This carrot sheet cake is an ode to carrot cake lovers everywhere! Rich brown butter and classic mix-ins like raisins, walnuts, and pineapple make take the flavor to the next level for a truly delightful treat you'll want to make again and again.
And if you enjoy this recipe, you'll love my sweet potato spice cake, too!
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❤️ Why You'll Love this Recipe
Simple to Make - I love sheet cakes because the decorating ideas can be as easy as you want to make them. This super moist carrot sheet cake recipe comes together without much fuss, and you have the option of finishing it with adorable lil frosting carrots or leaving it plain. Either way, it's delectable!
Bakery-Style Flavor - The cake comes out moist and rich, and the vanilla bean cream cheese frosting is smooth and fluffy. You'll be proud to serve this at your holiday table.
👉🏾 I'll probably serve carrot cake at my wedding--I love it that much. If you're on the same type of time, check out my carrot loaf cake, layered carrot cake with pineapple filling, and frosted carrot cake cookies next!
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What You'll Need for this Recipe
Pineapple, Raisins, and Walnuts add texture, moisture, and sweet, fruity flavor. In my opinion, these ingredients belong in carrot cake always!
Vanilla Bean Paste provides deep vanilla flavor to the cake and the frosting, and I highly recommend using it. However, you can use 1.5x the amount of vanilla extract or vanilla powder to achieve similar intensity.
Warm Spices like cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg for warmth. Don't skip them!
Check out the recipe card below for full ingredients list, measurements, nutrition facts, and step-by-step instructions!
Substitutions & Variations
Food Coloring is optional to make the carrot decorations.
Nuts - I use walnuts in the cake and on top of the frosting, but you can use pecans instead. Sliced almonds will also work well for the decoration step, but I don't recommend adding them to the cake batter.
Shape and Size - Instead of a rectangular sheet cake, you can follow this same recipe to make 24 cupcakes or 12 jumbo muffins!
How to Make a Carrot Sheet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Step One: Soak the raisins in water to rehydrate them so they become plump and juicy. (Photo 1)
- Step Two: Shred the carrot, then let it sit in a paper towel to absorb excess moisture. (Photo 2)
- Step Three: Melt the butter and cook it until golden brown and toasty. (Photo 3)
- Step Four: Whisk the dry cake ingredients together, then toss the carrot, walnuts, and drained raisins in the mixture. (Photo 4)
Pro Tip #1
Dredging the mix-ins in the flour mixture helps them to float throughout the cake batter so that they're evenly distributed. Don't skip this step unless you want them to sink to the bottom of the pan and burn while baking!
- Step Five: Beat the wet ingredients together, then stir in the dry mixture to make the batter. (Photo 5)
- Step Six: Spread the batter into a prepared cake pan and bake until cooked through and golden brown. (Photos 6 and 7)
- Step Seven: Chop walnuts and set aside. (Photo 8)
- Step Eight: Beat the frosting ingredients together until smooth and fluffy. (Photo 9)
- Step Nine: Scoop out small amounts of the frosting into two small bowls and mix in food coloring to dye one bowl orange and the other green. (Photo 10)
- Step Ten: Frost the top and sides of the cake, then pipe the colored frosting over top to create mini carrots. (Photos 11 and 12)
Pro Tip #2
How to Decorate: I recommend using a small round frosting tip to make the carrots and a small star-shaped tip for the carrot tops. If you don't have piping bags, you can snip one corner off of two ziploc bags and use them instead--with or without tips.
- Step Eleven: Gently press the chopped walnuts into the sides of the frosted cake to complete the decoration. (Photos 13 and 14)
Frequently Asked Questions
Store the cake in the refrigerator in an airtight container or wrapped in plastic wrap to keep it moist and soft. Keeps for up to five days.
Yes. To freeze the unfrosted cake, cool it to room temperature, then wrap it in a few layers of plastic wrap followed by a layer of aluminum foil, and transfer to the freezer. To freeze the frosted cake, first refrigerate it overnight to let the frosting firm, then wrap it with plastic wrap and aluminum foil, and transfer it to the freezer. With either option, the cake keeps for up to three months.
