Over the years I’ve learned that pretty much all the old fashioned recipes I love have either a boatload of sugar in them, or a ton of butter. Maybe because back then, dessert was something special and not something people had access to every single day.
Normally canned carrots are not something I have on hand… but I had a feeling when my friend {who used to make wedding cakes for a living} suggested I give this recipe for old fashioned carrot cake bars a try, it would be totally worth it.
And it was.
The only tricky part was … not eating the whole pan. 😉
Ingredients for Cake
16 ounces canned carrots, drained
2 cups granulated sugar
1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
4 eggs
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
Ingredients for Icing
3 ounces cream cheese {softened}
1/3 cup butter {softened}
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons milk {I used 2%}
2 cups powered sugar
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Blend the carrots, sugar, vegetable oil and eggs together until smooth. In a separate bowl combine with the flour, salt, baking soda and cinnamon together then slowly add hte flour mixture into the carrot mixture and mix well.
Pour into a greased {or parchment paper lined} 11×18 pan. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes or until the center is firm. Cool and then frost with cream cheese icing.
For the frosting
Beat all the ingredients together until smooth. Spread over cooled carrot cake. Then cut into bars.
This recipe is perfect for a potluck or a large function.
~Mavis
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elizabeth says
Thank you, I’ll try the recipe. I’ve never used canned carrots for carrot cake, but I use a good recipe that calls for cooked, pureed carrots, which would be the same I think.
Veronica says
No butter in the cake? I have puréed carrots from last season. Any idea how much would be in this recipe to substitute for the canned carrots? Thanks?
Trish H. says
OH MY! This was fantastic! I used a 12 x 17 jelly roll pan since I didn’t have an 11 x 18 pan but it worked perfectly. Was able to get 35 pieces cut. Everyone in my family loved at (and loved that we had so much). I put half of it in the freezer. I usually get compliments on dessert, but I REALLY got compliments on this one! I think it was the perfect ratio of cake to icing 🙂 I’ll be trying the pumpkin version soon. Thanks for sharing such a great recipe!