If you love a good snack cake, you will absolutely adore this carrot version. Get your forks ready!
Welcome back. Did you have a good weekend? ‘Tis the season for moving house, isn’t it? Not only are some of our friends catching the moving bug, but we’ve certainly caught it as well. Adam and I just moved into a new home over the past week and we’re finally getting settled. We’re still in the same town and very much Minnesota bound.
This month we’ll be married 7 years and will have moved 6 times. Most of the previous moves (including this one) were pretty spontaneous and spur of the moment decisions. I guess we like to switch things up and explore new neighborhoods.
Right before we were able to move into our new house, we actually helped some dear friends move theirs first. So yeah, we’ve been pretty busy and I have had my fair share of packing and hauling boxes already. Whilst we were helping our friends, one of their old neighbors offered to provide us with lunch. How sweet is that? She had a delicious meal prepared for all of us, including carrot cake. It reminded me how much I love it and that I don’t make it nearly enough.
Carrot Cake also happens to be a great dessert to serve when the temperatures rise and you’re not in the mood for something too filling and heavy. Light, moist and simply fantastic.
So when we had completed our move and I had put my kitchen back together, I knew exactly what to bake :). A celebratory Carrot Snack Cake that would make unpacking the rest of the house that much easier.
Now some of you might know that I posted a Scrumptious Carrot Cake recipe a little over a year ago. While I still adore that recipe, I wanted to bake another version. One that was made for a 9-x-13′ baking pan, would be cut into small squares (perfect for snacking) and is not quite as fancy. Without sacrificing flavor and taste, of course.
Plus, the world will never have enough carrot cake recipes.
I was contemplating switching up the frosting, but is there really anything better than carrot cake topped with cream cheese frosting? I didn’t think so. So I decided to step things up in the cream cheese department and made it extra creamy and cheesy. Tripling the amount of cream cheese I’d used for my first version. I didn’t think cream cheese frosting could get any better… until I tasted this goodness.
Carrot Snack Cake – it’s the best motivator to get work done, leaves your home smelling amazing, and makes any day infinitely better (especially Mondays).
Hope you dive right in!
- 5 medium carrots (about 5 1/2 - 6 ounces), finely shredded
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1 cup canola or vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
- 12 oz cream cheese, softened
- 1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
- pinch of salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 - 2 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar
- 1 cup sweetened coconut flakes
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9-x-13 inch baking pan. Set aside.
- 1. Using a grater, shred carrots. Set aside.
- 2. In the bowl of your stand mixer, combine eggs and sugars and beat together. Add buttermilk, oil, and vanilla and mix until incorporated.
- 3. Add flour and mix until just combined. Add baking soda, baking powder, salt, and spices and mix until fully combined and a smooth batter forms.
- 4. Fold in shredded carrots. Pour batter into the prepared baking pan. Place in the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack. Let cool completely.
- 5. Once cooled, prepare the frosting. Whisk together cream cheese and butter. Add salt and vanilla and stir until incorporated. Whisk in confectioner's sugar until smooth. Spread frosting in an even layer over the cooled cake. Sprinkle with coconut flakes, if desired. Cut into squares and enjoy!
Ahhhh…swoon.
These little squares are so perfect! I’m getting flashbacks to after-school snacks, and now I really want one with a glass of milk. 🙂
Just wondered if I could halve this recipe? There are only my husband & I to eat this, so I’d like a smaller pan. Would I use a 9 x 9″ or an 8 x 8″ pan? Thank you!