Carrot Cake Loaf with Brown Sugar Glaze
Super moist and easy carrot cake loaf studded with pecans and topped with the BEST brown sugar cinnamon icing.
Hello friends, It’s been a minute, huh…
Real talk, I love baking, I love taking photos & I love sharing them with you all but it’s easier said than done. There’s so many steps in between & it’s so hard to keep up with posting. I wish I could just bake, take photos and *poof* they’re posted and ready for you to make ! But that doesn’t happen, obvvvvvvsss.
Anyways, onto the topic of discussion.
I absolutely love banana bread but unfortunately, my husband does not. He says the banana flavor is too strong. So I made a carrot bread, which is a similar, extra *MOIST* texture, but without the banana flavor. It’s pretty amazing, if you ask me.
What ingredients do I need for carrot cake loaf?!
Making carrot bread is just as easy as making carrot cake, except you don’t have to frost it or layer it! The ingredients you’ll need are:
- All-purpose Flour: I never sift my flour unless I specify that.
- Baking Soda: My leavening agent of choice; can usually be substituted for 4x the amount of baking powder but I have not tested it with this recipe.
- Salt: always add a pinch.
- Oil: I’ve made this with vegetable oil, canola oil and olive oil without any problems.
- Greek Yogurt: (I was trying to be healthy, nbd). I used 1/2 cup of greek yogurt but it can be substituted for 1/3 cup buttermilk or 1/2 cup of sour cream.
- Buttermilk: The real deal is the best, but you can use a buttermilk substitute (milk with lemon, vinegar or cream of tartar), as well.
- Eggs: I always use large, room temperature eggs (run them under hot water for a few minutes if they’re cold).
- Brown Sugar: Changes the flavor a little and gives it more moisture.
- Granulated Sugar: Helps with stability and texture.
- Carrots: grated carrots are a must for carrot cake loaf.
- Pecans: optional. I was never a huge fan of nuts but I find that nuts help balance out sweetness in baking so I grind them up pretty small before adding them to my batter. I usually make carrot cake recipes with walnuts but any nut will work just fine.
- Cinnamon: You can’t make carrot cake without cinnamon; just please don’t.
- Vanilla extract: Vanilla is my best friend, and I add it to everything.
- Lemon zest: Lemon is my second best friend. It’s certainly optional, but I love the little tang that lemon gives to baked goods.
How to make the carrot loaf?
As you know, I like to keep my recipes fairly simple and this carrot cake bread is no different. The only thing that’s a little more time consuming is shredding the carrots. I use a kitchen aid attachment to do this but you can also do it by hand with a grater or even just purchase pre-shredded carrots.
After you’ve shredded your carrots, simply combine the eggs, oil, vanilla and sugars in a large bowl. Whisk them together for a couple minutes, until they’re evenly combined. Then you’ll add in the buttermilk, mix until combined, followed by the dry ingredients and nuts. Once those are combined, fold in the shredded carrots.
How to make brown sugar icing for carrot cake loaf?
I was originally going to make a cream cheese frosting recipe and then a brown sugar frosting but thennnnnn I thought those are too basic and boring (even though they’re delicious). So I had a brilliant idea to just make a brown sugar icing or glaze, whatever you want to call it and drench it over the whole loaf. Can I just say *amaaaazzzzinnnnggggg*
To make the brown sugar icing you’ll need:
- Butter
- Powdered Sugar
- Brown Sugar
- Vanilla
- Cinnamon
- Heavy Whipping Cream (or Milk)
You want to melt the butter with half of the cream and the brown sugar. Whisk them together and then bring them to a boil. Once the brown sugar is fully melted (shouldn’t take too long), remove from heat and add in the confectioner sugar, the rest of the cream, vanilla and cinnamon. Whisk until combined and then pour over loaf.
Storing and serving carrot cake loaf
Quick breads are one of my all time favorite baked goods to make and to eat *winky-face*. Unlike a layer cake, just whip up the batter real quick, pour into a loaf pan, bake it for an hour or so and then enjoy it the rest of the week. They’re not overly sweet, which is what I love but you can always add cream cheese and butter frosting or a brown sugar glaze, whatever you prefer!
If you make this carrot bread, make sure to tag me @baranbakery on instagram, I’d love to share it with the BB tribe! As always,
Love, B
