Great for a smaller Easter celebration, this Carrot Cake Loaf is easy to make and full of warm spices. Top with a cream cheese frosting and decorate with frosting carrots for the perfectly festive dessert!
I’m not going to lie: I’m extremely picky about carrot cake. It’s one of my favorite cakes, so I will only eat the best 😉
Since a lot of us celebrating Easter will probably end up with a much smaller celebration than anticipated this year, I decided to share my carrot cake loaf recipe in case you need a dessert that suits a small family celebration better vs a huge carrot layer cake!
📹 Full Recipe Video
🥣 Step by Step
1 Combine the dry ingredients in a small bowl. Easy!
2 Beat the eggs until REALLY big, light and fluffy. It will take a few minutes with an electric mixer. Then, add sugar, oil and vanilla and beat in well.
3 Fold the shredded carrots and chopped pecans into the egg mixture, then fold in the dry ingredients. Spread in a lined loaf pan and bake!
To be perfectly honest, the cream cheese frosting? I can take it or leave it. A good carrot cake doesn’t need frosting, if you ask me. But it does make it extra special, the candy carrots ARE an actual must for me… And, fact is, they don’t stick to a bare cake, so… I’m kind of stuck with the frosting 😉
Ingredients
For the Carrot Cake
Dry Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 heaping teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- scant 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Wet Ingredients
- 2 large eggs
- 6 tablespoons neutral vegetable oil
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Other
- 2 cups grated carrot (packed)
- 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
For the Frosting:
- 3 oz cream cheese
- 1 tablespoon softened butter
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar (or more to taste)
- frosting carrots, chopped pecans (to garnish)
Instructions
- Prep: Line a 4×8 inch loaf pan with baking parchment. Heat oven to 320°F.
- Dry ingredients: Combine dry ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside.
- Wet ingredients: Add eggs to a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add oil, sugar and vanilla extract and continue beating for another 2 minutes.
- Combine batter: Fold grated carrots and chopped walnuts into egg mixture, using a rubber spatula. Then, fold in dry ingredients JUSt until combined.
- Bake: Spread batter in prepared loaf pan. Bake for 60-65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then remove and cool completely on a wire rack.
- Frosting: Beat all ingredients for the frosting with an electric mixer until smooth and fluffy. Spread on the completely cooled cake, then decorate as you like.
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