VEGAN CARROT BIRTHDAY CAKE

SERVES 12 TO 14

File this one under “happens to be vegan”—it’s not what’s missing that you’ll remember, but what’s there in spades: big flavor. Ground flaxseed, which often stands in for eggs in vegan dessert recipes, helps give the cake a lift, and vegetable oil—not to mention a whole pound of grated carrots—makes it super moist and tender. There’s something about the simplicity of a sheet cake—here frosted with a vegan version of our irresistible cream cheese frosting—that makes every celebration just a little bit sweeter.

1 cup vegetable oil, plus more for greasing

2¼ cups whole wheat pastry flour

1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon

¾ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

¼ teaspoon ground ginger

⅛ teaspoon ground cloves

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon fine sea salt

¼ cup ground flaxseed

1 cup sugar

½ cup lightly packed light brown sugar

1 pound carrots, scrubbed, trimmed, and grated on large holes of a box grater (3¼ cups)

¾ cup chopped toasted walnuts

½ cup golden raisins

Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting (here)

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9 × 13-inch baking pan, then line with two strips of parchment paper that fit the pan both vertically and horizontally, leaving a 2-inch overhang on all sides, and generously grease the parchment.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the ground flaxseed and ¾ cup water, then add the sugars and beat for 1 minute. With the mixer running, add the oil in a slow stream and beat until blended. Slowly add the flour mixture, beating until blended. Using a spatula, stir in the carrots, walnuts, and raisins until incorporated.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until it springs back when touched and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Cool the cake completely in the pan on a wire rack and frost with vegan cream cheese frosting. Cut into squares to serve.