I love my moist carrot cake recipe and this carrot cake sheet cake is just as delicious!

Just like my carrot cake layer cake recipe, this carrot sheet cake recipe does not include shredded coconut, chopped walnuts or pecans, raisins or crushed pineapple.

While a lot of classic or Southern carrot cake recipes include these items, I prefer my carrot cake without them.

I also never have those ingredients on hand and I think this recipe is a lot easier to make without them.

What Ingredients Really Give Carrot Cake Its Flavor?

Those add-ins aren’t what really make carrot cake so great anyways! Most of the delicious flavor we associate with carrot cake comes from the spices that are added into the batter.

Ground nutmeg, ground cloves, and cinnamon are the dominant flavors in this carrot cake recipe.

My recipe also uses some brown sugar, which pairs so well with these warm spices.

Getting the Texture Right in this Carrot Cake Sheet Cake

Now onto the texture of this carrot cake sheet cake! I really prefer my carrot cake to have the taste and texture similar to a spice cake, so I don’t like adding in nuts or raisins.

The texture of this sheet cake is also based on the grated carrots!

I really hate seeing big chunks of shredded carrots in my carrot cake. To avoid that, I actually use a microplane grater to grate my carrots. It’s a bit more work but I think it’s totally worth it.

It gives the cake an incredibly tender texture because it allows the carrots to seamlessly bake into the layers.

You could also shred the carrots with a food processor or a KitchenAid attachment if you’re short on time.

How to Properly Line a Sheet Cake Pan

To ensure your sheet cake easily pops out of your pan, I highly recommend lining it with parchment paper.

I like to clip the overhanging parchment paper to the sides of my cake pan with metal binder clips. This helps it stay in place while I pour the batter and while the cake bakes.

Another trick I love to use when I make sheet cakes is to use flower nails as heating cores.

These are usually used to make it easier to pipe buttercream flowers, but they work great as a heating core too!

Just flip them upside down and they’ll help conduct heat from the bottom of the pan into the center of the cake.

This helps the sheet cake bake up more evenly and quickly.

I order mine on Amazon and a pair of them is $6. They last forever! I’ve had mine for over five years now.

Carrot Cake Sheet Cake – Swaps & Substitutions

While I love making this sheet cake exactly like the recipe calls for below, I know that some of you might want to make substitutions or not have all these ingredients on hand.

Buttermilk

You can use full fat yogurt or sour cream in place of the buttermilk in this recipe.

Or if you want to make your own buttermilk, you can use whole milk plus a bit of vinegar or lemon juice! Add 1 1/2 tsp vinegar or lemon juice into a 1/2 cup measure then fill the rest up with whole milk.

Vegetable Oil

If you don’t have vegetable oil on hand, you can use any flavorless oil in its place! Canola or grapeseed oil would work great. You could even use olive oil if that’s all you have on hand.

Melted butter can also be used in place of the oil, but the texture of the cake will be less fluffy! It will still taste great though.

Brown Sugar

This recipe calls for brown sugar and you can use light or dark!

If you don’t have any on hand, you can use an additional cup of granulated sugar in place of the brown sugar.

Unsalted Butter

Salted butter can be used in place of the unsalted butter to make the cream cheese frosting in this recipe. The frosting will taste a tiny bit saltier, but it will still taste great. Just be sure to omit the salt that the frosting recipe calls for.

Adding in Nuts or Raisins

If you’re a huge fan of walnuts or raisins in your carrot cake, I won’t judge you for adding them in!

You can fold 1/2 cup of raisins and/or 1 cup of chopped walnuts into the batter with the shredded carrots.

Tips for Making the Best Carrot Cake:

• Line your sheet pan with parchment paper to easily remove your cake once it’s baked.
• Use flower nails to help your sheet cake bake more evenly and quickly.
• Use a microplane grater to shred your carrots into super fine pieces. It’s a bit more work but it gives the cake an amazing texture.
• Mix the cake batter just until the ingredients are incorporated. This ensures the cake layers are tender and fluffy.
• Properly measure your flour (spoon into the cup measure, then level) or use a kitchen scale to measure your dry ingredients.
• Color leftover frosting green and orange and decorate your cake with some frosting carrots.

Making This Carrot Cake Sheet Cake in Advance and Storage Tips:

• Make this sheet cake in advance and freeze it. This breaks the process up and makes it more approachable. An unfrosted sheet cake can be wrapped and stored in the freezer for up to a month.
• Make the frosting ahead of time too or save any leftover frosting! It can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a month, or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Be sure to give it a good stir once it thaws to get the consistency nice and smooth again.
• This cake can sit out at room temp for a few hours or be stored in the fridge for up to 5 days in an airtight container.

Making this Carrot Sheet Cake in Different Sizes

You can also use this recipe to bake a 12×17 in sheet cake, but the layer will bake up a lot shorter. Bake time will also be shorter! Bake for about 20 minutes at 325 F / 162 C.

If you want to make carrot cake cupcakes, I recommend using my carrot cake cupcake recipe.

If you want to make a carrot cake layer cake, I recommend using my layered carrot cake recipe.

Let Me Know What You Think!

If you try my carrot cake sheet cake recipe, I’d love to hear what you think of it! Please leave a rating, and let me know your thoughts by sharing a comment 🙂

Also please tag me @chelsweets and use the #chelsweets on social media so that I can see your amazing creations!

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