Carrot Cake Loaf with Cream Cheese Frosting

Carrot Cake Loaf with Cream Cheese Frosting — My favorite recipe for carrot cake!! It’s ridiculously moist, soft, tender, and full of cinnamon-and-spice-and-everything-nice, including an abundance of carrots and sweet, juicy raisins! 

The Easiest Carrot Cake (From Scratch!)

When it’s done right, carrot cake with cream cheese frosting is one of my favorite indulgences. And this is my new favorite recipe for carrot cake.

I’m really picky about carrot cake. Just like when I dissected Lemon Bars and pointed out many things that could go awry from dog biscuit-like crust to lackluster lemon oomph, carrot cake is also ripe for caketastrophes, with the number one issue being dryness.

I would rather eat a dry rice cake than ingest all those calories on cake that tastes like a dry rice cake. Problem solved because this is the moistest carrot cake I’ve ever had!

Another issue that plagues carrot cakes is blandness. When it comes to cinnamon-and-spice-and-everything-nice, I use a heavier hand than most recipes call for.

Carrots, eggs, sugar, buttermilk, flour; they’re all ingredients that can stand up to bolder spices.

In no way is this carrot cake overly-spiced; it’s not a spice cake, but it’s flavorful. It’s not to be confused with those grocery store carrot cakes that are generally so bland they’re just one step above jarred baby food carrots.

This recipe is a keeper. The carrot loaf cake is tender, springy, dense but not heavy, falling-apart soft and moist without being greasy.

It’s full of texture from the carrots and raisins. And it’s warmly spiced with cinnamon and the spices classic carrot cake is known for. The cream cheese frosting is the literal icing on the cake; tangy, creamy, luscious.

I have not been able to keep away from this cake. It’s a good thing the recipe makes two loaves.

Carrot Cake Loaf Ingredients

To make carrot cake in a loaf pan, you’ll need: 

• Unsalted butter
• Oil
• Eggs
• Buttermilk
• Brown & granulated sugar
• Vanilla extract
• Spices (cinnamon, cloves, allspice, nutmeg) 
• All-purpose flour
• Baking soda & baking powder
• Grated carrots
• Raisins 
• Nuts (optional) 
• Cream cheese
• Confectioners’ sugar

How to Make a Carrot Cake Loaf 

This simple carrot loaf cake recipe has a quick, whisk-tougher batter. There is nothing fussy about it and it goes from cupboard to oven in less than 5 minutes with very few dirty dishes!

Here’s an overview of how to make a spiced carrot loaf cake:

1. Make the carrot cake loaf: Simply melt the butter, add the oil, buttermilk, eggs, sugars, vanilla, all the spices, and whisk. That’s the first 11 ingredients.
2. Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, optional salt, fold in the carrots, raisins, and optional nuts. 
3. Pour the batter into your pan, making sure not to fill any pan more than halfway full because the batter rises considerably.
4. Bake at 350F until top is set in the middle, and it will likely have domed up a little. A toothpick will come out clean, and even when the cake is done, the pan will feel heavy for it’s size. This is one moist cake, I’m telling you!
5. Make the frosting: Beat together butter, cream cheese, confectioners’ sugar, a splash of vanilla, and whip until it’s soft and fluffy.

A Note on Baking Times

Baking times will vary greatly by pan sizes used.

• For standard-sized loaf pans, 40 to 50 minutes, is recommended. I baked the 8-by-4-inch loaf for 42 minutes and the 9-by-5-inch for 50 minutes.
• For mini loaves or muffins, I’d start checking them by 20 minutes, and go from there.
• For one big Bundt cake, it’ll likely take 55 to 65 minutes.

Because of oven variances, various pans used, moisture content in the carrots, and personal preference, baking times will vary.

Frequently Asked Questions

Tips for Making Carrot Cake in a Loaf Pan

Spices: The spices include a mix of cinnamon, allspice, cloves, and nutmeg. If you don’t happen to keep them all on hand, I suggest using more cinnamon. Cinnamon cures everything.

For a twist, if you love pumpkin like I do, pumpkin pie spice would be lovely, too. As written, the cake is nicely spiced and before you double the cinnamon or other spices like I usually do with most recipes, taste the batter and go from there.

