Carrot Sheet Cake

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Carrot Cake Sheet Cake is perfectly moist, speckled with walnuts and fresh, grated carrots. This sheet cake is topped with brown butter cream cheese frosting that is made for a crowd to love! Make smaller version, my Mini Carrot Sheet Cake with Brown Butter Frosting or my Carrot Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting.

Carrot Sheet Cake with Buttercream Flowers.

Inspiration for Carrot Cake

Years ago, when I first started baking, I made a recipe from Southern Living and it was incredible. Since then, I’ve made other versions and frankly, they just weren’t that good. So this recipe is inspired by theirs but with more spices, walnuts vs. pecans and I skipped the soaking part because I found it to be unnecessary. Also zero pineapple. I don’t love pineapple in my carrot cake.

The result? A fuss-free absolutely deliciously moist carrot cake. This is made in a 9×13 baking pan; a cake for a crowd.

Ingredients That You’ll Need to Make this Carrot Sheet Cake

Ingredients you'll need for the carrot cake.
  1. All-purpose flour. We’re keeping it simple here with the all-purpose flour. I try not to use too many specialty flours because I know that can be a pain. Luckily with this cake, all-purpose flour is best.
  2. Baking soda. This is the leavening of choice. It activates really well with the acid in the buttermilk.
  3. Spices. I love my carrot cake to be balanced with spices. So we’re using cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger.
  4. Salt. Of course, we can never make anything sweet without salt. It gives such a nice balance.
  5. Butter. I love using both butter and oil in all my cakes. Butter gives cakes such a nice flavor.
  6. Granulated sugar. What a lot of people also don’t realize is that sugars provide moisture, too. For this recipe, we’re doing 1 part white sugar and 1 part brown sugar.
  7. Brown sugar. I love using brown sugar because of the molasses that’s in brown sugar. It provides a nice depth of flavor.
  8. Neutral oil. Using oil in cakes gives them such good moisture.
  9. Eggs. Of course, you can’t make any cake without eggs because it helps bind all of the ingredients together and also gives the cake lift.
  10. Buttermilk. I love using buttermilk in cakes like this because they give such a fluffy texture and subtle tang.
  11. Carrots. Yes! My favorite part. The shredded carrot gives this cake moisture, which I love. And it gives carrot cake in general great texture.
  12. Walnuts. I love walnuts. They’re one of my favorite nuts; their texture is so amazing and delicious. You could use pecans if you like!
Carrot cake batter in a bowl.

How to Make this Carrot Sheet Cake with Buttercream Flowers

  1. Whisk together the dry ingredients.
  2. Mix together the butter with the sugars. I like to beat the butter with the granulated sugar and brown sugar until they’re light and fluffy.
  3. And then add more of the wet ingredients. Add the oil, eggs and buttermilk.
  4. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Mix them together until you no longer see any speckles of flour.
  5. Lastly, add in the grated carrot and walnuts. I like to fold these mix-ins in last.
  6. Pour the batter into the cake pan.
  7. Bake the cake!
Brown butter that's been chilled.

Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting

The frosting is brown butter cream cheese frosting, inspired by the frosting from my Pumpkin Sheet Cake with Brown Butter Frosting.The nutty brown butter with the tart cream cheese was a splendid win.

Brown butter cream cheese frosting in a bowl.
Frosting of the cake and the flowers.

Decorating Ideas

Buttercream flowers – I did extra credit because I have no friends and was bored. If you, too, have nothing to do, then please refer below to my recommendations/products on guiding you through the process.

Walnuts – Add crushed walnuts on top. Easy!

Pipe on little carrots – This is an easy option! And I did it here with this Mini Carrot Cake.

Peel carrots and roll them up – You can peel some carrots and use the peelings and roll them up like little flowers!

Supplies for Buttercream Flowers:

Buttercream flowers on baking sheet.

Recipe FAQs

Can I use another nut besides walnuts?

For sure, pecan is more traditional.

What makes carrot cake moist?

The water content in the shredded carrots contributes to the cake being super moist. Also the oil in this recipe results in a super moist cake.

Why does this recipe also have butter?

I like my cake recipes to have butter AND oil. Butter gives it delicious flavor while the oil ensures that it stays super moist.

Slice of carrot cake.

Supplies for Buttercream Flowers:

Carrot Sheet Cake with Buttercream Flowers on pan.

More Spring Recipes

If you tried this Carrot Sheet Cake Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!

