Carrot Cake Tray Bake with Cream Cheese Frosting
A super easy Carrot Cake Tray Bake topped with swirly cream cheese icing and lots of nuts for texture. Save this one for all future cake-baking needs!
Servings: 10 servings
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
Scroll up for a step by step guide on how to make carrot cake tray bake.
To store: Keep in an airtight cake tin or well-wrapped in clingfilm in the fridge for up to 5 days. Remove from the fridge 20 minutes before eating as it’s better room temperature rather than fridge cold!
To freeze: the unfrosted cake can be frozen for up to 3 months. Wrap the cake tightly in cling film/plastic wrap and then foil. Defrost overnight at room temperature before icing.
Make ahead: 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.
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
Nutrition
Calories: 1022kcal | Carbohydrates: 119g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 60g | Saturated Fat: 19g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g | Monounsaturated Fat: 32g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 114mg | Sodium: 374mg | Potassium: 272mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 91g | Vitamin A: 5880IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 106mg | Iron: 2mg