Mix-ins: If you’re using both raisins and nuts, reduce each to about 3/4-cup rather than one full cup each so you don’t overwhelm the batter with add-ins, tasty as it sounds.

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5 from 6 votes

Carrot Cake Loaf with Cream Cheese Frosting

By Averie Sunshine

A soft, moist carrot cake that's baked as a loaf. So much faster and easier than baking an entire cake! Packed with carrots, raisins, & nuts!

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes minutes

Total Time: 55 minutes minutes

Servings: 18

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Ingredients  

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For the Cake

• ▢ ½ cup unsalted butter, melted
• ▢ ½ cup canola or vegetable oil
• ▢ 2 large eggs
• ▢ ¾ cup buttermilk
• ▢ 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
• ▢ ¼ cup light brown sugar, packed
• ▢ 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ▢ 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
• ▢ ½ teaspoon ground cloves
• ▢ ½ teaspoon allspice
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ▢ 2 cups all-purpose flour
• ▢ 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
• ▢ 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ▢ pinch salt, optional (buttermilk is already a salted milk and I omitted adding salt)
• ▢ 2 ¼ cups coarsely grated carrots, packed loosely
• ▢ 1 cup raisins, optional but recommended
• ▢ 1 cup diced nuts, such as walnuts, pecans, optional

For the Cream Cheese Frosting

• ▢ 4 ounces cream cheese, softened (I used Trader Joe's Whipped Light)
• ▢ ¼ cup unsalted butter, half of one stick
• ▢ 1 ½ cups+ confectioners' sugar
• ▢ ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

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Instructions 

For the Cake:

• Preheat oven to 350F; spray loaf pans with floured cooking spray; set aside. I used one 9-by-5-inch loaf pan and one 8-by-4-inch loaf pan. Choose any combination of loaf pan sizes, tube or Bundt cake pans, or muffin pans.
• In a large microwave-safe bowl, melt the butter, about 1 minute on high power.
• Add the oil, eggs, buttermilk, sugars, vanilla, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, nutmeg, and whisk vigorously until combined.
• Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, optional salt, and stir to incorporate; don't overmix.
• Stir in the carrots.
• Stir in the raisins and optional nuts.
• Pour batter into prepared pans, making sure not to fill any pan more than halfway full because this batter rises considerably.
• Bake the two loaves (9x5 and 8x4) for 40 to 50 minutes, or until top is set in the center, golden, and a toothpick comes out clean.
• Allow cake to cool in pans for about 10 minutes before removing and transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling. While cakes cool, make the frosting.

For the Cream Cheese Frosting:

• To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, add the cream cheese, butter, and beat to soften and combine, about 1 to 2 minutes.
• Add the confectioners' sugar, vanilla, and beat until light and fluffy. Add additional sugar as desired for thicker frosting.
• Spread frosting over the tops of the cooled loaves. Slice into 3/4-inch wide slices and serve. I yield 9 to 10 slices from a 9x5 loaf.

Notes

Add-ins: If using both raisins and nuts, use about 3/4 cup of each rather than 1 cup each, or the batter may become overwhelmed with add-ins.

Baking times: Baking times will vary greatly by pan sizes used. I baked the 8-by-4-inch loaf for 42 minutes and the 9-by-5-inch loaf for 50 minutes. Muffins or mini loaves could bake in as short as 20 minutes, a big Bundt cake may need 55 to 65 minutes.

Frosting: Some people prefer to refrigerate cream cheese frosting and if you're one of them, I suggest frosting the slices individually immediately prior to serving, rather than frost the whole loaf and then refrigerating it, which will dry it out.

Storage: Store unfrosted loaf wrapped in plastic wrap and placed inside a large ziptop plastic bag for up to 1 week at room temperature, or freeze for up to 3 months. Freezing second loaf after it's cooled is recommended if you're not going to eat it within a week.

Adapted from Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake.

Nutrition

Serving: 1, Calories: 398kcal, Carbohydrates: 51g, Protein: 5g, Fat: 21g, Saturated Fat: 7g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 12g, Cholesterol: 48mg, Sodium: 220mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 36g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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