Single-Layer Sheet Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

A moist, deeply spiced 9x13 carrot cake built on hand-grated carrots — they hold their shredded texture and release moisture slowly, so the crumb stays tender for days. One bowl for the wet, one for the dry, no mixer required for the batter. It's finished with a tangy, barely-sweet cream cheese frosting spread thick right in the pan. Bake it as-is for a weeknight dessert, or use the scaling note to turn the same batter into a two-layer holiday cake.

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 lb carrots (about 6 medium), peeled
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 3/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ground allspice
• 1 tsp fine salt
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 cup neutral oil (canola or vegetable)
• 1/4 cup sour cream or plain whole-milk yogurt
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup chopped toasted pecans or walnuts (optional)
• 1/2 cup golden raisins (optional)

• 12 oz full-fat block cream cheese, cool but not cold
• 6 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
• 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp lemon juice
• 1/4 tsp fine salt

• 1/3 cup chopped toasted pecans
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon, for dusting

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 350°F with a rack in the center. Grease a 9x13-inch metal baking pan and line the bottom with parchment, or grease and flour it well.
2. Hand-grate the carrots on the large holes of a box grater — you want about 4 packed cups of long, feathery shreds. Do not use a food processor's shredding disc if you can avoid it; the shorter, wetter pieces it makes give a denser, soggier crumb. Set the carrots aside; don't squeeze or salt them.
3. If using nuts, spread them on a sheet pan and toast for 7 to 8 minutes at 350°F until fragrant, then cool and chop. Reserve 1/3 cup for the top if you plan to garnish.
4. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, and 1 teaspoon salt until fully combined, about 20 seconds.
5. In a large bowl, whisk the brown sugar, granulated sugar, and eggs vigorously for a full minute until lightened and slightly foamy. Whisk in the oil in a steady stream, then the sour cream and vanilla, until the mixture is smooth and glossy.
6. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and fold with a rubber spatula just until a few streaks of flour remain — about 15 strokes. Add the grated carrots and, if using, the nuts and raisins, and fold 10 to 15 more strokes until evenly distributed and no dry flour is visible. The batter will be thick and heavily loaded with carrot; that's correct.
7. Scrape into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake 38 to 45 minutes, rotating the pan at the 25-minute mark, until the center springs back when pressed and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out with moist crumbs but no wet batter. Internal temperature should read 205 to 210°F.
8. Cool the cake completely in the pan on a wire rack, at least 2 hours. Frosting a warm cake will turn the frosting to soup — if you're rushing, chill the cooled cake 20 minutes in the fridge first.
9. Make the frosting: beat the butter alone with an electric mixer on medium for 1 minute until creamy. Add the cream cheese and beat just 30 to 45 seconds more, only until smooth — overbeating cream cheese breaks it down and makes the frosting runny. Add the powdered sugar in two additions on low speed, then the vanilla, lemon juice, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Beat on medium 30 seconds until fluffy and spreadable.
10. Dollop the frosting over the cooled cake and spread it to the edges with an offset spatula, finishing with swoops and swirls. Scatter the reserved toasted pecans over the top and dust lightly with cinnamon.
11. Let the cake sit 20 minutes so the frosting sets slightly, then cut into 15 squares with a knife wiped clean between cuts. Serve at cool room temperature.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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