This recipe is the Cooks Illustrated carrot cake recipe,
which I’ve adapted for loaf-making. I’ve been meaning to make their cake for a
very long time- namely because the reviews are stellar, but also because it was
created as an intentionally nut-free carrot cake! Score.
The frosting is a classic cream cheese frosting; a stick of
cream cheese, a little butter, and a whole lot of powdered sugar. I did
go a little over-board and dyed a little bit of the frosting with orange and
green food coloring so that I could make cute carrot decorations all over the
carrot cake loaf. (Because Easter season is seriously all about cute and
adorable decorating, amirite?)
Ingredients
For the Loaves
- 2 ½ cups all purpose flour
- 1 ¼ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 ¼ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon table salt
- 1 lb whole carrots, peeled
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- ½ cup dark brown sugar, packed
- 4 large eggs
- 1 ½ cups vegetable oil
For the Cream Cheese Frosting
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened
- 3 tablespoons butter, softened
- 3 ½ cups powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Green and orange food coloring (optional)
Instructions
For the Loaves
- Grease and flour two 8.5 x 4.5 loaf pans. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- In a large bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt. Whisk thoroughly to combine.
- In a food processor with grater/shredder attachment, process the carrots until shredded. Pour into medium bowl and set aside. (Recommend grating your own carrots.. the pre-grated variety at the store are typically too thick to use in carrot cake and don't soften adequately as the cake bakes).
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Full Instructions : Click Here
