A classic carrot cake recipe with cream cheese frosting turned into a traybake! This soft and moist carrot cake traybake is easy enough for anyone to make no matter your baking skill level.
Sprinkle the top with chopped walnuts and orange zest or leave plain – it’s delicious either way!
I can’t stop baking in my traybake tin right now. It’s just so easy and the possibilities are endless!
I don’t crave sweet treats all that often, but last week I had a real hankering for carrot cake. I already have a recipe for carrot cake that I absolutely love, but I really wanted to try a traybake version.
Prefer cupcakes? Then you might be interested in my recipe for carrot cake cupcakes!
I just love the fact that I can store the finished cake in the tin – the one I own comes with a handy lid. You can find the exact tin I use right here.
This carrot cake traybake is warmly spiced, packed with grated carrots, chopped nuts and juicy sultanas.
The combination of the soft, moist carrot sponge and the dreamy orange cream cheese frosting is simply irresistible! Let’s get baking…….
ingredient list
(keep scrolling to the end of the post to find printable recipe card with ingredient amounts and detailed instructions)
for the carrot cake
- Plain (all purpose) flour
- Bicarbonate of soda and baking powder – makes the cake rise and helps to make it light and fluffy.
- spices – I add a teaspoon of ground mixed spice and ground cinnamon. If mixed spice is not available, you can substitute with 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg, 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger and 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves.
- fine salt – an underrated ingredient in baking. A little salt helps bring out all the flavours and prevents a bake from tasting “flat”.
- orange zest – I use orange zest in the sponge and the cream cheese frosting. Carrot and orange are a perfect pairing.
- soft light brown sugar makes the cake lovely and moist, not to mention a wonderful texture and flavour.
- Oil – I love an oil based cake. They tend to last longer than a cake made with butter. You can use vegetable, sunflower or a light olive oil.
- eggs – you’ll need 3 large eggs at room temperature.
- carrots – obviously! I’m not the biggest fan of grating carrots, but this cake is more than worth it.
- nuts – I love the texture and crunch of roughly chopped nuts in carrot cake. Walnuts or pecans are the classic choice. You can leave them out if you prefer.
- Dried fruit – I add a handful of sultanas or dried cranberries, but you can omit these if you like.
for the cream cheese frosting
- Icing (confectioners’) sugar – if the icing sugar is lumpy, it’s a good idea to sieve it before you make the frosting.
- unsalted butter
- Cold cream cheese – it’s best to use full fat here.
- zest of half an orange
step by step instructions
make the carrot cake
- Place the oil, brown sugar and eggs in a large bowl and using a whisk or fork, mix well until smooth and no large lumps of sugar are visible.
- Stir in the dry ingredients and mix until well combined without overmixing.
- Stir in the grated carrots, chopped nuts and sultanas or cranberries if using. Fold the ingredients into the batter until everything is well combined (again, take care not to overmix.)
time to bake
- Pour the (rather runny) batter into the prepared tin. Bake at 180C/160Fan/350F for 35-40 minutes or until the cake has risen well and is shrinking from the sides of the tin.
- A skewer inserted in the middle of the cake should emerge clean with no wet batter.
- Allow the cake to cool in the tin for 10-15 minutes before turning out on to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
make the cream cheese frosting
- Using an electric mixer, beat the unsalted butter, orange zest and half the icing sugar together for a few minutes until the mixture is smooth and creamy.
- Add the remaining icing sugar and continue to beat until the mixture is smooth and lump free.
- Add the cold cream cheese and beat for about two minutes until you have a smooth frosting. Take care not to overmix – the longer you beat cream cheese frosting, the runnier it becomes!
decorate the cake
- To decorate, spread the cream cheese frosting over the completely cold cake using a palette knife.
- Sprinkle the top of the cake with chopped nuts and orange zest before serving.
how to store carrot cake traybake
Since this cake has cream cheese frosting, it should be refrigerated. Place the cake in a suitable container and keep in the fridge for up to five days.
The cake is delicious either served straight from the fridge or allowed to come to room temperature for about 30 minutes.
can carrot cake traybake be frozen?
Yes – it’s best to freeze the cake with the cream cheese frosting. Wrap the cake well in double layers of cling film and tin foil and freeze for up to three months.
more traybake style recipes to try
Did you try this recipe?
I really hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do! Please do let me know your thoughts by leaving a comment below and if you need any help with the recipe, leave me a comment and I’ll do my best to answer your query. Happy baking!
Carrot Cake Traybake
This easy carrot cake traybake recipe is simply the best! A delicously moist, spiced carrot cake topped with a tangy cream cheese frosting.
Ingredients
- 200g (1 1/4 cups) plain (all purpose) flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
- 1 teaspoon ground mixed spice
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 200ml (1 cup and 2 tablespoons) vegetable oil
- 200g (1 cup) soft light brown sugar
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 225g (2 1/2 cups) peeled coarsely grated carrots
- finely grated zest of half an orange
- 50g (scant 1/3 cup) roughly chopped walnuts or pecans
- 50g (1/4 cup) sultanas or dried cranberries (optional)
- FOR THE CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
- 115g (1 stick) soft unsalted butter
- finely grated zest of half an orange
- 350g (2 cups + 1 tablespoon) icing (confectioners') sugar
- 125g (1/2 cup) fridge cold full fat cream cheese
- 25g chopped walnuts, for decoration (optional)
- 1 teaspoon orange zest, for decoration (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C/160Fan/350F. Grease and line a 9x13 (33 x 22.8 x 5cm) baking pan with baking parchment.
- Place the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt, mixed spice and ground cinnamon in a large bowl and stir well until well combined.
- Place the oil, brown sugar, and eggs in another large bowl and using a whisk or fork, mix well until the mixture is smooth and there are no large lumps of sugar.
- Add the dry ingredients to the oil mixture and using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, stir well until evenly combined. Take care not to overmix the batter.
- Fold in the carrots, orange zest, chopped walnuts or pecans and sultanas or cranberries (if using.) Pour the mixture into the lined tin and bake in the oven for 40-45 minutes or until golden, risen and a skewer or cocktail stick inserted in the centre of the cake emerges clean.
- Leave the cake to cool in the tin for 10-15 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- Once the cake has cooled, make the cream cheese frosting. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter, orange zest and the icing sugar together until creamy and smooth, about 4-5 minutes. (I always add half the icing sugar first, then when it's well combined I add the rest - if you add it all at once an icing sugar cloud will go everywhere!) Beat in the cold cream cheese until you have a smooth, fluffy icing, about 2-3 minutes (don't overbeat at this stage or the frosting could turn too runny.)
- Place the cold cake on a serving plate and spread with the cream cheese frosting. Sprinkle with a little chopped walnuts and orange zest, if desired.
Notes
The ground mixed spice can be swapped for 1 extra teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg, 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger and 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves.
Since this cake has cream cheese frosting, it should be refridgerated. As long as the cake is well covered, it will keep in the fridge for up to 4-5 days.
This carrot cake can be frozen without the frosting for up to three months.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 395Total Fat: 23gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 51mgSodium: 0.5mgCarbohydrates: 43gFiber: 1gSugar: 42gProtein: 3g
Calories and nutritional information are provided by a third party application and should be viewed as indicative figures only.
For the mixed spice is there a certain blend of spices.
Hi Wanda, to make ground mixed spice at home combine 1 tablespoon each ground allspice, ground nutmeg, ground cinnamon and 1 teaspoon each ground cloves, ground coriander and ground ginger. This will obviously make much more than you need, but it keeps well or you can halve the amounts. 🙂