How to Serve
Temperature: This easy moist carrot cake with raisins is best enjoyed at room temperature.
Occasions: Of course, this is the perfect recipe for Easter gatherings, but it really works for any celebration, from a birthday to holiday dessert tables like Mother's Day, Thanksgiving, and more!
More Favorite Fruit Cake Recipes
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
I hope you'll enjoy this carrot and pineapple sheet cake soon and very soon. And sharing is caring, so be sure to pin this recipe for later and follow me over on Pinterest. Thanks for reading!
📖 Recipe
Brown Butter Carrot Sheet Cake
Equipment
- 1 small skillet or saucepan
- 1 stand mixer or hand mixer
- 1 whisk
- 1 silicone spatula or kitchen spoon
- 1 offset spatula optional
- 2 piping bag or ziploc bags
Ingredients
For the Cake
- ½ cup raisins
- ½ cup water
- 3 large carrots
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- 5 eggs at room temperature
- 1 cup brown sugar packed
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla bean paste or 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¾ cup crushed pineapple drained
- 2 ⅓ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¾ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¾ teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 cup walnut pieces
For the Frosting and Decoration
- 2 cups powdered sugar sifted
- 6 ounces cream cheese softened to room temperature
- ¼ cup unsalted butter melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 cup walnuts chopped
- orange food coloring optional
- green food coloring optional
Instructions
- Prep the Ingredients: Add raisins and water to airtight container, seal, and set aside to rehydrate at room temperature for at least 30 minutes, up to 24 hours.Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease and flour your cake pan, and set it aside.Use a box grater or food processor fitted with the shredding disc to grate the carrots, then spread them out onto a paper towel to soak up excess moisture.½ cup raisins, ½ cup water, 3 large carrots
- Brown the Butter: Add butter to a small skillet or saucepan (preferably with a light colored bottom) over medium heat, and allow it to melt. Cook the butter until it is golden brown with a toasted, nutty aroma (about 4-5 minutes), gently stirring every minute or so. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature.½ cup unsalted butter
- Make the Batter: Use stand mixer or hand mixer to beat together the eggs and sugars until uniform. Add in browned butter, vanilla paste, and crushed pineapple, and stir until combined.5 eggs, 1 cup brown sugar, ½ cup granulated sugar, 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla bean paste, ¾ cup crushed pineapple
- In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, and ginger. Add in the walnuts, grated carrots, and drained raisins, and stir until they are coated in the flour mixture.*Coating the mix-ins in the flour mixture helps them distribute evenly through the cake batter.2 ⅓ cups all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 ½ teaspoon baking soda, 1 ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon fine sea salt, ¾ teaspoon ground nutmeg, ¾ teaspoon ground ginger, 1 cup walnut pieces
- Bake the Cake: Add flour mixture to the wet mixture and stir until just combined with no dry pockets remaining. Do not overmix the batter.Spread it into the prepared baking pan and transfer the pan to the upper rack of the preheated oven to bake for 25-28 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Make the Frosting: While the cake cools, use a hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment to beat the powdered sugar, cream cheese, butter, vanilla, and salt until smooth and fluffy (about five minutes). Chop the walnuts and set aside.Optional: Divide about ⅓ cup of the frosting into two smaller bowls and mix a few drops of green food coloring into one and orange food coloring into the other to achieve your desired shades.2 cups powdered sugar, 6 ounces cream cheese, ¼ cup unsalted butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste, ½ teaspoon fine sea salt, orange food coloring, green food coloring, 1 cup walnuts
- Decorate the Cake: Once fully cooled, turn the cake out of the pan, and spread the uncolored frosting all over the cake in an even, smooth layer. Gently press the chopped walnuts into the sides of the cake.Use piping bags or ziploc bags with the corners snipped off to little carrots on the top of the cake, then serve.
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