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Carrot Cake Loaf Cake
This is the best Carrot Cake Loaf Cake you will ever have with the most soft, moist and almost fluffy texture that melts in your mouth. It is very flavorful with my favorite blend of warm spices and a hint of vanilla. I top it with a thick and fluffy cream cheese frosting that pairs beautifully with the carrot loaf since it isn't too sweet.
Ingredients
Carrot Loaf Cake Batter:
- 1 ¾ cups (210g) grated carrots (from about 2 medium carrots)
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (100g) packed light brown sugar
- ⅓ cup (80ml) oil (canola, sunflower, vegetable or olive oil)
- ½ cup (120ml) full fat sour cream, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon (5ml) pure vanilla extract
- 1 ⅔ cups (235g) all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground all spice
- ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg (use ¼ teaspoon if you like a stronger spice flavor)
Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 4 tablespoon (56g) unsalted butter, softened
- 3 oz (85g) full-fat cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup (120g) powdered confectioner's sugar, sifted
- ½ teaspoon vanilla bean paste or pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon (5ml) milk
For best results, use a kitchen scale to weigh the ingredients.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven at 350ºF. Line an 8.5x4.5-inch loaf pan or 9x5-inch loaf pan with parchment paper leaving a 2-inch overhang at each end and secure them down with metal binder clips. I used the smaller pan in these photos.
- Grate the carrots on the fine side of a box grater and measure it out. Set it aside.
- Make the loaf cake batter. Combine eggs, both sugars, oil, sour cream and vanilla in a large bowl and whisk to blend until smooth. Add grated carrots and stir them in evenly.
- Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda and spices into another medium bowl and whisk to blend them together evenly. Add the dry ingredients to the bowl with the wet ingredients and fold them in gently until evenly combined.
- Scrape batter into the prepared loaf pan and smooth out the top. Use a butter knife to draw a line through the center of the batter down the length of the pan (this helps guide the split as the loaf bakes so it cracks more evenly). Take a butter knife and insert it into the top of the batter in the loaf pan and run it a straight line down the middle of the batter.
- Bake for 45-50 minutes until evenly browned on top and a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer pan to a wire rack and let it cool for 20 minutes. Then, gently remove the loaf from the pan using the overhanging parchment and let it cool down completely.
- Make the cream cheese frosting. Combine soft butter and powdered sugar in a medium bowl and whip using an electric hand mixer on medium high speed for 1-2 minutes until smooth and creamy. Mix in cream cheese until very fluffy and pale. Mix in vanilla and milk. Spread the frosting evenly over the cooled loaf and top with carrot sugar decorations if desired.