5 from 13 votes

Carrot Sheet Cake Recipe

Prep: 30 minutes
Cook: 40 minutes
Cake Cooling Time: 1 hour
Total: 2 hours 10 minutes
Servings: 12
This Carrot Sheet Cake is perfectly moist, speckled with walnuts and fresh, grated carrots. Topped with brown butter cream cheese frosting. 

Ingredients 

Carrot Cake Dry Mix:

  • 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg, if using dried nutmeg, use 1/2 teaspoon
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

Carrot Cake Wet Mix:

  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1 cup white granulated sugar
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup neutral oil , (such as avocado oil, grape seed oil or vegetable oil)
  • 3 large eggs
  • 3/4 cup buttermilk, shaken
  • 2 1/2 cups grated carrots
  • 1 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting:

  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • Pinch of salt
  • 3 cups powdered sugar
  • 2 tablespoons heavy cream

Buttercream for Flowers

  • 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1 tablespoons heavy cream
  • Food gel coloring

Instructions 

To Make the Cake:

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9×13-inch baking pan. I also like to line my baking pan with a parchment just to make sure nothing sticks.
  • In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and ginger. Set the dry mixture aside.
  • In the bowl of a stand-up mixer, with the paddle attachment, add the butter, white sugar and brown sugar; beat until nice and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes. Pour in the oil and eggs. Beat until combined.
  • Alternating between the buttermilk and the dry mix, add them to the butter mixture, until just combined. Lastly, add the carrots and walnuts and mix until thoroughly distributed throughout the batter.
  • Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and transfer to the oven to bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.
  • Allow to cool in the pan for about 5 minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack to cool before adding the frosting.

To Make the Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting:

  • Cube up 1/2 cup of the butter (1 stick). In a small saucepan, set over medium heat, add the cubed butter. Once it’s melted, it will begin to foam up and bubble a bit. Allow it to cook until you begin to see lightly browned specks beginning to form. Give it a stir and cook until it’s browned. You should also start to smell its nutty aroma. Pour it in a freezer-safe bowl and stir to cool it down.
  • Transfer it to the freezer to chill, for about 5 minutes. We want it to be around room temperature butter. After it gets to that room temperature butter-firmness (it can be a bit softer—that’s ok), transfer it to the bowl of a stand-up mixer (or bowl using an electric mixer). Add the cream cheese and beat until smooth.
  • Sift in the powdered sugar and add the vanilla extract, salt and heavy cream. Beat the frosting for about 3 minutes. The fluffiness from the heavy cream really lightens up this frosting so be sure to beat it for the full 3 minutes. If the frosting is too loose, feel free to transfer it to the fridge to chill for about 10 minutes. Then beat it one last time.

To Make the Buttercream for the Flowers:

    To Assemble the Cake:

    • Pour all of the frosting on the cooled sheet cake and spread it around, creating cute swoops as you go. Top it with whatever you like! I piped out buttercream roses, see below for notes! Cake will stay moist for about 3 days when wrapped properly.

    Notes

    To Make Ahead: 
    You can make the different components at different times. You can make the sheet cake. It keeps in the fridge, when wrapped tightly in plastic, for up to 3 days. It keeps in the freezer, wrapped tightly in plastic, for up to 3 months. 
    The frosting can be kept in the fridge for up to 1 week. It can be frozen and kept in the freezer for up to 3 months. 
    To Freeze for Later:
    Cake freezes really well. If you’d like to freeze this, transfer this cake to a sheet pan and place in the fridge until very chilled, about 1 hour. Transfer to a freezer-safe container or plastic bag. Will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months. 
    Equipment:
    9×13-inch cake pan | Electric Stand-Up Mixer | Stainless Steel Mixing Bowls |Silicon Spatulas | Whisk | 

    Nutrition

    Serving: 12g | Calories: 350kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 24mg | Sodium: 20mg | Potassium: 4mg | Fiber: 10g | Sugar: 16g | Vitamin A: 100IU | Vitamin C: 2.5mg | Calcium: 50mg | Iron: 0.4mg

    Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

    Additional Info

    Course: Dessert
    Cuisine: American
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    Cozy Latin-Inspired Comfort Food Recipes

    Hi! I'm Adrianna and this is my cozy space on the internet that is super-charged by butter, flour and copious amounts of pasta. Stay awhile, will you!

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    48 Comments

    1. 5 stars
      Can’t wait to make this for mommas day! Do you have the recipe listed anywhere else in grams??