Happy Baking 🙂

Love,

Richa