Carrot Sheet Cake with Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting
This carrot sheet cake with whipped cream cheese frosting is unbelievably delicious. It’s light and moist and perfectly spiced.
You just can’t have an Easter season celebration without carrot cake, in my opinion.
Even if you aren’t a carrot cake fan, you have to love it for approximately 10 days, give or take a few, just in time for carrot cake season to come and go.
I happen to know about one of the most unbelievable carrot cake recipes, and it is…well…unbelievable. But sometimes necessity requires a simpler version – a carrot cake that doesn’t have to be layered and tediously frosted, a cake that can feed a crowd and maintain its delicious simplicity.
This carrot cake fits the bill. Sent to me by a reader and friend, Alisha, this cake apparently has been around for a long time and was a renowned recipe in a large bakery that has since closed down.
It definitely lives up to its fame!
This cake is light and moist and perfectly spiced. Topped with the whipped cream cheese frosting, it is a dream.
I even took liberties with the recipe, subbing applesauce for half of the oil, adding vanilla extract and reducing the eggs by one (thanks to Alisha’s own tip) and the result was an absolutely rewarding finish to a lovely meal.
Keep in mind that the full recipe feeds a crowd (think: large sheet pan filled with luscious carrot cake).
The great news is that if you want a smaller batch, it halves beautifully. Same delicious cake just in slightly smaller proportions.
FAQs for Carrot Sheet Cake
My pan is 1 or 1 1/2 inches high.
You can use oil if you don’t have applesauce.
Yes! This recipe works great halved- just bake it in a greased 9X13-inch pan, for about 20-22 minutes.
Carrot Sheet Cake with Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
Cake:
- 4 large eggs
- ¾ cup oil
- ¾ cup unsweetened applesauce
- ¾ cup water
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 3 cups (636 g) sugar
- 3 ½ cups (497 g) flour
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon allspice
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 ½ pounds carrots, washed and ends trimmed (they don’t need to be peeled)
Frosting:
- ½ cup (113 g) butter, softened
- 8 ounces (227 g) cream cheese, softened
- 3 ¾ cups (428 g) powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- ⅔ cup heavy whipping cream
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and lightly flour an 11X17-inch rimmed baking sheet. Shred the carrots, finely, on a box grater or food processor. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl combine the eggs, oil, applesauce, water and vanilla. Whisk in the sugar to combine until evenly mixed.
- In a second bowl mix flour, spices, salt, soda and baking powder. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients just until moistened. Gently fold the carrots into the batter until evenly distributed. Bake the cake for 25-30 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out with a few moist crumbs. Cool completely.
- For the frosting, mix the cream cheese, vanilla and butter with an electric mixer until light and creamy. Gradually beat in the powdered sugar until smooth. In a separate bowl, beat the heavy whipping cream until stiff peaks form. Fold the whipped cream into the frosting and whip to combine (don’t overmix or the frosting will become too stiff). The frosting should be smooth and creamy.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: adapted from my friend, Alisha O.
This is the best carrot cake and extraordinary frosting. I took it to a family get together for Easter and EVERYONE loved it and wanted the recipe.
A definite keeper as are all of Mel’s recipes. Thanks Mel
hello,
im new to your website … the carrot cake caught my eye. im just wondering why so many have said the cake overflowed. some have commented that the 1-1/2 pds of carrots ended up being over 4 cups. i think its always best to use a scale for accuracy. im going to give this a try as everyone in my fam loves carrot cake and this would be so much easier to make when you’re short on time. im just keeping my fingers crossed that my cake doesn’t overflow. btw, i’ve bookmarked your website! thanks
My six year old wanted to make a carrot cake so I turned to this blog. It was simple enough that the kids could help. Thanks, Mel, for another winning recipe. The frosting was a little looser than I expected, but that was great for a sheet cake!
AMAZING!! Made this for Easter and had everyone coming back for seconds. Super moist, delicious and easy. The frosting is just perfect, just the right amount of sweetness!
Absolutely love this version of carrot cake. I’m just not a two-layer cake baker, this simple dessert is still a show-stopper – the frosting makes it!
Made for the first time for a get together tonight. The cake was really good and most, but the frosting was….amazing! The lighter whipped texture with the classic taste of cream cheese frosting was amazing! What a crowd pleaser. Thanks Mel!
I searched the recipe and comments but didn’t find an answer: Do we squeeze the juice out of the grated carrots or leave them as is? 🙂
No need to drain any liquid or squeeze water from the carrots. Just use them as is.
Just pulled this out of the oven and oh boy does it smell delightful. I will make the frosting tomorrow and let it cool over night. Cannot wait to try! Yay for Carrot Cake season!
Hi… doubted if the thickness of the carrot sheet cake and the Texas sheet cake will be the same. I wanted to make cake/ dessert boxes where they look neat and symmetrical.
thanks
This was delicious! Every Easter for the past five years I have made your ‘Best Carrot Cake Ever,’ and have always loved it. There was never a need for another carrot cake in my life until this year when I just didn’t have the time to prepare it. We had to have carrot cake, so I mixed up this baby and fell in love! The frosting was a dream! So light and creamy, it barely made it on the cake because I wanted to eat it all! I trust anything you post, thanks for all the goodness 🙂
Thanks so much, Jessica!
