Banana Carrot Sheet Cake

Delicious Banana Carrot Sheet Cake that tastes just like it sounds — moist banana cake infused with carrot flavour. This easy carrot cake + banana cake recipe is naturally sweetened, dairy-free and topped with silky coconut custard frosting.

Most of the time, when I have overripe bananas, I tend to make either Banana Bread or Mauritian Banana Pie; both are equally my favourite banana flavoured goodies.

Banana cake especially just has this wonderful aroma that comes from the oven that makes the whole house smells so lovely and homey. I only think of cozying up on the couch with a nice cup of tea and a big slice of cake or pie.

With the weather being so warm at the moment, I tend to have overripe bananas every week. So, I wanted to bake something a little different from the usual banana bread. 

It’s been a while since I also wanted to make carrot cake, which is one of my favourite kinds of cake too. I love cake with texture and a myriad of flavours to discover in every bite. So, in my mind, carrot and banana would totally work well together in terms of flavour combination. 

Other additions in this cake are coconut flakes and raisins. A generous handful of dried fruits in the batter helps to keep every bite naturally sweetened without the need to add any sugar. This cake is not very sweet though, which is how I like it personally. So, if you have a sweeter tooth than me, feel free to add about 50 – 100 g (¼ – ½ cup) of sugar as per your taste.

And you can totally add nuts and chocolate chips too for a bit of crunch, more flavour or added sweetness.

Could you bake this Banana Carrot Sheet cake in a loaf pan or round pan? Short answer is yes. But it may require a little more time than baking it in a sheet pan. I think baking this in a bundt pan would actually be quite nice too!

This Banana Carrot Sheet cake is actually very easy to make and does not require any fancy ingredients. The process is simple. First, I usually mash the bananas, grate the carrots, and set them aside for when ready to be used.

Then the dry ingredients like the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon are mixed together in a large bowl.

Next, the wet ingredients are added in, the oils, the non-dairy milk, vanilla extract together with the mashed bananas and grated carrots. At this stage, you can also add in any additional sweeteners if you decide to make the cake a little sweeter.

Finally, drop in the coconut flakes followed by your favourite additions — dried fruits, nuts, chocolate chips…

Make sure everything is well combined before pouring the batter into a 33cm x 22.6cm (13″ x 9″) oblong cake pan. I like to line my sheet pan with parchment paper for easy cleaning, and this makes the pan last longer too. Else, you can also grease and flour your pan.

The pan goes into a preheated oven for the first 18 minutes at 200C/400F, then the temperature is lowered to 180C/350F, and the cake is baked for another 12-14 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Then, remove from the oven and let the cake cool.

Meanwhile, make the custard frosting by mixing all the ingredients, except the coconut flakes, into a saucepan and gently heating it until it’s thick and custardy. Then, immediately pour it onto the cake, while the custard is still hot and liquidy.

Finally top with coconut flakes and let the cake cool further, or refrigerate it for about 10-15 minutes to allow the custard to set nicely before slicing. Serve and enjoy! This cake is equally nice served warm.