Hello friends,

My dad loves carrot cake. Every few years for my parents birthdays … Yes, you read that correctly—my parents were born on the same day two years apart! Anyway, every so often, I surprise them with a homemade carrot cake. This year, I started making the cake, got half way through the recipe, and realized I didn’t have any raisons! A carrot cake without raisons! Can you believe it? Well, it was much too late to head to the store. Or at least, I didn’t want to trek to the 24 hour Giant Eagle. So I started thinking about how to make a carrot cake with a twist. I looked around the cupboard and saw some chocolate chips, pecans and ginger powder. Voila! Why not make a vegan chocolate chip carrot cake?!

I have this saying—good food + good food = good food. It works with basic ingredients as well. The cake was perfectly moist, not too dense, and just sweet enough. It did not disappoint! Both my parents loved it! Why not give this recipe a try the next time you need an ‘inspired’ dessert?

Cheers and happy eating!

Jocelyn

* Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. As always, all opinions are my own!

Vegan Chocolate Chip Carrot Cake

Time 36 minutes (26 cook, 10 prep) Servings One tall 9 in round cake pan (or 18 cupcakes) Ingredients 1 1/2 cups flour (I used a mix of whole wheat and all purpose flours)

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

2/3 cup Splenda or other sugar alternative

1/3 cup canola oil

1/3 cup soy yogurt (I used vanilla Kitehill yogurt)

1/2 cup soy milk

2 tsps vanilla extract

1 tsp ginger powder

2 cups finely grated carrots

1/2 cup chocolate chips

1/3 cup chopped pecans Instructions Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease a 9 in baking pan (alternatively fill a cupcake pan with liners). In a large bowl, mix together the sugar, vegetable oil, soy yogurt, and vanilla. Sift the dry ingredients together and then add them to the wet ingredients. Mix until no large clumps remain. Fold in the carrots, pecans and chocolate chips. Spread the batter evenly into a 9 in round cake pan or fill the cupcake liners 2/3 full. Bake for ~24 minutes until you can insert a toothpick in the middle and it comes out clean. Transfer the cake/ cupcakes to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely before frosting. Ice the cake/ cupcakes, decorate, and enjoy!