Spiced Carrot Snack Cake
with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting & Candied Walnuts | 10 Servings
- Milk
- Wheat
- Eggs
- Tree Nuts
Carrots in cake—who woulda thought? It’s the iconic fall dessert everyone craves and a great way to sneak some veggies into your family’s pickiest eaters. This simple cake batter features cinnamon, golden raisins, and grated carrots, baked into a moist cake and topped with maple cream cheese frosting. Plus, candied walnuts are broken into clusters and sprinkled over top for extra sweetness and crunch. The best part? We called it “snack cake”—so you can have a slice any time you like.
Ingredients
1.5 cup
Cream Cheese
(Contains: Milk)
12 ounce
Carrots
15.25 ounce
Spice Cake Mix
(Contains: Wheat)
2 unit
Eggs
(Contains: Eggs)
6 tablespoon
Mayonnaise
(Contains: Eggs)
1 teaspoon
Cinnamon
2 ounce
Golden Raisins
1.5 ounce
Walnuts
(Contains: Tree Nuts)
½ cup
Crème Fraîche
(Contains: Milk)
½ cup
Maple Syrup
1 tablespoon
Cornstarch
Not included in your delivery
Salt
½ cup
Cooking Oil
1.5 tablespoon
Sugar
Nutrition Values
Cooking Steps
Adjust rack to middle position and preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bring cream cheese to room temperature. (TIP: For quicker softening, submerge packets in warm water.) Wash and dry produce. Coat a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Line dish with parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on the two longer sides. Coat parchment paper with cooking spray. Trim and peel carrots; grate on the largest holes of a box grater (you should have about 2 cups)
In a large bowl, whisk together cake mix, eggs, mayonnaise, cinnamon, 1 cup water, ½ cup oil, and a pinch of salt. Using a rubber spatula, fold carrots and raisins into batter.
Pour batter into prepared dish; use a rubber spatula to smooth the surface. Bake on middle rack until cake is springy to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 30-40 minutes. Let cool in baking dish for 15 minutes. Using parchment paper overhang, lift cake out of baking dish onto a wire rack to cool completely, 45-60 minutes. Wash and dry bowl used for batter.
While cake bakes, line a small plate with parchment paper. Heat a small, preferably nonstick, pan over medium-high heat. Add walnuts, 1½ TBSP sugar, ½ tsp salt, and 2 TBSP water. Cook, stirring, until water has evaporated and walnuts are sticky and coated, 3-5 minutes. Turn off heat; transfer to prepared plate to cool. Using your hands, break cooled candied walnuts into small clusters.
Place softened cream cheese, crème fraîche, maple syrup, and 1 tsp cornstarch (be sure to measure) in bowl used for batter. Using a hand mixer, whip on medium-high speed until smooth and fluffy, 1-2 minutes. Place frosting in refrigerator until cake is cooled. TIP: No mixer? No problem! Using a rubber spatula, work maple syrup into cream cheese until mostly combined, then whisk in crème fraîche and cornstarch until fluffy and no lumps remain, 3-4 minutes.
Once cake is cooled, spread frosting evenly over top. Sprinkle with candied walnuts. Cut cake into 20 pieces to serve. TIP: Use a sharp knife and wipe with a wet, hot towel between cuts for clean edges. Store covered in the fridge for up to five days.
Customer reviews
Review summary
Updated on Dec 2025- Flavor: Many loved the moist, delicious cake, though some found the frosting too tangy or not sweet enough.
- Ease of prep: Grating carrots was time-consuming; several wished for pre-shredded carrots to save effort.
- Suggestions: Consider reducing salt in candied walnuts; add vanilla to cake and frosting for balanced flavor.
- Portions: Generous yield surprised some; perfect for sharing or freezing leftovers.
- Frosting: Try adding powdered sugar for a sweeter, thicker consistency that some preferred.
Reviews from our home cooks
The walnuts ended up really salty, so I worried that I'd made a mistake, but it ended up okay. Grating the carrots took forever and was hard, so the timing on the recipe wasn't quite the same as my time. I did really like the unusual aspect of the recipe. I never thought to combine things like this and that's one of the biggest reasons I use HelloFresh, so thanks!
Could have used more carrots but very good. I changed it to a round layer cake which worked fairly well. I also added apple pie spice mix while candying the walnuts, so that they weren't just sweet.
I finally got around to making this and it was amazing! I made it on a bad weather day so using the oven was ok. It did take a while but I went step by step and it turned out great. I might have preferred the carrots be grated already but I switched to my small food processor and it was much easier. Loved it.
Moist and delicious! We didn't care for the cream cheese frosting as much as we would have if it was made the traditional way (with powdered sugar). It was a nice Sunday treat though!
Frosting does not whip up as described. Needs sugar to stiffen it. Added vanilla to both frosting and cake to balance flavor. The salt in the candied walnuts should be a pinch, not half a tsp.
Good portion and delicious. By the name snack cake, I was shocked to see it was a 9x13 cake. Will order again!
Great cake. Nice and moist. Needs pineapple. Maybe add one cup that you add with juice and cut back on the water.
The icing makes this cake!! The cake didn't last 24 hours in my house! I hope y'all bring this back for Easter! In the meantime, I'm ordering the ingredients from my local store!
So moist and tasty! We shared it with family and they wanted the recipe
Ordered this thinking it was fully prepared. I have family recipes for carrot cake that would have taken the same length of time. I liked the frosting made with maple syrup. Quite tasty. The texture of the cake, however, is very light and falls apart. The carrots were totally lost in the cake. We prefer a denser, heavy carrot cake.
