Christie C. This recipe is pretty much the same as the Vegan Mini Carrot Sheet Cake. The only difference is the frosting, which is traditional cream cheese frosting. I love this delicious cream cheese icing. It’s not too sweet, light a fluffy, and full of vanilla flavor.
Like the vegan version, this mini carrot sheet cake is made with pecans, cinnamon, and maple syrup. I prefer to use California golden raisins and nutmeg to the mix. Don’t be alarmed by the tofu; it’s used as an egg replacement. You don’t taste it at all!
The cake batter itself is thick and glossy, but this is normal. It will bake into a super soft, highly flavored cake. Pure maple syrup is used to not only keep the cake moist, but to add notes of autumn flavor. You can, however, use simple syrup or honey as a substitute.
WHY YOU’LL LOVE THIS RECIPE
- Easy to make
- Simple ingredients
- Lovely cinnamon and maple flavor
- Small serving sizes
- Cake batter is vegan.
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TOOLS
8″ x 4″ loaf pan
Large mixing bowl
Stand mixer or hand mixer
Silicone spatula
Optional: 2 piping bags with couplers
Optional: #3 and #68 piping tips
Mini Carrot Sheet Cake
Ingredients
For the cake
- 1/4 cup (60ml) vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup (60g) silken tofu
- 1 cup (130g) cake flour
- 1/2 cup (130g) cane sugar
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp (5g) ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp (2g) ground nutmeg
- 1 tsp (5g) baking powder
- 1 cup (100g) shredded carrots
- 3 tbsp (45g) raisins
- 2 tbsp (30g) pecan pieces, toasted
- Maple syrup for brushing, or simple syrup or honey
For the frosting
- 8 ounces (226g) cream cheese, room temperature
- 4 tbsp (60g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup (100g) powdered sugar, sifted
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- Optional: orange and green food coloring
Instructions
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Preheat your oven to 330°F (165°C).
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In a large mixing bowl, mix the tofu and vegetable oil until creamy and smooth.
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In a separate large mixing bowl, whisk or sift together the cake flour, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and baking powder.
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A third at a time, mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and aerate on high speed for 1 to 2 minutes. The batter will be very thick and waxy in appearance. This is normal.
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Fold the shredded carrots, raisins, and pecans into the cake batter.
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Spray an 4×8 baking pan with nonstick spray. Spoon the batter into the pan and smooth out the top with a spatula.
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Bake the cake in the oven for 50 to 60 minutes or until the cake is golden and a toothpick runs clean when probed into the middle of the cake. Brush a light layer of maple syrup on top of the cake.
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Allow the cake to cool completely before serving or frosting.
Make the frosting and decorate the cake
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Place all of the ingredients in a mixing bowl and blend with a hand mixer or stand mixer until the icing is smooth and airy.
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If making carrot decorations, spread only half of the icing evenly across the cake. Otherwise, spread all of the cream cheese onto the cake and enjoy!
Carrot decorations
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Divide the remaining icing between two small mixing bowls. Place two drops of orange food coloring into one, and two drops of green food coloring into the other. Mix the colors well.
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Prepare two piping bags and place couplers inside. Fill one bag with orange buttercream, and the other with green buttercream.
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With the orange buttercream, pipe a carrot in the center of the sheet cake.
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Attach a #3 tip to the green bag and pipe swirls around the carrot to serve as vines. Then, attach a #68 leaf tip to the piping bag and pipe leaves around the vines and at the head of the carrot.
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Enjoy your beautiful carrot cake!
Notes
- Use the Vegan Buttercream Recipe to make this cake 100% vegan.
- If you don’t like cream cheese icing, try Swiss Meringue Buttercream.
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