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Carrot Loaf Cake is a delicious spiced cake made with freshly grated carrots and topped with a cream cheese frosting. It's the perfect morning or afternoon treat paired with a hot cup of coffee or tea.

I love a layered carrot cake, but transforming it into a loaf cake makes it ideal for a breakfast treat. This carrot loaf cake is packed with flavor and simple to make. It's made with four spices that pair well with carrots. And you can't enjoy carrot cake without a delicious layer of cream cheese frosting.

Why this recipe works

A moist and slightly dense cake.
Packed with flavor and warm fall spices.
Topped with a cream cheese frosting.
Addition of brown sugar for a delicious flavor.

Before you being

Take out the following baking equipment.

Digital kitchen scale
9x5-inch loaf pan
Parchment paper
2 medium bowls
Large bowl
Whisk
Silicone spatula
Wire cooling rack
Mixer

Allow all your ingredients to come to room temperature.
Read the recipe through from start to finish.

Understanding Ingredients

Although this cake is not limited to the fall season, warm fall spices come together to complement the carrots. This recipe calls for cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves, but you can add or eliminate spices to your liking. Limiting your spices to cinnamon and nutmeg work well, like in my simple carrot cake recipe.

Vegetable oil, or similar oil, is ideal for making carrot cake. It produces a moist cake that will keep for several days. Because this is not a butter cake in which butter and sugar are creamed together creating air bubbles that leaven the cake, carrot cake has a more dense texture.

Freshly grated carrots are essential for this recipe. Do not use store-bought pre-shredded carrots because they are thick and dry. Using freshly grated carrots will add much more flavor and moisture to your cake.

How to make carrot loaf cake

Whisk dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices. Set aside.

Whisk wet ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together both sugars, eggs, vanilla, and vegetable oil.

Combine all the ingredients. Using a silicone spatula, add the flour mixture to the bowl of the wet ingredients and gently fold until combined. Add the carrots and gently mix.

Bake. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The edges will begin to brown and pull away from the sides of the pan.

Cool. Place on a wire rack and allow the cake to cool to room temperature before removing from the pan.

Cream cheese frosting

Cream cheese frosting is the natural choice for carrot cake. It's so creamy, tangy, and irresistible and pairs well with carrots.

You only need four simple ingredients to make cream cheese frosting: cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, and heavy cream.

I love to drizzle the frosting across the top of this cake, but you can spread a thick layer if you prefer. If the frosting becomes too warm and runny, chill it in the refrigerator for 20 minutes before applying to your cake.

Tips and takeaways

Line your loaf pan with parchment. Grease and flour your baking pan and line with parchment paper so that it hangs off the long edges of your pan. This will make it very easy to release your cake once it's completely cooled.
Make it ahead. Because carrot cake is moist and full of spices, making it a day in advance allows the cake flavor to develop fully. You can make this cake the day before, cool completely, and cover tightly at room temperature. You can also make the cream cheese frosting the day before and store it in the refrigerator. Allow the frosting to sit at room temperature to soften slightly and mix with a mixer on medium speed for about 1 minute before frosting cake.
Use mix-ins. If you love added texture to your carrot cake, add some nuts, raisins, and/or coconut to this cake batter. Pecans go wonderfully with carrot cake. You can use a combination of about 1 cup of total add-ins.

For more carrot cake recipes, try these

Make sure to tag me @thesweetoccasion on Instagram and leave me a review below if you make this Carrot Loaf Cake. I’d love to see your creations and read your feedback. And if you would like to make this recipe later, be sure to pin this recipe using the button on any of these images. Let’s make every occasion a sweet occasion!

Carrot Loaf Cake

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Author: Maria
Total Time: 1 hour
Yield: 9x5-inch loaf 1x

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Description

Ingredients

Scale

For the carrot cake

280 g (2 cups) all-purpose flour
4.5 g (1 1/2 teaspoons) baking powder
2.8 g (1/2 teaspoon) baking soda
2.8 g (1/2 teaspoon) salt
4 g (2 teaspoons) ground cinnamon
2 g (1 teaspoon) ground ginger
1.4 g (1/2 teaspoon) ground nutmeg
0.5 g (1/8 teaspoon) ground cloves
110 g (1/2 cup) granulated sugar
55 g (1/4 cup) light brown sugar
100 g (2 large) eggs, at room temperature
4 g (1 teaspoon) pure vanilla extract
110 g (1/2 cup) vegetable oil
180 g (1 1/2 cups) shredded carrots

For the cream cheese frosting

113 g (1/4 cup) cream cheese, at room temperature
12 g (1 tablespoon) unsalted butter, at room temperature
90 g (3/4 cups) powdered sugar
14 g (1 tablespoon) heavy cream or whole milk

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Instructions

For the carrot cake

Preheat oven to 350°F/177°C. Grease and flour a 9x5-inch loaf pan. Line with parchment paper, so it hangs over the sides of the long edges. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together both sugars, eggs, vanilla, and vegetable oil. Add the flour mixture to the bowl of the wet ingredients and gently fold until combined. Fold in the carrots. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan.
Bake for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The edges will begin to brown and pull away from the sides of the pan.
Place on a wire rack and allow to cool to room temperature before removing from the pan.

For the cream cheese frosting

In a large bowl using a hand-held mixer or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and butter together on medium speed until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the powdered sugar and mix on low speed until the powdered sugar is mostly incorporated. Add the heavy cream beat for 2 minutes.

Notes

Make-Ahead: The cake can be baked, cooled, and covered tightly at room temperature overnight. The cream cheese frosting can be prepared then covered and refrigerated overnight. When ready to decorate, allow the frosting to sit at room temperature to soften slightly and mix with a mixer on medium speed for about 1 minute before frosting cake.

Freezing: Frosted cake or unfrosted cake can be frozen up to 2-3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before decorating or serving.

Carrots: Grate fresh carrots for this recipe. Do not use pre-shredded carrots.

Add-Ins: If you’d like to add nuts, raisins, or coconut, use a combination of about 1 cup total add-ins.

Cream Cheese: Use block cream cheese and not the spread that comes in a tub. 113 g of cream cheese equals half a standard-sized block.

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Category: Cake

Keywords: carrot cake, cream cheese frosting, loaf cake