Spicy Carrot Cake With Ginger Cream Cheese Frosting

This will be my last blog for the next two weeks, sorry for the disappointment, but the boyfriend and I are going to LA for his birthday, we're staying in a hotel so there won't be much baking going on, but I do plan on making this cake for him at a friends house, carrot cake is his favorite!

This frosting is intensely delicious so prepare to indulge!

for the cake:

2 cups flour

2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground nutmeg

1 tsp ground allspice

3/4 cup almond milk

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

3/4 cup vegetable oil

1 cup soy yogurt

1/2 cup apple butter

1 1/4 cup sugar

1 tbsp vanilla extract*

2 cups grated carrots

1 cup chopped nuts of preference (optional)

1/2 cup raisins (optional)

for the frosting:

1 package tofutti better than cream cheese

1/2 (4 tbsp) earth balance

3/4 powdered sugar

1 tbsp vanilla extract*

1 tbsp ground ginger

*I get a little crazy with vanilla extract in all of my recipes because I'm obsessed with it (I make my own), but average for both of these recipes would be 1 tsp, just in case you're not as enthusiastic as I am.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, grease and flour 2 round cake pans.

Whisk together the almond milk and apple cider vinegar and set aside to curdle. In a medium bowl combine your flour, baking soda, salt, and spices, I like to sift my flour because I like a cake with a tight crumb, but if you could care less about the "crumb" of your cake there's no need to sift it, set this aside. In a large bowl combine the almond milk vinegar mixture, soy yogurt, apple butter, sugar, vanilla, and oil, mix well with a wooden spoon. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet, mixing well after each addition, once all are combined and you have a smooth mixture add the carrots, nuts, and raisins (if using) and combine. Your batter should be smooth but thick depending on the moisture content of your soy yogurt you may have to add a tablespoon or 2 of extra flour, use your best judgement, if your cake is too moist it isn't the end of the world, it just might sink a little. Divide evenly between the 2 pans and bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted through the middle comes out clean. While the cake is baking start your frosting.

In the work bowl of a stand mixer add the cream cheese and butter and whip on medium-high speed for about 5 minutes (I did mine for 10 because I wanted really fluffy frosting) add the powdered sugar, vanilla, and ginger, and mix well. I did not do a very thick layer of frosting on my cakes, so if you like a lot of frosting double the recipe. Try your hardest not to just eat it all with a spoon.

Once your cakes are baked let them cool on a wire rack for at least an hour before removing them from the pans. Once they are cooled put them out on a work surface on very carefully with a sharp serrated knife cut off the rounded tops so you have to level pieces of cake to work with, then place them one onto a cake plate frost it, top it with the second piece and frost again.