It’s Easter month, hurray! It’s time to bring out the bunnies and chocolate eggs you guys! This carrot sheet cake is literally made for Easter. It has a pastel-colored cream cheese frosting and egg nests made of chocolate Easter eggs and toasted coconut. It is definitely a foodie statement on your dinner table this holiday season. Even without coloring the buttercream, this carrot sheet cake is very much up there!
Cream cheese buttercream is slightly different from other types of buttercream. It is more fragile and temperature-sensitive so it needs to be chilled for a good amount of time before being served. When cream cheese frosting of any kind is warmed up, it begins to literally melt and slides off the cake. I would even recommend freezing this cake for about 15 minutes if the cake is going to be out of the fridge for a while. What makes this buttercream even more yummy is the almond extract. Smells incredible too!
Arrange toasted coconut in clusters on the top of the buttercream, then place a few Easter eggs in the middle of the cluster. This gives a bird’s nest aesthetic on the carrot sheet cake, which looks really fun I think. Another awesome carrot cake recipe is my naked carrot cake with coconut buttercream and also stuffed with Oreos and walnuts.
Ingredients
Carrot sheet cake
3 large carrots, grated (about 2&1/2 cups)
2&1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup granulated sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
Almond cream cheese buttercream
8 oz (1 package) cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
4 cups confectioners' (icing) sugar
2 teaspoons almond extract
Green or blue food coloring
Easter toppings
1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut
1/2 cup chopped almonds (optional)
Easter eggs
Instructions
Carrot sheet cake
- Preheat the oven to 350°F/175°C.
- Mx the flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves in a large mixing bowl.
- Using a hand or stand mixer, beat the butter, eggs together, then the sugar and almond extract until it appears smooth. Then combine this wet mixture with the dry mixture form step 2.
- Fold in the shredded carrots last with a spatula.
- Pour this cake batter into a 13x9 inch baking dish lined with parchment paper and smooth out the top with a spatula.
- Bake at 350°F/175°C for 50 minutes. Take out the cake but leave the oven on.
- Let the cake cool completely to room temperature.
- Arrange the shredded coconut on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Bake for about 4 minutes.
- Turn off the oven once most of the coconut looks brown. This is your toasted coconut.
- Give the toasted coconut a good stir and set aside.
Almond cream cheese buttercream
- Cut the butter into cubes and whisk it until it is super smooth with a hand or stand mixer. Whisk in the cream cheese next.
- Sift in the confectioners' sugar into this same bowl as well as the almond extract and whisk it until it is pale, smooth and fluffy. This is your cream cheese buttercream.
- Add a few drops of the food coloring of your choice to the buttercream and whisk it until it is one color.
- Spread a thick layer of buttercream over the cooled cake.
- Garnish the cake with the toasted coconut and other Easter toppings.
- Refrigerate for 2 hours before serving to let the buttercream set properly.
- Leftovers are great for up to 4 days in an airtight container. You can also freeze these for 2-3 months.
Notes
Cream cheese buttercream is temperature-sensitive so it needs to be chilled for a good amount of time before being served. I would even recommend freezing this cake for about 15 minutes if the cake is going to be out of the fridge for a while.