Carrot Sheet Cake with Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting
This carrot sheet cake is perfect for feeding a crowd! It is so easy to make, perfectly spiced, and utra-moist. The frosting is to-die for!
One of the best carrot cake recipes on the planet, this cake is a no-fuss, easy recipe for any occasion!
Carrot Sheet Cake Batter
This simple cake batter can be mixed together by hand in one bowl. It’s so easy!
Wet ingredients:
- Oil
- Unsweetened applesauce
- water
- vanilla
- eggs
Dry ingredients:
- Flour
- Cinnamon + nutmeg + allspice
- Baking soda + baking powder + salt
The finely shredded carrots are folded in at the end.
What Size is a Half Sheet Pan?
The carrot cake batter is baked in a half sheet pan. Sometimes these pans are called “rimmed sheet pans” or “large baking sheets” or even “jelly roll pans.”
To avoid any confusion, the outer measurements of a half sheet pan are right around 18 X 13 inches and the inner measurements are about 17 X 12 inches. The sides are 3/4 to 1 inch high.
NOTE: this recipe fills a half sheet pan very full. If you live at high elevation (where cakes are prone to overflow), use a deeper pan, if you have one, or remove 1 1/2 to 2 cups of the batter before baking and bake the extra batter as cupcakes. I live at 2,500 feet elevation and the recipe made, as written, works great with no overflowing.
Make-Ahead Carrot Cake
The baked and cooled carrot sheet cake is frosted with the most divine whipped cream cheese frosting.
At this point, the cake can be loosely covered and refrigerated for up to a day (it stays plenty moist made ahead of time!). Frosting the cake and then chilling helps keep the cake from drying out.
The cake is delicious served cold or at room temperature. Toasted, chopped pecans can be added to the top of the entire cake, to each individual serving, or left off completely.
This simple cake is one of the most delicious carrot cakes ever! It is always a hit no matter when or where I serve it.
What Others Have to Say About This Carrot Sheet Cake
If you’re looking for the perfect carrot cake – moist, fluffy, EASY – to make for a crowd, this is it!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This is the best carrot cake and extraordinary frosting. I took it to a family get together for Easter and EVERYONE loved it and wanted the recipe. A definite keeper as are all of Mel’s recipes. -Darlene
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This is the BEST carrot cake recipe! My whole family loved it, even my picky 4 yr old loved eating the “vegetable” cake. I made this on Saturday night for Easter Sunday and the leftovers even 4 days later are delicious. -Karen
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Yum, yum and more yum! This was my first time making carrot cake and it was delicious! I loved that the recipe was HUGE and I could share the deliciousness with friends and family. We all LOVED it! Thanks so much! -Shanna
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I never knew I liked carrot cake until I made this for my husband’s birthday. Any time something is so ridiculously delicious that I lose all self-control and cannot stop eating it, I dub it: dangerous. This cake is Dangerous with a capital “D,” my friend. -Britt
Carrot Sheet Cake with Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
Cake:
- 1 ½ pounds carrots, washed and ends trimmed (they don’t need to be peeled)
- 3 cups (636 g) sugar
- 4 large (200 g) eggs
- ¾ cup (145 g) oil
- ¾ cup (190 g) unsweetened applesauce
- ¾ cup (172 g) water
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 3 ½ cups (497 g) flour
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon allspice
- Toasted, chopped pecans, for serving (optional)
Frosting:
- 8 ounces (227 g) cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- ½ cup (113 g) butter, softened to room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 ¾ cups (428 g) powdered sugar
- ⅔ cup heavy whipping cream
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a half sheet pan (11X17-inch rimmed baking sheet).
- For the cake, shred the carrots finely on a box grater or food processor (the yield should be 4 1/2 to 5 cups/about 520 g). Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl combine the sugar, eggs, oil, applesauce, water and vanilla. Whisk until well-combined.
- Add the flour, cinnamon, salt, baking soda, baking powder, nutmeg and allspice. Stir until no dry streaks remain.
- Add the carrots and mix until evenly combined.
- Bake the cake for 25 to 27 minutes the top springs back lightly to the touch. Let cool completely.
- For the frosting, in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a medium bowl using a handheld electric mixer, add the cream cheese, butter and vanilla and mix on medium speed until light and creamy.
- Gradually add the powdered sugar and mix on low speed until well-combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- In a separate bowl, beat the heavy whipping cream until stiff peaks form. Fold the whipped cream into the frosting and mix gently until evenly combined and the frosting is smooth and creamy.
- Frost the cooled cake evenly with the frosting. Sprinkle with chopped pecans, if using. Cut into squares and serve.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: adapted from my friend, Alisha O.
Recipe originally published March 2010; updated February 2025 with new photos, recipe notes, etc.
Hi Mel, this recipe looks brilliant. From past experience I know your recipes never fail. Am trying this for a bake sale at my kids school.
Will this frosting be stiff enough for piping onto cupcakes?
This is a pretty soft frosting, Malini – I haven’t tried piping with it and my gut feeling is it is too soft but you could certainly try!
Made this for Easter today, and everyone said that it was delicious and very moist. I used a 1/2 cup of applesauce and 1 cup of oil. Mel, I think cutting the oil in this recipe was very wise as it is not missed at all. Thank you! 🙂
I love your recipes and trust your judgement, so I’m wondering if this is your favorite cream cheese frosting recipe? I’ve got a birthday on Saturday that I would like to make it for. I’ve tried to find a great frosting and haven’t yet!
I like that cream cheese frosting recipe but the one from this other carrot cake is probably my favorite (the little bit of sour cream takes it over the top).
So I used this recipe for Easter to make individual mini carrot cakes and it was to die for!!! It was a huge success!!! Thanks so much for another great recipe!!!
I LOVED your Easter menu. This year 3 of the 4 came from your easy to choose menu!
The carrot cake to end the meal was the best ever! So easy and the whip cream made the icing so light and delisch!
Thank you thank you
I love this frosting. Do you think this recipe would frost 2 9in cakes?
Rachey – I’ve never tried it for that size of cake. It might be pretty close, if it were me I’d halve the recipe again (so make a 1 1/2 batch) just to be safe. Good luck!
I made this and stuck exactly to the recipe, but did a 13X9X2 and a 13X9X1. I don’t think you could get two 13x9x2’s out of this. I made 50% more frosting too and had a surplus. This recipe is very very good, I and my guests enjoyed it. It does contain a ton of sugar, I think the frosting especially could use less. It tastes good as it, but leaves that sugary taste residue on your teeth.
made this for a get-together over the weekend. like so many of your recipes, it was so easy and so good! everyone loved it. added it to my “love” folder. 🙂 thanks!
Served this cake for Easter dinner, and it was a hit! I halved the recipe since there were only 5 of us, and I still have some leftover in my fridge. I told my son this morning that it’s probably not a good idea for me to be left alone with that cake – I know I’ll be sneaking bites all day! Mmm, just writing about it has my mouth watering – gotta’ get some in my mouth right now. 🙂
Since you halved the recipe, what did pan or sheet did you bake it on/in? I don’t have a smaller baking sheet.
This was so easy and good to bring to church. It was gobbled up and my best pal even had seconds. Now that is the ultimate compliment.
I’m in the process of making this cake. How many cups is 1 and 1/2 # of carrots? I don’t want to make it wrong, could you help?
Thanks
LeeAnn, I’m not absolutely sure because I usually use 3/4 of a 2 pound bag but its probably 1 1/2 to 2 cups.
I don’t know about everyone else…but I MUST HAVE crushed pineapple in my carrot cake. Maybe it’s just a California thing…..since California Carrot Cake ALWAYS has crushed pineapple in it. And for those who put raisins in……NOOOOO!!! Now is there a way to make carrot cake into cookies?!?!?
Hi, i just want to what can i use to substitue applesauce in the receipe? Thanks….
Ivy – you can use vegetable oil in place of the applesauce.
I never knew I liked carrot cake until I made this for my husband’s birthday. Any time something is so ridiculously delicious that I lose all self-control and cannot stop eating it, I dub it: dangerous. This cake is Dangerous with a capital “D,” my friend.
This was by far the easiest and most DELICIOUS carrot cake I have ever come across!!!!!!!!!!!! I made one and took it to work…. it was gone by noon…. I go to work at 10:30 lol it was SO moist and heavy.. oh man, can’t wait to make another one!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This was so amazing! I can’t decide if I like the frosting or the cake the best, because they are both sooo good! I love all your recipes, I don’t usually comment, but I wanted to say thanks for making my kitchen life easier. The hardest part about cooking is finding a good recipe! Also for this recipe I used frozen grated carrots I had from my garden and I didn’t know the weight, so I used 4 cups and it seemed perfect. I drained them after thawing them, so it wouldn’t make the batter runny. Just wanted to mention that in case someone else needed the measurement. Thanks again for a winning recipe!
Ashley – I have made this 24 hours in advance (frosted and everything) and kept it in the refrigerator…it keeps very well.
I’m wanting to make this for Easter on Sunday. Can I make it a day or two ahead and keep it in the fridge? Will it still be moist and yummy???
This was so good Mel! Thanks for yet another keeper.
This was such a huge hit with my husband and his co workers! I substituted crushed pineapple in place of the applesauce. And the frosting…..so good. I will definitely be using it in place of typical dense cream cheese frosting.
Hey Melanie,
I made this for Easter this year and just an fyi…I froze the leftovers with the frosting on and I pulled it out last night for some company and it tasted awesome!! just like I made it fresh :)–it freezes and defrosts beautifully!
I check your page everyday, because I’m kind of stalking you! I love how you break everything down to make it easier. I always tell people it is one of Mel’s recipes…they are starting to think you are a family friend. Anyway, I made this cake yesterday for Easter; Big hit. However, it was freckled with green specks. I googled and could only come up with it being a reaction to baking soda/powder. That was good enough for the family, but how can I prevent it in the future? Still tasted amazing 🙂
Stefanie – how bizarre about your cake! To be honest, I have no idea why that would have happened, I’ve never heard of such a thing. It sounds like what you’ve read could be a likely culprit but who knows how to prevent it? Sorry I can’t be of more help – I’ve never had the green speckled effect!
Actually, in your second photo of this post, right in the middle of the “bite” I can see a green speck!
My real reason for posting though is to ask about nuts. I love a nutty carrot cake. Do you have any suggestions for incorporating nuts into this recipe?
Haha, you are right. I never noticed that. Although that could be more likely due to my kids getting some of the carrot top greens in with the shredded carrots but maybe there is something to the baking soda reaction.
I made this recipe with juiced carrots. I juiced the carrots, took the pulp and added the juice back into them. It made for wonderful texture in the cake. I hand stirred wet ingredients into dry. I baked the recipe in two 9×13 and iced and layered them, but I think I would just make one deeper cake next time. The recipe made a great flavor and my brother “the chef” loved it and took it to work as a potluck where everyone loved it, including someone who LOVES carrot cake who said it was the best carrot cake he had ever tasted. Thanks for the recipe; it’s a keeper.
I just found this and was so in the mood for carrot cake . . . and cupcakes. This recipe worked really well as cupcakes also! So moist and just really yummy! Didn’t need the frosting, but ohhh, the frosting was amazing! I halfed the recipe and only used oil because I didn’t have any applesauce at the moment. I got 18 cupcakes out of it and baked them for 20 min and they were perfect!
Looks delicious!!
Hey Mel
Well, I’ve made this cake 4 times now(everyone keeps asking for it) It’s worked GREAT each time!
Jessica – you are nice to fill people’s requests! I’m so glad this cake has been a hit. Thanks for letting me know!
I made this and it was a hit! Thanks, so yummy!
Thanks, Kathy – happy this was a hit!
Mel,
Ok, I’m not normally a carrot cake person… but this was GOOD! I love your site. Thanks for sharing your hard work with the rest of us. I have the cake (2nd attempt) cooking in the oven right now. The smell is heavenly! Thanks for the tip on how big it is!
Jessica – did it work out the first time, too, or was the second try just because you liked it? Thanks for checking in to let me know!
I made this cake for Easter and it was amazing! We had family over for the traditional egg hunt and dinner, the cake was a hit. I could eat a pound of this frosting (I can hear my thighs screaming in agony). Thanks so much for adding to my Easter dinner! -Krista
Krista – I’m glad I’m not the only one whose thighs are revolting against this frosting! Thanks for letting me know cake (and frosting) were a hit…
Yum, yum and more yum! This was my first time making carrot cake and it was delicious! I loved that the recipe was HUGE and I could share the deliciousness with friends and family. We all LOVED it! Thanks so much!
Lesley – thanks for letting me know this cake turned out well for your daughter’s 1st birthday! Happy birthday to her! Thanks for letting me know.
I made this cake yesterday (1/2 recipe) for my daughters first birthday. Yummy and simple, this is my kind of cake. I have loved all the recipes I have tried from your site, thanks!
Marissa – your comment made me laugh! I can just picture your Granny yelling to you that you did well! Too funny. I’m glad that this worked out for you!
I made this for Easter dinner with my family at my Grandparents’ house. My Grandma yelled across the yard, “Rissa, this carrot cake is so good!” And she informed me I have proven myself as being able to bake. (I’m a newlywed and fairly new to cooking.) Thanks!
Thanks, Sara!
made this cake yesterday for Easter, we all loved it! thanks again for another great recipe!
deanne – the recipe that I gave in my post is WITH my changes so if you want to make it the way I did, you don’t need to further cut down the eggs/oil. Hope that helps!
did you make the changes that you talked about in the recipe that you wrote down? or do i still need to cut out one egg (so if i halved it i would only use one egg)) and still reduce the oil even more and add more applesauce than what you have down? hopefully that makes sense
I am so glad you enjoyed the cake! I just pulled all of the carrots out of my winter garden & along with oodles of baby food, I plan to make a couple of these babies. I can’t wait to try the whipped cream frosting. Yum!
Oh, & a year ago or so I found a quarter sheet jelly roll pan (made by Calphon) at a discount store… TJ Maxx or something… anyway, I almost always just do 1/2 of the recipe unless I have a crowd to feed! You just have to decrease the baking time by a bit.
Carrot cake is my favorite. Yours looks terrific!
Can I just say how much I love your site?! I can? I LOVE YOUR SITE! I am a visitor 2-3 times a week. I haven’t made a single one of your recipes that I didn’t really like…and that’s not normal. We have the same taste in food I think, although I can’t stand asparagus, sorry. You’re hilarious. I’ve never commented before but after this carrot sheetcake recipe that I needed for Easter that you suddenly saved me with AGAIN…THANKS!!! You rock!
what a unique frosting! i thought regular cream cheese frosting was as decadent as one could get, but i was wrong. so very wrong. 🙂
I have been searching for the last week for a Carrot Sheet Cake recipe! This one by far looks the BEST, and just in time for the event I need it for. Thank You! 🙂
I’ve never made a carrot cake in sheet cake form….super idea, Mel! And the frosting looks heavenly rich!
Mel–you read my mind! I have had “carrot cake” written on the white board on my fridge for weeks now–no lie. Just been in the mood. Now I don’t have to search for a recipe. This one looks awesome.
There is a carrot cake season? In my house it’s all year long, baby! I love carrot cake in all its varieties. Sometimes cream cheese frosting is just too heavy for me, I can’t wait to try this frosting recipe!
This cake looks and sounds amazing. I love the addition of heavy cream in the frosting.
Oh my…these last several recipes ALL look delish. I can see my Easter dinner shaping up quite nicely thanks to you. 🙂 I think the traditional ham is out the window!
I love carrot cake, this recipe looks delicious! Can’t wait to try the frosting I’m sure it is heavenly.
Carrot cake is a favorite in our house, and I make one that has crushed pineapple in it (we love it!). My son’s birthday is in April, I can’t wait to try your whipped cream cheese frosting on a carrot cake…it looks like it would take almost any cake to the “over the top” level! Thanks for sharing, Mel!