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The most gorgeous and moist Carrot Cake Tray Bake topped with thick cream cheese frosting, is the only carrot cake recipe you need. Baking in a sheet pan makes things so easy since it bakes evenly in one layer and then all you need to do is top with the cream cheese icing. No need for cake levelling, layering and spreading icing up and down the sides.
This carrot sheet cake recipe is inspired by the famous Hummingbird Bakery carrot cake but the original recipe is typically baked in 3 x 20cm tins then layered, with icing in each layer, rather than one large sheet pan. I prefer the sheet pan method myself as it’s less fiddly and just as delicious.
Why you’ll love this recipe
- The cake comes together in one bowl with minimal washing up.
- Perfect for sharing as it cuts easily into squares.
- Light, moist crumb with warming spices and tangy frosting.
- Beginner-friendly cake as it involves no layering, no crumb coat and no fancy techniques.
Ingredients
Full recipe can be found in the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post, just scroll down!
Sunflower oil – Keeps the crumb ultra-moist, in place of butter.
Plain flour – also known as all-purpose flour.
Carrots – they need to be grated. I like to medium-grate them, so they aren’t so fine that they turn into a puree, but also not coarsely grated, as I find that can be a little chunky. The medium-grate has good texture but also melts nicely into the cake.
Powdered sugar – known as icing sugar in the UK. It must be sifted into the icing to avoid clumps.
Cream cheese – ideally needs to be full fat and Philadelphia, as this does really give the best texture.
Substitutions and Variations
Sunflower oil: any neutral oil works. You can also use vegetable or canola oil.
Walnuts and pecans: I like to fold walnuts (chopped) into the cake batter and scatter pecans on top. You can either do all walnuts, all pecans or swap for your favourite nut such as chopped roasted almonds or hazelnuts too.
Add-ins: Sultanas, or raisins are lovely extras, but don’t add more than 100–150g in total or the cake can become heavy.
Cooking Tips
To make the best cream cheese frosting:
- Use room tempereture, good quality cream cheese. This means buying full-fat and one with a low water content.
- Use soft, room-temperature butter
- Add the cream cheese last and don’t overbeat
If you prefer a different option, try my whipped mascarpone cream frosting, which gives a similar tang but is less sweet.
Pan sizes: this recipe is designed for an 11 x 15 inch tin but an 10- inch square tin would also work. Just keep an eye on the cooking time and adjust as needed. It
Pro tip for neat slices: cut slices with a hot, dry knife for clean slices, and wipe the knife between each slice. I like to warm the knife in a mug of boiling water and then dry it well before slicing.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can make the full cake a day in advance. Cover and place in the fridge then remove from the fridge 30 minutes before serving so it has time to come to room temperature. You can make the cake 3 days in advance. Leave to cool and wrap tightly in clingfilm. Keep in the fridge. For the frosting, you can also make this 3 days in advance and place in an airtight container in the fridge. Again, bring to room temperature before using. It may need to be re-whipped before spreading onto the cake for best texture.
This recipe uses oil rather than butter, which keeps the cake moist and tender for days. Butter-based carrot cakes have great flavour but can turn dense – oil is the clear winner here.
Yes, swap the flour for 300g self-raising and reduce baking powder to ½ tsp. Keep the 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda for lift.
Use soft cream cheese and soft butter, add the cream cheese last, and avoid overbeating. You have to use full-fat, good quality cream cheese (like Philidelphia) too. If it turns really runny if it’s hot in your kitchen, place in the fridge until it firms up.
Other recipes you might like
If you like this carrot cake tray bake, you will also love my moist chocolate cake (a perfect celebration cake), easy banana bread bars with burnt honey cream or my chocolate brownie cookies
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If you tried this Carrot Cake Tray Bake or any other recipe on the site, please do leave a rating or comment and let us know how it went!
Carrot Cake Tray Bake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 300 g soft light brown sugar
- 3 eggs
- 300 ml sunflower oil
- 300 g plain flour
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp vanilla extract
- 300 g carrots, grated
- 1/2 orange, zested
- 50 g walnuts, shelled & chopped
For the cream cheese frosting:
- 220 g unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 170 g full fat cream cheese, softened to room temperature (use Philadelphia cream cheese for the best results)
- 600 g icing sugar, sifted
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 50 g pecans, chopped
Instructions
To make the cake:
- Preheat the oven to 170C fan / 190c conventional / 375f and grease a large 11 x 15 inch rectangular tin (in the UK, known as a swiss roll tin).
- Add the sugar, eggs and oil in a bowl and beat until it comes together. You can do this in a stand mixer with paddle attachment or with a hand mixer (or by hand even!) If it looks slightly split, don’t worry, it will come back together.
- Add the dry ingredients (flour, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ground ginger, salt) followed by the orange zest and vanilla extract slowly and continue to beat until well mixed.
- Fold in the grated carrots and chopped walnuts by hand, so if using a hand mixer/stand mixer, you can stop here.
- Pour into the greased tin and pop in the oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown and a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Leave to cool a little while in the tin then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
To make the frosting:
- Add the butter and cream cheese to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. You can also use a hand mixer. Beat together on medium-high speed until completely smooth.
- Mix in the sifted powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, scraping down the sides and bottom as you go. Add the vanilla extract and whisk until smooth.
- If the frosting is too thin, place the bowl in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes to thicken. Otherwise, it’s ready to pipe or spread!
- Spread onto the cake and then drizzle it with caramel sauce and chopped pecans.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
