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Carrot Snack Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting. This easy, moist, carrot sheet cake is the most perfect easter cake. It is made with pantry staples and finished with a simple cream cheese frosting and some super cute piped frosting carrots. This cake is great for a simple easter dessert, or for entertaining, as sheet cakes are super easy to transport.
Hi! I hope you are keeping well. I wanted to pop in and share a wee easy recipe that is perfect for the upcoming spring season - this Carrot Snack Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting, made with some pantry staples! As someone who works from home, goes through a lot of ingredients and doesn’t have a car, I almost always turn to online grocery shopping through Instacart when I need to replenish staples, and my favourite place to get them from is ALDI - their ingredients are super high quality and incredibly well priced, which make choosing to shop with them a no-brainer every time.
This carrot snack cake is a twist on a classic carrot cake - instead of baking it in a round pan or turning it into a layer cake, I baked it in a 9” square pan (this super cute speckled one is from ALDI!), and then made a quick and easy cream cheese frosting to top it off with. The cake itself is the perfect texture - there is moisture from the grape seed oil and flavour from the melted butter, and fresh grated carrots and a little bit of spice to round it all off so nicely. The cake can easily be made a day or two in advance if you were looking to prep ahead, then all you would have to do the day of serving is add on the frosting, which comes together super quickly and is nice and sturdy, making it perfect to swoop onto your snack cake.
A few wee tips:
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I finished the cake with some little piped carrots using the cream cheese frosting but you can finish it any way that you like - chopped pecans or walnuts would be great, or some toasted coconut, or just some swoops with your spatula.
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You can also add the frosting to the cake while it is in the cake pan, which makes it easy to store or transport.
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If you were wanting to make this ahead, you can store the cake, either wrapped or in an airtight container, at room temperature for 1-2 days. Add the cream cheese frosting the day of serving.
Carrot Snack Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Makes one 9” cake - serves about 16 -
Prep time: 20 minutes
Bake time: 45 minutes
Carrot Cake Snack Cake
1 cup (200g) Baker’s Corner Brown Sugar
1/2 cup (100g) Baker’s Corner Granulated Sugar
1/2 cup (110g) Carlini Grapeseed Oil or other Neutral Oil
5 Tbsp (75g) Countryside Creamery Unsalted Butter, melted and cooled
1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp (112g) Specially Selected 100% Pure Maple Syrup
3 Simply Nature Organic Grade A Cage Free Large Brown Eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups (255g) Baker’s Corner All-Purpose Flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
3 cups (270g) grated fresh carrot
Cream Cheese Frosting
1/2 cup plus 3 Tbsp (150g) Countryside Creamery Unsalted Butter, at room temperature
12oz (340g) Happy Farms Cream Cheese, Cold
5 cups (640g) Baker’s Corner Powdered Sugar, sifted
1/2 tsp salt
Orange and Green gel food colour, if desired
Sprinkles, if desired
- PROCESS -
CARROT CAKE SNACK CAKE
Preheat the oven to 350°f / 180°c. Grease a 9” square pan with baking spray.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the brown sugar, granulated sugar, grapeseed oil, melted butter, maple syrup and eggs and mix on medium speed until well combined and slightly lightened in colour, 2-3 minutes. Add the vanilla and mix until combined.
In a medium bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and ginger. Add to the mixer and mix until just combined. Add the carrots and mix on low until just combined.
Transfer to the prepared pan. Bake the snack cake for 40 to 45 minutes, until the centre springs back when pressed and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for 15 minutes then turn onto a wire rack.
CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl, cream together the butter and cream cheese on high until pale and fluffy, 3-4 minutes. Add powdered sugar and salt, and mix on low to combine (it will take a while for the mixture to come together but just be patient). Turn the mixer to high and beat for another 3-4 minutes, or until light and fluffy.
If you want to pipe the carrots, remove a little of the frosting into two bowls and colour orange and green. Transfer to piping bags with the ends snipped off or fitted with small round piping tips.
Spread the remainder of the frosting over the surface of the cake and add sprinkles if desired. Finish with piped carrots. Alternatively you could sprinkle the top with chopped walnuts or pecans, or lightly toasted coconut.
Carrot Snack Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Prep Time: 20 Minutes
- Cook Time: 45 Minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes plus cooling time
- Yield: 16 servings 1x
Description
This easy moist, carrot sheet cake is made with pantry staples and finished with a simple cream cheese frosting and piped frosting carrots.
Ingredients
Carrot Cake Snack Cake
- 1 cup (200g) Baker’s Corner Brown Sugar
- 1/2 cup (100g) Baker’s Corner Granulated Sugar
- 1/2 cup (110g) Carlini Grapeseed Oil or other Neutral Oil
- 5 Tbsp (75g) Countryside Creamery Unsalted Butter, melted and cooled
- 1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp (112g) Specially Selected 100% Pure Maple Syrup
- 3 Simply Nature Organic Grade A Cage Free Large Brown Eggs, at room temperature
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups (255g) Baker’s Corner All-Purpose Flour
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 3 cups (270g) grated fresh carrot
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 1/2 cup plus 3 Tbsp (150g) Countryside Creamery Unsalted Butter, at room temperature
- 12oz (340g) Happy Farms Cream Cheese, Cold
- 5 cups (640g) Baker’s Corner Powdered Sugar, sifted
- 1/2 tsp salt
- Orange and Green gel food colour, if desired
- Sprinkles, if desired
Instructions
CARROT CAKE SNACK CAKE
- Preheat the oven to 350°f / 180°c. Grease a 9” square pan with baking spray.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the brown sugar, granulated sugar, grapeseed oil, melted butter, maple syrup and eggs and mix on medium speed until well combined and slightly lightened in colour, 2-3 minutes. Add the vanilla and mix until combined.
- In a medium bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and ginger. Add to the mixer and mix until just combined. Add the carrots and mix on low until just combined.
- Transfer to the prepared pan. Bake the snack cake for 40 to 45 minutes, until the centre springs back when pressed and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for 15 minutes then turn onto a wire rack.
CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl, cream together the butter and cream cheese on high until pale and fluffy, 3-4 minutes.
- Add powdered sugar and salt, and mix on low to combine (it will take a while for the mixture to come together but just be patient). Turn the mixer to high and beat for another 3-4 minutes, or until light and fluffy.
- If you want to pipe the carrots, remove a little of the frosting into two bowls and colour orange and green. Transfer to piping bags with the ends snipped off or fitted with small round piping tips.
- Spread the remainder of the frosting over the surface of the cake and add sprinkles if desired. Finish with piped carrots. Alternatively you could sprinkle the top with chopped walnuts or pecans, or lightly toasted coconut.
Keywords: Carrot Cake, Snack Cake, Cream Cheese Frosting, Piped Carrots, Carrot, Cream Cheese, Square Cake
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