If you’re looking for the world’s most delicious, adaptable cake you’ve come to the right place! This sheet pan carrot cake can be served plain for breakfast, in mini squares for showers or in elegant layers for a dinner party.
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In another lifetime my family ran a café called Topisaw General Store
We started with a super small menu — initially cooking only one item per day. (Yes, really!) So one day we served a French Market toastie sandwich, another day creamy tomato soup. Though eventually we expanded to include pizzas, quiche, soup and daily specials, we purposefully kept the menu small.
As we expanded the savory offerings we also added more desserts. Or tried to add! Even when I baked things like flourless chocolate cake or pb + j bars, our customers still begged for the originals — especially this carrot cake!
how to serve sheet pan carrot cake
At the café I went through several ways of making the carrot cake:
- in 2-8″ round pans, each cut it into 6 pieces
- in 2-8″ round pans, layered with loads of frosting in the middle and on top
- in a 9″ x 13″ pan, cut into 12 squares ( Here’s the USA 9X13 pan I recommend. I have 3 of these and have baked hundreds of cakes in them both at our café and at home!)
- in a 9″ x 13″ pan, cut into 48 squares for showers or parties
However I baked the cake, it was always topped with a tidy scoop of just lemony enough cream cheese frosting and finished off with jaunty walnut halves. And it (almost) always sold out.
If we had a piece or so left I had a choice: stay late, make a pot of coffee and have an afternoon snack OR stick it in the fridge to have for breakfast the next morning. Both were (and still are!) equally good.
Serve without frosting for breakfast or with a glass of milk for an afternoon snack!
sheet pan carrot cake ingredients
Carrots. We can try to trick ourselves into believing that veggies in cake are healthy, but — wait, no, let’s just go with it! Any way we can get more orange vegetables in our bodies is good, right? You can shred whole carrots or start with a handy dandy bag of pre-shredded carrots. The chunkier the shred the more rustic the cake, so if you prefer a delicate texture, finely shred your carrots from scratch.
Walnuts. I’m crazy for nuts so include them in everything. If you’re not so nutsy, just leave them out. You can also substitute pecans for the walnuts if you prefer. Again, chop finely for refined cake or coarsely for Hobbit-style cake. (Can you guess which I prefer?)
Flour. Use all purpose flour, preferably King Arthur brand because it’s made in the USA by an employee-owned company in the dreamy state of Vermont. And it really is superior to other grocery store brands.
Spices. The classic duo of cinnamon and ginger is joined by their exotic friend nutmeg. Nutmeg can be bitter if used to excess but adds a fragrant, nutty flavor to cakes and savory dishes (it’s a top secret ingredient in quiche filling!)
Eggs. Use local, farm-raised eggs if possible.
Sugar. Yes, well, it’s just regular, granulated sugar, but I hated to leave it off the list.
Here’s another reason you’re going to love this cake
I am SO not a fiddly person. You, too? Then get a load of these instructions:
- mix wet
- mix in dry
- pour in pan
- bake!
It really is that easy. Greater than the sum of its parts. And wait til you taste the cream cheese frosting!
Bake the cake in 2-8″ round pans and layer with cream cheese frosting as a grand finale for an elegant dinner party!
can i freeze the cake and frosting?
Yes! Both the carrot cake and the frosting freeze super well. To freeze separately, wrap the completely-cool cake in plastic wrap, a freezer bag and/or foil and freeze. Scoop the icing into balls with a cookie scoop and freeze on a tray, then transfer to a freezer bag or box. To freeze frosted cake, place it in a freezer to harden. Then remove and wrap well with plastic wrap and/or foil. When ready to serve, remove from the freezer, unwrap and let defrost at room temperature.
Ready to bake?
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Based on the approval rating at the café (100%!) I know you’re going to love this sheet pan carrot cake. Keep the recipe on hand whether you’re baking for yourself, a party or as a gift for a friend.
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