Carrot Cake Loaf Recipe
Love carrot cake? This moist carrot cake loaf is a must try quick bread. Flavored with warm spices and topped with delicious cream cheese frosting, it's simply sensational!
Ingredients
- ½ cup vegetable oil (or canola oil -any neutral oil will work)
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup unsweetened applesauce
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups grated carrots (about 3 large carrots)
- 1 ½ cups all purpose flour (7.5 ounces)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground ginger
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
- 2 oz cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 1 Tbsp salted butter, softened to room temperature
- ⅔ cup powdered sugar
- ⅛ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp vanilla extract
- 1 pinch salt
Instructions
- Peel and shred the carrots in a food processor. (You can use a box grater, but it takes awhile!) Spray a 9x5" loaf pan with cooking spray and line the bottom with parchment paper. Preheat your oven to 325°.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the oil, eggs, sugars, applesauce, vanilla, and carrots.
- Whisk or sift together the flour, baking powder, soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. Add to the wet ingredients and stir gently, just until combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake at 325° for 55-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out without raw batter. (A few moist crumbs are fine.)
- Let the bread cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes, then carefully dump out and place on a wire rack. Cool completely before frosting. (Or eat the bread without frosting- it's still delicious!)
- For frosting: Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl and beat with an electic hand mixer until smooth. I don't ever need to add milk, but you can if you think it's too thick.
Notes
- I store the bread at room temperature in an airtight container, but you can store it in the refrigerator if you are worried about the frosting. It will keep for 3-5 days.
- For best results, grate your own carrots. The pre-shredded carrots tend to be too dry, which will make your loaf more dry.
Nutrition
Serving: 1sliceCalories: 276kcalCarbohydrates: 39gProtein: 3gFat: 13gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 6gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0.1gCholesterol: 35mgSodium: 228mgPotassium: 103mgFiber: 1gSugar: 25gVitamin A: 2808IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 47mgIron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!