Carrot Sheet Cake with Toasted Coconut

Perfectly moist and lightly spiced, this Carrot Sheet Cake with Toasted Coconut is perfect for serving a crowd. Not fussy, but a dessert that everyone will love.

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We are no strangers to carrot cake! This Carrot Sheet Cake with Toasted Coconut is super easy and great to feed a crowd, but I’ve also got a traditional Carrot Cake. Or try it in cupcake form with these Carrot Cake Cupcakes. It doesn’t end there – also check out this Carrot Cake Cheesecake or Carrot Cake Pancakes.

I love cake. I love a good layer cake. But I am not a cake decorator. And sometimes, you want something a little more “down home” than a beautiful, tall, layered cake.

Enter the sheet cake.

It may not look as fancy as a tall, layered cake, but you can bet that it tastes just as good.

And it’s easy enough for anyone to make.

This carrot sheet cake screams Easter dessert to me, but really, I’d take a slice of it anytime of year.

Ingredients

For the Cake

• Sugar: Use granulated sugar.
• Vegetable Oil: You could also use melted and cooled butter, if desired.
• Applesauce: I like to add in some applesauce to keep it moist and not as oily as it would be if you used all oil.
• Eggs: I use large eggs.
• Vanilla: Use pure vanilla. I like Watkins.
• Flour: You need all-purpose flour for this recipe.
• Baking Soda: This will help give the cake its lift.
• Cinnamon: For a little bit of spice. (I will often add extra because I love the cinnamon so much!)
• Salt: For flavor, and also to balance the flavors.
• Buttermilk: If at all possible, use real buttermilk. If you are in a pinch, you can make a buttermilk substitute.
• Carrots: Do not use pre-grated carrots. They will be dry and won’t give you a moist cake. Take the few extra minutes to grate them yourself.
• Coconut: I use sweetened, shredded coconut. You could use unsweetened for in the cake, if desired.

For the Frosting

• Cream Cheese: What goes better with carrot cake than cream cheese frosting? I have not tested it with low fat cream cheese – I use full fat.
• Butter: I typically just have unsalted butter on hand, but I actually think salted butter would be great here to help balance the sweetness.
• Vanilla: Again, use real vanilla extract.
• Powdered Sugar: I don’t bother sifting my powdered sugar, but you certainly could if you wanted.
• Coconut: This is the coconut you will toast, so I’d suggest using sweetened, shredded coconut.

How to Make Carrot Sheet Cake

1 – Beat together the sugar, oil, and applesauce. Add the eggs in one at a time, mixing between each addition.

2 – Beat in the vanilla extract.

3 – In another bowl, whisk together your dry ingredients – the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.

4 – Add this dry mixture to the wet mixture.

5 – Pour in the buttermilk and mix to combine.

6 – Add the carrots and the coconut.

7 – Stir this all together just until mixed. Don’t overmix the batter.

8 – Pour the batter into a prepared baking pan. Bake until a tester comes out clean, then cool the cake completely.

9 – While the cake is cooling, you can make the frosting. Beat the cream cheese and butter together. Add the vanilla.

10 – Start beating in the powdered sugar, 1/2 cup at a time. Once it is all incorporated, beat another minute or two until it is smooth and creamy.

11 – Once the cake is cooled completely, frost the cake with the cream cheese icing.

12 – The last step is the coconut! I have tips below for toasting the coconut.

How to Toast Coconut

There are 2 different ways that I will usually toast coconut. The biggest secret with either of the techniques is do not take your eyes off of the coconut. It will go from pale and white to burned completely in the blink of an eye. I can’t tell you how many batches of coconut I’ve ruined by walking away for just a minute or two. So watch it the whole time!

Stove Top: This is my prefered method, simply because I can see the coconut well and stir as needed. Start by adding your coconut to a dry skillet. You want a fairly thin layer of coconut so that it will cook evenly. Turn the heat to medium – no hotter! – and cook, stirring very often, until the coconut starts to turn a toasty brown. Some pieces will turn faster than others – the trick is to take it off before the darker pieces start to burn. Once it is toasted as far as you’d like, don’t let it sit in the skillet as it will continue to cook. I like to transfer it to a bowl, or onto a piece of parchment paper.

Oven: I like the oven method because I feel like the coconut cooks more evenly, but I also feel like I’ve ruined more batches in the oven because I can’t see it as well. To toast in the oven, preheat to 325ºF and spread the coconut out on a baking sheet. Bake it in the oven for 8-12 minutes, stirring it 2 or 3 times during the bake time. Again, once removed from the oven, remove it from the baking sheet so that it will not continue to brown.

Tips and Tricks

More Desserts For Coconut Lovers

Coconut Cream Pie
Coconut and Pistachio Pudding Cake
Coconut Orange Pound Cake
Coconut Cupcakes
Italian Cream Cake

Carrot Sheet Cake with Toasted Coconut

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Author: Deborah Harroun

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Servings: 24 servings

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

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Perfectly moist and lightly spiced, this Carrot Sheet Cake with Toasted Coconut is perfect for serving a crowd. Not fussy, but a dessert that everyone will love.

1x2x3x

Ingredients

Cake:

• ▢ 2 cups 396 g sugar
• ▢ 1/2 cup 99 g vegetable oil
• ▢ 1/2 cup 127 g unsweetened applesauce
• ▢ 3 large eggs
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ▢ 2 cups 240 g all-purpose flour
• ▢ 2 teaspoons baking soda
• ▢ 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon salt
• ▢ 1/2 cup 113 g buttermilk
• ▢ 1 1/2 cups 150 g grated carrots
• ▢ 1/2 cup 43 g sweetened, shredded coconut

Icing:

• ▢ 8 oz cream cheese at room temperature
• ▢ 1/2 cup 4 oz unsalted butter, at room temperature
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ▢ 2 cups 227 g powdered sugar
• ▢ 1 cup 85 g sweetened, shredded coconut

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line a 15x10-inch sheet pan with parchment paper.
• In a large bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the sugar, vegetable oil, and applesauce. Add in the eggs, one at a time, beating between additions. Add in the vanilla.
• In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Stir this into the wet mixture.
• Add in the buttermilk, mixing just to combine. Fold in the carrots and the coconut.
• Pour the mixture into the prepared sheet pan. Bake until a tester inserted in the middle comes out clean, 30-35 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool completely.
• To make the icing, beat together the cream cheese and the butter. Beat in the vanilla.
• Start adding the powdered sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, beating until incorporated. Once all of the powdered sugar has been added, continue to beat until smooth and creamy.
• To toast the coconut, place the coconut in a skillet and place over medium heat. Cook, stirring very frequently, until the coconut is toasted. Watch it carefully, as it will burn easily.
• Remove the coconut from the heat and let it cool completely. Sprinkle evenly over the top of the cake.
• Cut the cake into slices and serve.

Recipe Notes:

Nutrition information provided as an estimate only. Various brands and products can change the counts. Any nutritional information should be used as a general guide.

Nutrition Information

Serving: 1slice, Calories: 308kcal (15%), Carbohydrates: 40g (13%), Protein: 3g (6%), Fat: 15g (23%), Saturated Fat: 5g (31%), Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g, Cholesterol: 43mg (14%), Sodium: 171mg (7%), Fiber: 1g (4%), Sugar: 30g (33%)

Keywords: carrot sheet cake