Haven’t made a carrot cake in years and it was a HUGE hit. Easy to make, crowd pleaser and no nuts or raisins for the win!
P.S. Mel, thanks for getting me out of my cooking/baking rut yet again. We adopted a child last year and with two boys who are almost twins in age, it’s been EXHAUSTING. But I have been combing through your recipes and we are all grateful for your ability to rock life, because we are eating well again 🙂
Haven’t made a carrot cake in years and this one was amazing. Easy, everybody loved it, no nuts or raisins so a total win!
(Thanks Mel for getting me out of my cooking/baking rut yet again! We adopted a child last year and so our two boys are almost-twins and it has been EXHAUSTING. I finally kicked my butt into gear and have been combing through recipes on here and we are all benefiting from your ability to just rock life.)
Oh, Rachel, wow! You are AMAZING!!
How deep does the pan need to be? Will a jelly roll pan work?
My pan is about 1- or 1 1/2 inches high.
I use a jelly roll pan to bake mine.
I made this cake today for my uncle who loves carrot cake. We all LOVED this cake and believe it was one of the best carrot cakes we had. Thank you for this recipe.
I am a mother of 3. I visit your site often for recipes and ideas. Thank YOU for doing what you do!
Thanks so much, Caroline!
What’s your suggestion with adjustments for altitude? (I’m in UT). Made a half batch today and it was still raw in the middle after 30 minutes. Gave it 5 more, then took it out, but it ended up sinking. So maybe I needed a higher temp overall? Love your site, and have been following for years!
Hi Kate – try adding a few tablespoons more flour and decrease the temp slightly (may need to cook longer but that way the sides don’t get done before the middle)
This was my second time making this recipe and each time it gets wonderful reviews. I use the frosting recipe from your other carrot cake because I tend to have those ingredients on hand. I love how it feeds a crowd and the leftovers stayed great for a few days afterward. Thank you for such great recipes!
Thank you, Alison!
Can you clarify the yield? On the top of the recipe it states a 9×13 pan but instructions have it baking in a 11×17 with notes at the bottom of the recipe to halve it for a 9×13. I have made this once and halved it for a 9×13 but it seemed really moist so I’m unsure if it was a misstep on my end. The flavors were spot on btw and my hubby is in love but asked me to add some nuts this time around. Thanks in advance!
Thanks for the catch, Alissa – the yield was incorrect for this. As written, it does yield a large sheet pan (11X17-inches or so).
I made the recipe exactly as the recipe said and it was all frothy on top while baking and ran and over the sides of my cake pan all over the bottom of my oven 🙁 I don’t know what I did wrong, other than 1 1/2 pounds of shredded carrots was a lot more than 1 1/2 -2 cups, like approximated in the above comments — it was more like 4 cups….
Oh darn it! Sorry to hear that, Ellen. Do you live at high altitude?
I live at 4500 ft and this overflows for me. I take about 2 cups of batter out and cook in a separate pan and the sheet pan comes out perfectly. It is such a delicious carrot cake!
Can this be made into cupcakes?
I haven’t tried – sorry! I’m sure the recipe could though – it’s a pretty basic cake recipe.
Do you know how many cups = 1 1/2 lbs of carrots? I LOVE Carrot Cake! MMMMMMM
I’ve actually never measured this – sorry! But I’m guessing it’s right around 3 cups or so?
For your 11×17 baking sheet – how tall do the sides need to be? Thank you!
I use the really common baking sheets that probably are about an inch high.
hi… i don’t have applesauce. what can i use to substitude it? thanks
You can use oil
First time making. I grated a 1 pound bag of carrots.. when pouring batter into 11X17 I had waaay too much batter. Put the excess into a round cake pan. I wonder what happened? My 11X17 had like inch high sides. Can’t wait to try it
Is it possible to make this as a two layer round cake? If so, how would you modify it? Thank you!
I would probably just make the unbelievable carrot cake recipe on my site instead. 🙂
LOVE this recipe!!! The cake gets raves every time it’s served. I added a handful of raisins to the batter today and it added even more deliciousness and texture.
This is the BEST carrot cake recipe! My whole family loved it, even my picky 4 yr old loved eating the “vegetable” cake. The frosting was divine. I made this on Saturday night for Easter Sunday and the leftovers even 4 days later are delicious.
Glad you loved it!
Hi will this cake be ok if I make it the day before? I have a lot of cooking Easter morning and it would help if this were already finished. Thanks!
Yes I made it last year the day before
Yes! It will be fine if well covered and refrigerated.
Made a 9×5 loaf and the rest made four cupcakes (four sampling). Loaf baked at about 32min, cupcakes 22min; and I used the cheesecake frosting from your cake recipe… aaaaahhhhh! Heaven, so keeping this in the dessert rotation!!!
would you recommend cake flour? what kind of flour do you use?
I use all-purpose flour.
I used only two scarce cups of sugar and the result was way better as it was way way way less sugary sweet, but the recipe itself is nonetheless lovely! Thank you very much!
I cannot get over how good this carrot cake is!!! For the oil I did half coconut oil/ half avocado oil (so it made me feel like we were being healthy ;). My husband hardly ever eats more than a small serving of any dessert I make (because his moms are always better…) and he ate two HUGE servings and took some to work today. Hooray!