Christmas time is baking time in my books, and this Christmas Carrot Sheet Cake is beginner-friendly and it brings all the Christmas charm and spices to your table!
If you are set on making a sheet cake this festive season and aren't sold on carrot, decorate this Vanilla Tray Bake or this Chocolate Sheet Cake with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting with cherries and cookies for the same Christmas feel.
Why This Christmas Carrot Sheet Cake Works
- Recipe name: Christmas Carrot Sheet Cake
- Ready in: 1hr 40 minutes
- Serves: 20 small slices
- Main ingredients: Carrots, walnuts, oil, sugar, eggs, spices, cream cheese, icing sugar, butter.
- Perfect for: Any Christmas celebration
- Why I love it: This cake is super easy to make and decorate with either homemade or store-bought cookies and meringues.
- Calories: 369kcal
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This delicious carrot cake sheet cake is made from a single layer of spiced carrot cake sponge, covered in fluffy cream cheese frosting and decorated with fresh cherries and spiced cookies. To make your own decorations for this Christmas cake, take a look at this recipe for Mini Meringue Kisses or this Spiced Sugar Cookie Christmas Wreath recipe.
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Key Ingredients
- Muscovado sugar - I used a combination of muscovado and light brown sugar. I love the deep caramel flavor of the muscovado and the color it adds to the cake layers. You can choose to use only light brown sugar.
- Sunflower oil - Use a neutral-tasting vegetable oil, such as sunflower or canola oil.
- Self-raising flour - Use self-raising flour or cake flour combined with baking powder to make this recipe.
- Ground spices - I love the combination of ground ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg for carrot cakes. Feel free to use the same or your own combination of spices.
- Walnuts - Pecans or walnuts will work in this recipe, or choose to leave out the nuts completely.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Variations
How you decorate this cake is entirely up to you! For other frosting ideas, you can cover this cake with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting or Salted Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting.
You may also want to add extra ingredients to the cake batter before baking. Raisins, sultanas, and even diced pineapple will be great additions!
How to Make a Christmas Carrot Sheet Cake
Carrot Cake
- Step 1: Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and oil and line a rectangular cake tin 35x28x7cm (14x11x3 inches) with parchment paper. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, add the oil, eggs, and both sugars. Beat at medium-high speed until well combined, for about 3 minutes.
- Step 2: Sift together the flour, salt, ground cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. With the mixer running at low speed, add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients. Mix at medium-low speed until just combined.
- Step 3: Add grated carrots, vanilla, cranberries, and nuts. Add the grated carrots, vanilla, and chopped walnuts to the cake batter. Mix at low speed until combined. Be sure the ingredients have mixed through, but do not over-mix the batter.
- Step 4: Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake in a preheated oven for 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool in its tin, then transfer it to a wire rack to cool completely before decorating.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- Step 1: Add the butter and icing sugar to a bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat until the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs.
- Step 2: Add the room-temperature cream cheese and vanilla to the frosting mixture, and beat until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat again until light and fluffy. This can take about 5-7 minutes.
- Step 3: Once the frosting is light and fluffy, spoon it onto the surface of the cooled cake and swirl to cover using an offset palette knife.
- Step 4: Decorate the cake with cookies, cherries, meringues, or even sprinkles. Slice, serve, and enjoy!
How to Make a Moist Christmas Carrot Cake
Follow this recipe, and you'll be sure to be serving up a moist carrot cake this Christmas, thanks to the oil and the loads of shredded carrots! Just be sure not to overbake the cake, or it will dry out. If you'd like to try out a stacked layer cake recipe, take a look at this Naked Carrot Cake recipe, which can also be decorated with Christmas cheer!
Storage
Store any leftover cake in an airtight container at room temperature for about 4 days. Make sure this is out of direct sunlight. If it is particularly hot, choose to store the cake in the fridge rather.
Expert Tips
- Check the actual temperature of your oven using an oven thermometer.
- Prepare the shredded carrots and chopped walnuts before you begin baking.
- Remove the cake from the oven as soon as a cake tester inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
- Allow the carrot cake to cool completely before frosting it.
Christmas Carrot Sheet Cake FAQs
Absolutely! Leave the nuts out completely, or use pecans instead.
Yes, you can, but keep in mind that the baking time may vary. Larger tins will need less baking time, as the cake will be shallower. For extra baking tips, read this post, How to Tell When a Cake is Done Baking.
To freeze this cake, cut it into individual slices and wrap each slice in plastic wrap. Freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost the cake in the fridge overnight, then bring the slices to room temperature before consuming.
More Christmas Baking Recipes
This Christmas Carrot Sheet Cake is the perfect bake to serve on Christmas, because let's be honest, most people absolutely love carrot cake! If you're looking to serve this alongside other treats, then don't skip these Condensed Milk Chocolate Truffles, these Smarties Cookies, or these delicious Double Chocolate Chip Hazelnut Cookies.
Happy Baking, With Love, Kitty
Please leave a star rating and comment below if you tried this recipe! And if you're after more Christmas recipes, don't miss out on this Black Forest Trifle!
📖 Recipe
Christmas Carrot Sheet Cake
Equipment
- 1x rectangular cake pan 35x28x7cm (14x11x3 inches)
Ingredients
Carrot Cake
- 150 g muscovado sugar
- 150 g light brown sugar
- 300 ml sunflower oil
- 3 eggs extra-large
- 300 g self-raising flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 300 g grated carrots
- 100 g wanuts chopped
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 250 g powdered sugar
- 40 g unsalted butter
- 125 g cream cheese
- 50 g whole cherries for decorating
- spiced sugar cookies for decorating
Instructions
Christmas Carrot Sheet Cake
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and line 3 x 15cm (6-inch) cake tins with oil and parchment paper.
- In a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, add the oil, eggs, and sugar. Beat at medium-high speed until well combined, for about 3 minutes.
- Sift together the flour, salt, ground cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. With the mixer running at low speed, add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients. Mix at medium-low speed until just combined.
- Add the grated carrots, vanilla, and chopped walnuts to the cake batter. Mix at low speed until combined. Be sure the ingredients have mixed through, but do not over-mix the batter.
- Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake in a preheated oven for about 25-30 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Allow the cake to cool in its tin for 20 minutes, then remove the cake and cool completely on a wire rack.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- Add the butter and icing sugar to a bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat until the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs.
- Add the butter and icing sugar to a bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat until the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs.
- Spoon the frosting onto the surface of the cake and swirl it using an off-set palette knife. Decorate with cookies and fresh cherries. Slice, serve, and enjoy!
Notes
- You can add dried cranberries, sultanas, raisins, and even diced pineapple to the cake batter if you like.
- Wait for the cake to cool completely before decorating.
- Ensure you use room temperature butter and cream cheese to avoid a lumpy frosting.
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