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Bon Appétit

Black Sesame Carrot Cake

3.7

(98)

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Michael Graydon + Nikole Herriott

Call all your vegan friends! This incredibly moist, expertly spiced carrot cake is worth throwing a party for.

Adapted from Everything I Want To Eat: Sqirl and the New California Cooking. Copyright ©2016 by Jessica Koslow. Published by Abrams Books.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    8 Servings

Ingredients

Nonstick vegetable oil spray

1½

cups all-purpose flour

1½

teaspoons baking powder

1

teaspoon kosher salt

1

teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼

teaspoon ground nutmeg

¾

cup granulated sugar

⅓

cup (packed) light brown sugar

½

cup vegetable oil

⅓

cup applesauce

¼

cup unsweetened almond milk or cow’s milk

2

teaspoons finely grated peeled ginger

½

teaspoon vanilla extract

3

medium carrots (about 8 oz.), peeled, coarsely grated

2

tablespoons black sesame seeds

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Preheat oven to 350°. Coat a 8x4” loaf pan with nonstick spray. Whisk flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a medium bowl.

    Step 2

    Whisk granulated sugar, brown sugar, oil, applesauce, almond milk, ginger, and vanilla in a large bowl. Gradually whisk in dry ingredients, then fold in carrots (be careful not to overmix). Scrape batter into prepared pan; smooth top and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

    Step 3

    Bake cake until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 75–85 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack and let cake cool completely in pan before turning out.

    Step 4

    DO AHEAD: Cake can be made 3 days ahead. Store wrapped tightly at room temperature.

Nutrition Per Serving

Calories (kcal) 300 Fat (g) 14 Saturated Fat (g) 2 Cholesterol (mg) 0 Carbohydrates (g)44 Dietary Fiber (g) 1 Total Sugars (g) 26 Protein (g) 3 Sodium (mg) 370
Explore Bon AppétitCakeDessertLoaf CakeCarrotVegetableEasySnackDairy-FreeVeganVegetarianHealthyishBaking
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Reviews (98)

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  • Vegan is fine, but I opted to make cream cheese frosting. This cake is not as sweet as traditional carrot cake recipes, which definitely appealed to me.

    • Rojoyo

    • Seattle

    • 4/2/2024

  • Wow this was awful. I was really excited to make these, and read through enough to feel confident in the recipe to bake two. What a mistake; I threw out both. This was GLUEY. I've vegan baked before and am always skeptical, but thought BA wouldn't publish something they hadn't tested. My first loaf rose initially + then sank into a dense, pasty brick after cooling. The second loaf at least stayed puffed, but wow these were super bad. The flavors were off, even if you could somehow excuse the sticks-to-your-mouth bite. Not particularly spice forward, even though I upped the spices, and not sweet. All around unpleasant. Do. Not. Recommend. Both went into the trash immediately after cooling.

    • Butter.Fly

    • San Francisco

    • 1/7/2021

  • I've followed so many carrot cake recipes through the years in making cakes for my dad, and this is one of my favorites! I like how it can be totally vegan (although I used cow's milk) and just as tasty regardless. It had a lovely crust with ideal crunchiness and I also made a half recipe of cream cheese frosting that wasn't necessary but elevated it to perfect for me.

    • cookiemaanster

    • LA

    • 6/22/2020

  • Loved this version! I have made the cookbook version and it was a bit more dense and sweeter than the recipe here. This moist, flavorful cake keeps well and makes a striking presentation on the plate.

    • jenncc

    • LA

    • 4/9/2020