This carrot cake traybake is a perfect family bake. Really easy to make and cut into portions, it's delicious, light and gently spiced and is topped with the most incredible orange buttercream icing. Fantastic with coffee or as a dessert and always a guaranteed crowd-pleaser.
Hand on heart, this carrot cake traybake must be one of my favourite cakes ever. It's packed with carrots, walnuts, spices and orange zest, it's light and moist and then there is orange buttercream icing... Revelation!
You know by now how I love a nice traybake. They're so much easier and quicker to prep and bake and then simply a doddle to portion. You can definitely get more bang for your buck with them!
I went against the grain and opted for orange buttercream icing instead of cream cheese icing and as far as I'm concerned it's the way to go. I hope you like it too.
Don't tell the purists but this cake will make a fantastic Christmas cake or pudding alternative for when you are not a fan. Enjoy!
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✔️ Why you'll love this recipe
- All the flavours of carrot cake in a traybake form.
- Amazing orange buttercream icing done easy way, no mixer!
- Great for parties, bake sales, buffets etc.
- Super simple to make, no fancy equipment needed.
- Perfect for making with your kids.
- Super versatile. Swap nuts for raisins, add both or keep it plain.
📝 Ingredients and substitutes
Here's what you will need to make my Carrot Cake Traybake:
Cake
Self-Raising Flour - You can use plain/all-purpose flour instead with added 2 ¼ teaspoon of baking powder.
Baking Soda - It works with yogurt to provide that extra lift.
Brown Sugar - Light or dark is fine.
Olive oil - I use light olive oil a lot in my bakes as it's nice and neutral in flavour. You could substitute it with sunflower oil or cold-pressed rapeseed oil instead.
If you are brave you could use extra virgin olive oil but be prepared for slightly changed flavour profile. It's actually really lovely but might not be to everyone's taste.
Eggs - I use organic, medium eggs.
Yogurt - Yogurt in cakes works wonders. Use any plain yogurt you like - dairy or non-dairy. I use plain, greek style soya yogurt.
Carrots - Obviously. Coarsely grated.
Walnuts - Perfect carrot cake companion. You can substitute them with pecans. You can also leave them out if you are nut-free.
***Quick Tip*** I haven't used raisins here as my son is not a fan but you could swap half of the walnuts for raisins or sultanas.
Orange Zest - Lovely flavour addition.
Spices - I used ground cinnamon, mixed spice, ginger and nutmeg for that gentle warming spice.
Icing
Icing Sugar - Use regular or golden icing sugar. Make sure you sieve it first for nice and smooth icing.
Butter - Use your favourite dairy or plant block butter. Either salted or unsalted will work well. Personally, I like to use salted butter in baking.
Cream - Use dairy or soya cream. Both single or double will work. We only need a little bit but it will help with the soft and spreadable consistency of the icing.
Orange Zest - For that gorgeous orange flavour.
🔪 Instructions
Ingredient quantities & detailed instructions to be found in recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Preheat the oven to 180°/160°C(fan)/350°F/Gas Mark 4 and prepare baking pan by greasing and lining it with some baking paper.
Put all dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, spices) in a large bowl and give them a mix with a whisk. Alternatively, you can sieve them in.
Add coarsely grated carrots and roughly chopped walnuts. Mixed them into the dry ingredients with a spoon or spatula.
In a large jug (or another bowl) whisk together brown sugar, oil, yogurt and eggs. You want nice and uniform mixture.
Next, pour wet mixture into the bowl with dry ingredients and mix until combined. I like to use a spoon/spatula and use folding motion to incorporate all the ingredients.
Pour cake batter into prepared, lined cake tin and bake in preheated oven for approximately 30-40 minutes or until skewer inserted into centre comes out clean.
***Pro Tips*** Ovens vary so you might want to check doneness of your cake at around 30 minutes. My temperamental fan oven takes 40 minutes at 160°C.
Once ready, take the cake out of the oven and leave it in a tin for a few minutes before taking it out onto cooling rack to cool completely.
As your cake is cooling, prepare the icing.
Sieve icing sugar into a bowl.
Melt butter in a pan or microwave and pour over icing sugar, following quickly with cream.
Whisk it all really well with small whisk (or wooden spoon) until the mixture is nice and smooth and without any visible lumps. Add orange zest and continue mixing until incorporated.
At this point the icing will be quite runny but once in the fridge it will set to the perfect consistency.
The icing prepared this way can be left in the fridge until the cake is ready and cool.
***Quick Tip*** Wait for the cake to cool completely before topping it with icing.
Spread the icing over the cake and decorate as you wish.
Slice into portions and enjoy!
🥡 Storing
Store: Carrot cake traybake will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Don't refrigerate your cake uncovered as it will become dry very quickly.
If you're a purist and enjoy your cake uniced, you can keep it in the airtight container on the counter unless it's very hot, then I would keep it in the fridge.
