Carrot Sheet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Name: Carrot Sheet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Yield: 16 servings (serving size: 1 piece)
Ingredients: Cake:; Cooking spray; 9 tablespoons butter, softened; ⅔ cup packed brown sugar; ½ cup granulated sugar; 2 large eggs; 2 large egg whites; 2 teaspoons vanilla extract; 2 cups all-purpose flour; 2 teaspoons baking soda; 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon; ¼ teaspoon salt; ¾ cup low-fat buttermilk; 2 cups finely shredded carrot; Frosting:; ½ cup (4 ounces) block-style fat-free cream cheese; ¼ cup butter, softened; 2 teaspoons vanilla extract; ⅛ teaspoon salt; 2 ¾ cups powdered sugar, divided; 1 tablespoon orange sugar sprinkles

14 Ratings
12 Reviews

Moist, rich, and lightly spiced, this carrot cake received our Test Kitchens' highest rating. We call for a metal baking pan for the cake; if you use a glass baking dish, which conducts heat better than metal, decrease the baking temperature to 325°, and begin checking for doneness after 25 minutes. For the best frosting consistency, use softened butter and cold cream cheese, and add the powdered sugar in batches.

By Jan Moon

Recipe by Cooking Light May 2005

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Credit: Becky Luigart-Stayner

Recipe Summary

Yield:

16 servings (serving size: 1 piece)

Nutrition Info

Directions

Step 1
Preheat oven to 350°.

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Step 2
To prepare cake, coat a 13 x 9-inch baking pan with cooking spray; line bottom of pan with wax paper. Coat wax paper with cooking spray; set aside.
Step 3
Place 9 tablespoons butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed 5 minutes or until well blended. Add eggs and egg whites, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition until pale and fluffy. Beat in 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract.
Step 4
Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and 1/4 teaspoon salt, stirring with a whisk. Add flour mixture and buttermilk alternately to sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture; mix after each addition. Stir in carrot. Spoon batter into prepared pan. Sharply tap pan once on counter to remove air bubbles. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes on a wire rack; remove from pan. Carefully peel off wax paper; cool completely on wire rack.
Step 5
To prepare frosting, place the cream cheese, 1/4 cup butter, 2 teaspoons of vanilla, and 1/8 teaspoon salt in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until smooth. Gradually add 2 cups powdered sugar, beating at low speed until smooth (do not overbeat). Stir in the remaining 3/4 cup powdered sugar. Cover and chill 30 minutes. Spread frosting over top of cake. Garnish with sprinkles. Store cake loosely covered in refrigerator.

Nutrition Facts

Per Serving:

309 calories; calories from fat 30%; fat 10.3g; saturated fat 5g; mono fat 4.1g; poly fat 0.5g; protein 4.5g; carbohydrates 50.2g; fiber 0.9g; cholesterol 52mg; iron 1.1mg; sodium 358mg; calcium 49mg.

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bmoxie1212

04/26/2014

The cake wasn't too sweet- perfect. I sprinkled the top of the frosting with sweetened shredded coconut (which helped disguise my less than perfect frosting job...). I also made it as a layer cake.

Emz101

07/01/2013

This was delish, I found no difference between the full fat and this version. I did change things a little. I used 5 tbs. of butter in the batter and 4 tbs. of applesauce just to cut down on the butter a little. As well I used 1 c. all purpose and 1 c. whole wheat flour. It ended up perfect. The only thing I would change would be the pan, I would much prefer to use 2 round cake pans and make a layer cake as opposed to the sheet pan. I also found it took about 10 min more to fully cook.

MyRecipes Member

01/17/2012

Excellent cake! Reliable recipe. In place of while flour, I used 1.5 cups whole wheat flour + 1/2 cup soy flour + 1/2 cup wheat bran. You can cut back on the butter by a few tablespoons. Instead of frosting between the layers (I made a triple layer cake out of this recipe) I used and all-fruit/no sugar jam.

flowerpot916

01/06/2011

So delicious! I followed the recipe as written, except I cut the cake in half after baking and layered it. I also doubled the frosting and added walnuts in the center. A sure keeper!

virevixa

02/04/2010

I make this recipe a lot. It's my "go to" carrot cake recipe and I follow it to the letter except for the frosting, which is plenty sweet with far less powdered sugar. Everyone in my family loves this cake, and I'm constantly having to print off copies of the recipe for people. Yum!

Jocilyn

08/26/2009

Pretty good, but way too much sugar and butter!

hotintexas

06/26/2009

Wow! I have made this carrot cake MANY times over the last 4 yrs. Always get rave reviews on it. People who don't care for carrot cake absolutely love it. I make almost exactly as it calls for except I add raisins to the batter and a little extra cinnamon. I add walnuts on top of the frosting. I usually leave a little of the powdered sugar out as well. Simply delicious!!!!

heysarah

06/22/2009

Good, but not the sweet, chewy, moist yumminess that you get with the traditional, sugar-laden, pecan or walnut and raisin-filled version. This could be any old spice cake. I want a cavity after eating carrot cake.

MyRecipes Member

04/04/2009

This was really good. I used about 1.5c whole wheat flour plus 0.5 cups regular, 2 heaping tsp cinnamon and added 1/2 tsp nutmeg. My only difficulty was keeping the cake from falling apart, but if you keep it in the pan, all is well. I'll definitely make this again.

MyRecipes Member

02/01/2009

Oh this is yummy. My sweetheart only allowed me to take a piece to a co-worker who was having a bad week with the promise that I would make another one immediately. This was so moist and dense and perfect. I added walnuts and more cinnamon, and used eggbeaters (didn't have enough eggs in the house to follow the recipe exactly), which didn't seem to affect anything. Delicious. Getting the ingredients together right now to make it yet again.

MyRecipes Member

01/07/2009

Love this recipe. Made another cooking light carrot cake (layered) and then made this one a week or so later and this was a clear winner. SO moist and easy and best of all, no layering to hassle with! Great recipe! It is now my go-to carrot cake recipe!

ILMBeaches

11/17/2008

This is the best Carrot Cake recipe I've ever made.

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Carrot Sheet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

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Recipe Summary

Ingredients

Directions

Nutrition Facts

Reviews (12)

All Reviews for Carrot Sheet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting