Carrot cake traybake
Serves: 12
Prep time: 25 minsTotal time: 
Recipe photograph by Maja Smend
Carrot cake traybake
Recipe by Cate Dixon
Baking a carrot cake as a traybake makes it quicker and easier than ever
Serves: 12
Prep time: 25 minsTotal time: 
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Nutritional information (per serving)
Calories
3491Kcal
Fat
23gr
Saturates
7gr
Carbs
43gr
Sugars
42gr
Fibre
1gr
Protein
3gr
Salt
0.5gr
Cate Dixon
Cate is a professionally trained chef turned recipe writer and food stylist with a love of vibrant, seasonal and nourishing dishes. When she’s not experimenting in the kitchen, she’s cycling between local markets or tending to her many flowerpots
See more of Cate Dixon’s recipes
Cate Dixon
Cate is a professionally trained chef turned recipe writer and food stylist with a love of vibrant, seasonal and nourishing dishes. When she’s not experimenting in the kitchen, she’s cycling between local markets or tending to her many flowerpots
See more of Cate Dixon’s recipes
Ingredients
- soft butter, for greasing
- 200ml vegetable oil
- 200g light muscovado sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 200g plain flour
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground cloves
- zest of ½ orange
- 200g peeled and coarsely grated carrots (roughly 3 medium carrots)
For the cream cheese frosting
- 100g soft butter
- zest of 1 orange
- 300g icing sugar
- 125g cold full-fat soft cheese
Step by step
Get ahead
Freeze the cooled, un-iced cake. Wrap well in clingfilm, then defrost fully before decorating.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C, fan 160°C, gas 4. Grease a 20cm x 30cm x 5cm deep baking tin with butter and line with baking paper.
- In a bowl, whisk the oil, muscovado sugar and eggs together until smooth and there are no lumps of sugar. Sift over the flour, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder, ground cinnamon and ground cloves and add the orange zest and a pinch of salt. Whisk until evenly combined, then fold through the carrots. Pour into the prepared tray and smooth into the corners.
- Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 35-45 minutes until golden, risen and a cocktail stick comes out clean when inserted in the middle. Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- To make the frosting, beat the butter and half the orange zest using an electric whisk until soft and creamy. Sift over the icing sugar and beat for 2-3 minutes until evenly combined and it has the consistency of coarse breadcrumbs. Beat in the cold soft cheese for 3-4 minutes until fully incorporated and light and fluffy.
- Spread the frosting over the cooled cake and sprinkle over the remaining orange zest to serve.