Freeze: You can freeze portioned cake (including icing) in freezer safe containers for up to 1 month. Make sure to freeze it in a single layer and gently covered with layer of baking paper and then the lid.
You can also freeze uniced sponge. Make sure you wrap it well to prevent freezer burn and freeze for up to 3 months.
Defrost: Defrost in the fridge overnight or for couple of hours on the kitchen counter. If defrosting in the fridge, bring it to room temperature before serving.
💭 Pro Tips
For the best results when baking use kitchen scales when weighing out the ingredients.
If like me you are a fan of traybakes, invest in good quality springform cake tin. I use and highly recommend this rectangular springform 28x18cm one. It makes getting your cakes out a breeze. Having said that, any equivalent size rectangular cake tin will work.
Do grease your cake tin well before lining it with baking paper, it can make all the difference when removing the cake later.
My super easy icing can be made in advance and kept in the fridge until needed. Remember to take it out of the fridge 5-10 minutes before spreading to soften slightly.
Feel free to decorate your carrot cake traybake any way you like. I went for chopped up pistachios but you can use more walnuts, pecans or some chopped dried fruit if you like.
❓ FAQ
You can skip the nuts altogether or substitute them with raisins, sultanas or any other dried fruit of your choice.
I would recommend light olive oil which is a mixture of unrefined and refined olive oils and as it has neutral flavour it's perfect for baking. Alternatively, sunflower oil or cold-pressed rapeseed oil can be used as well.
If you are feeling adventurous you can use extra virgin olive oil for slightly stronger flavour profile.
Have you tried my Carrot Cake Traybake?
Please consider giving it ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating in recipe card below and share your views or tips in the comments.
😋 More delicious traybake recipes
Coffee and Walnut Traybake (Vegan)
Vegan Gingerbread Cake (Traybake)
Raspberry Cake (Gluten-Free, Vegan)
📋 Recipe
Carrot Cake traybake
Equipment
Ingredients
Cake
- 250 g self-raising flour or plain/all-purpose flour + 2 ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon mixed spice
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 250 g carrots coarsely grated
- 100 g walnuts roughly chopped, see notes
- 200 g brown sugar light or dark
- 150 ml neutral oil (light olive oil, sunflower oil or cold-pressed rapeseed oil)
- 150 g plain yogurt dairy or soya
- 2 medium eggs
Orange Buttercream Icing
- 100 g butter dairy or plant block butter
- 240 g icing sugar sieved
- 2 tablespoon single or double cream dairy or soya
- zest of one orange
- Extra walnuts or other nuts for decoration (optional)
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat the oven to 180°/160°C(fan)/350°F/Gas Mark 4 and prepare baking pan by greasing and lining it with some baking paper.
- Put all dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, spices) in a large bowl and give them a mix with a whisk. Alternatively, you can sieve them in.250 g self-raising flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon mixed spice, ½ teaspoon ground ginger, ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- Add coarsely grated carrots and roughly chopped walnuts. Mixed them into the dry ingredients with a spoon or spatula.250 g carrots, 100 g walnuts
- In a large jug (or another bowl) whisk together brown sugar, oil, yogurt and eggs. You want nice and uniform mixture.200 g brown sugar, 150 ml neutral oil (light olive oil, sunflower oil or cold-pressed rapeseed oil), 150 g plain yogurt, 2 medium eggs
- Next, pour wet mixture into the bowl with dry ingredients and mix until combined. I like to use a spoon/spatula and use folding motion to incorporate all the ingredients.
- Pour cake batter into prepared, lined cake tin and bake in preheated oven for approximately 30-40 minutes or until skewer inserted into centre comes out clean.***Pro Tips*** Ovens vary so you might want to check doneness of your cake at around 30 minutes. My temperamental fan oven takes 40 minutes at 160°C.Once ready, take the cake out of the oven and leave it in a tin for a few minutes before taking it out onto cooling rack to cool completely.
Icing
- As your cake is cooling, prepare the icing. Sieve icing sugar into a bowl.Melt butter in a pan or microwave and pour over icing sugar, following quickly with cream. Whisk it all really well with small whisk (or wooden spoon) until the mixture is nice and smooth and without any visible lumps. Add orange zest and continue mixing until incorporated.At this point the icing will be quite runny but once in the fridge it will set to the perfect consistency. The icing prepared this way can be left in the fridge until the cake is ready and cool.100 g butter, 240 g icing sugar, 2 tablespoon single or double cream, zest of one orange
- ***Quick Tip*** Wait for the cake to cool completely before topping it with icing. Spread the icing over the cake and decorate as you wish. Slice into portions and enjoy!
Notes
- Nutritional information is approximate, per serving of cake with icing but without pistachio nuts on top and based on 12 servings. This information should be treated as a rough guideline only.
- Walnuts can be substituted with pecans, included half and half with raisins or sultanas or left out altogether if you're nut-free.
- For more info on ingredients and possible substitutes see 📝 Ingredients and Substitutes above.
- Freezer friendly.
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