Carrot Sheet Cake

Carrot Sheet Cake

Carrot cake is always a crowd favorite. Instead of making a layer cake, try a sheet cake, it’s fast and easy and nice to share with friends. A luscious layer of cream cheese frosting makes this cake delicious.

You can use a standard 9x13x2 inch pan, but I decided to use a 12-inch round cake pan instead. I made the carrot decorations with orange and green candy melts. The carrots were piped with a round #1 tip and the carrot tops with a #233 tip.

Recipe type: Dessert | Oil Cake

Serves: 12 to 15 servings

Prep time:  45 mins

Cook time:  45 mins

Total time:  1 hour 30 mins

Recipe Notes

Pan: one 9x13x2 inch oblong pan or one 12 inch round cake pan Pan Prep: Greased, Parchment Lined, Floured Oven Temp: 350° Storage: Cover and Refrigerate

Help: Cake Hints and Tips

Ingredients

Small amount of vegetable shortening and flour for preparing pans

Cake Batter:

• 1 cup raisins
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 4 large eggs
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 3 cups grated raw carrots, firmly packed
• ¾ cups walnuts or pecans, coarsely chopped (optional)

Cream Cheese Frosting:

• 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2½ cups confectioner’s (powdered) sugar

Carrot Decorations:

• Small handful of orange candy melts
• Small handful of green candy melts

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare one 9x13x2 inch oblong cake pan or one 12-inch round cake pan; lightly grease the pan with shortening and dust with flour. Tip: to make baked cake easier to remove from pan, lightly grease the pan, line with parchment paper, and then lightly grease the top of the parchment paper and dust with flour.

Cake Batter:

1. Plump the raisins by steaming in a colander in a double boiler; steam the raisins about 1 minute or until softened. Thoroughly drain, or spread the raisins on paper toweling to dry. Set aside. Tip: Create a double boiler by filling a saucepan with 2 inches of water and bringing it to a simmer. Place the fruit in a steamer or plastic or wire mesh colander on top of the simmering water, the upper pan should not touch the water.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, add flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg; sift or whisk together to mix. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl of an electric mixer, add eggs; beat on medium-high speed for 2 minutes or until they are a light-yellow color and thickened. With the mixer still on medium-high speed, slowly add the sugar to the eggs, either one tablespoon at a time, or in a very slow steady stream, taking 3 to 4 minutes to add all of the sugar, and beating until the eggs and sugar are fully incorporated, and the mixture looks light in color and thickened. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula so the mixture blends evenly.
4. Reduce mixer speed to medium, slowly pour the oil into the batter in a slow steady stream, and then beat for 1 minute longer.
5. Reduce mixer speed to medium-low, and blend in the flour mixture all at once, mixing just until incorporated.
6. Remove the bowl from the mixer. Using a balloon type whisk or large rubber spatula, fold in the drained raisins, carrots, and nuts
7. Bake: Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the surface with the back of a large spoon. Bake 40 to 45 minutes or until a long toothpick, wooden skewer, or cake tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Place baking pan on wire cooling rack to cool for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove cake from pans and place directly on wire racks to finish cooling. Or, leave the cake in the baking pan to finish cooling, frost, and cut into squares to serve directly from the pan.

Cream Cheese Frosting:

1. In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese, butter, and vanilla; use an electric hand mixer or wooden spoon and beat together until mixture is smooth. Add powdered sugar; beat until frosting is smooth and creamy. Use an offset spatula to spread frosting between layers and over top and sides of cake. Tip: I prefer to use a mixer for the frosting. After the sugar is completely mixed in continue beating on high speed for about 2 minutes for the frosting to get extra light and fluffy.
2. Cover frosted cake and refrigerate until ready to serve. Refrigerate Leftovers.
   
   

Decorations:

1. Melt each color of the candy melt separately in the top of a double boiler or briefly in the microwave until melted. Spoon into a piping bag and pipe small carrots. Or, spoon into a small plastic bag and snip off a very small piece of the corner and pipe the carrots.
2. The candy melts set fast, as soon as they are set you can place on top of the frosted cake and serve