Banana-Carrot Sheet Cake
A spiced sheet cake packed with grated carrots, mashed bananas, toasted coconut, and pecans. Warm cloves and mace set it apart from ordinary carrot cake. Cuts into 24 squares and freezes well.
YIELD
24 servingsPREP
20 minCOOK
35 minREADY
55 minCarrot cake and banana bread had a baby, and it’s spectacular.
This sheet cake folds grated carrots and mashed bananas into a brown sugar butter batter spiced with cinnamon, cloves, and mace. Toasted coconut and chopped pecans add crunch throughout.
It bakes in a standard 9×13 pan, cuts into 24 neat squares, and freezes like a champ. Top it with cream cheese frosting for the full experience, or just dust with powdered sugar if you’re keeping things simple.
Pro Tips
- Grate carrots on the fine side of a box grater for the most even distribution through the batter
- Mash bananas thoroughly. Lumps create wet pockets in the finished cake
- Toast the coconut before folding it in. Raw coconut goes soft and disappears, but toasted coconut holds its texture
- This cake actually improves overnight as the spices meld. Bake it the day before you need it
Ingredients
Directions
Preheat oven to 350℉ (180℃).
Grease and flour a 13- x 9- x 2-inch baking pan.
In a bowl mix together the pecans, carrots, bananas, and coconut.
Sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, cloves, and mace.
Set aside.
In a large bowl beat the brown sugar and butter until light and fluffy.
Add the eggs and beat until smooth.
Add the vanilla to the milk.
Beat the milk mixture into the sugar mixture, ⅓ at a time, alternating with dry ingredients, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients.
Fold in the carrot/banana mixture until just incorporated.
Pour into the prepared pan and bake in the middle of the oven 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.
Cool the cake completely, and then frost with cream cheese frosting or dust with sugar.
Cut into 24 squares.
The cake, frosted or not, freezes wrapped in plastic wrap.
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