Julie Andrews' Carrot Cake Surprised Me—It's Absolutely Delicious

Key Takeaways

• Julie Andrews' Carrot Cake recipe is unconventional—there's not an egg in sight—but totally delicious.

• The cake is still super moist and flavorful, no matter your diet.

• The layer cake includes a tofu frosting, which you can swap for a classic cream cheese frosting.

If you’re lucky enough to get your hands on a dozen eggs these days (or even a precious half-carton), you're probably saving them for the essentials—pancakes, omelets, maybe the occasional banana bread. So when I stumbled across a carrot cake recipe from none other than Mary Poppins herself—yes, Julie Andrews—that didn’t call for a single egg, I knew I had to give it a whirl.

Originally published in the USO’s 1992 Celebrity Cookbook, the recipe delivers an ultra-moist cake with a fragrant blend of spices. You’d never guess there isn’t a single egg in the mix (my family certainly didn’t—I served them a few slices, and they were none the wiser). While the whipped tofu frosting won’t convert me to veganism anytime soon, it does a surprisingly good job of mimicking cream cheese icing for anyone who can’t or doesn’t eat dairy.

It's a humbly delicious cake, heavy on pantry staples and low on costly extras (it reminds me of a Depression Cake). It comes together with a few stirs of the wet and dry ingredients and bakes up in the same time as a pan of muffins. With its tender crumb and spiced sweetness, this carrot cake might just become your new go-to.

How To Make Julie Andrews’ Carrot Cake

While I’d never dream of questioning Julie Andrews’ talents (she’s practically perfect in every way), her carrot cake instructions were a little vague. So I leaned on my cake-baking experience to bring it together.

I whisked the dry ingredients together in a bowl. Instead of dumping the raisins in dry, I soaked them in boiling water for about ten minutes until plump, then stirred them together with the honey, vegetable oil, vanilla extract, and the soaking water.

I added the wet and dry ingredients together, mixed them until just combined, and then folded in the shredded carrots. The batter went into two greased 9-inch cake pans until a toothpick came out clean, about 25 minutes. While the cakes cooled, I blended tofu, honey, orange zest, orange extract, and shredded coconut in a food processor until smooth. After a first taste of the frosting as the recipe is written, I added an extra two tablespoons of honey to sweeten.

Once the cakes were completely cool, I gently patted the frosting between the layers and on top. It’s thick and slightly dense, so it doesn’t spread like traditional icing. Finish with a sprinkle of coconut flakes, and enjoy!

Tips for Making Julie Andrews’ Carrot Cake

• Store it in the fridge: Just like classic carrot cake, this version needs to be kept cold. Thanks to the tofu frosting, which doesn’t do well at room temp.

• Go for a glaze instead: Swap the tofu icing for a simple glaze icing or traditional cream cheese frosting. The tofu icing has a mild, neutral flavor that makes it great for a snack or breakfast cake or even for folks who may be watching their sugar. But if you’re craving dessert, it might not quite hit the spot.

• Add extras: Nuts, like walnuts or pecans, and seeds, like pumpkin or sesame, could add crunch and texture to this treat, or you could add dried fruit like dates or apricots for even more flavor and sweetness.

• All-purpose flour works fine: The original recipe calls for pastry flour, but I tested it with both and didn’t notice much difference. Save your fancy flour for another day. 
  

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