Easy Carrot Cake Traybake
Our favorite carrot cake traybake with cream cheese frosting, spices, and walnuts, this simple cake is genuinely addictive.
- Prep time
- 15 min
- Cook time
- 42 min
- Yield
- 16 servings
- Difficulty
- HARD
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 300 g carrots ( peeled 10.5 oz, Notes 2,3)
- 250 g all-purpose flour (2 cups/ 8.8 oz)
- 250 g granulated sugar (1 ¼ cup/ 8.8 oz)
- 1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon (Note 4)
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon star anise
- ¼ teaspoon cardamom
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt or Kosher
- 150 ml canola oil ( 2/3 cup/ 5 fl.oz)
- 4 eggs large
- 55 g walnuts (1/3 cup chopped/ 2 oz)
- 55 g raisins (¼ cup/ 2 oz)
- 200 g brick cream cheese ( 7 oz, room temperature)
- 100 g unsalted butter (3.5 oz, soft)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 200 g icing sugar (2 cups/ 7 oz)
- 16 marzipan carrots (optional)
Instructions
- 1
Preheat the oven to 180°C/ 350°F and line a baking dish with parchment paper.
- 2
Peel and grate the carrots on the box grater’s fine side (smaller holes). Chop the walnuts. Set both aside.
- 3
Mix the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, spices, baking soda, and salt) in a large bowl using a spoon.
- 4
Add oil and mix shortly.
- 5
Add the eggs one after another.
- 6
Add the grated carrots, chopped walnuts, and raisins and fold them in with a spoon.
- 7
Bake in the preheated oven for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.
- 8
Let cool in the baking dish for about 15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely before frosting.
- 9
With brick/block cream cheese: Beat together brick cream cheese, soft butter, and vanilla extract until smooth. Beat in the icing sugar.
- 10
With tube cream cheese: Beat together 3.5 oz/ 100 g soft cream cheese (room temperature) and 3.5 oz/ 100 g unsalted butter (soft), and vanilla extract until combined, don’t overmix. Beat in 10.5 oz/ 300 g icing sugar, more if necessary.
- 11
Frost cake: Spread the mixture over the cake with a palette knife or a spoon.
- 12
Cut into 16 squares and decorate each square with one marzipan carrot.
- 13
Refrigerate until ready to serve.