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 Time10 minutesmins
Cook Time45 minutesmins
Total Time55 minutesmins
Course: Cakes & Cupcakes
Cuisine: American
Keyword: carrot cake from scratch, carrot cake loaf, carrot cake recipe with raisins, carrot cake with nuts, easy carrot cake
Servings: 18
Calories: 398kcal
Author: Averie Sunshine
Ingredients
For the Cake
½cupunsalted buttermelted
½cupcanola or vegetable oil
2large eggs
¾cupbuttermilk
1 ½cupsgranulated sugar
¼cuplight brown sugarpacked
2teaspoonsvanilla extract
1 ½teaspoonsground cinnamon
½teaspoonground cloves
½teaspoonallspice
¼teaspoonground nutmeg
2cupsall-purpose flour
1 ½teaspoonsbaking soda
1teaspoonbaking powder
pinchsaltoptional (buttermilk is already a salted milk and I omitted adding salt)
2 ¼cupscoarsely grated carrotspacked loosely
1cupraisinsoptional but recommended
1cupdiced nutssuch as walnuts, pecans, optional
For the Cream Cheese Frosting
4ouncescream cheesesoftened (I used Trader Joe's Whipped Light)
¼cupunsalted butterhalf of one stick
1 ½cups+ confectioners' sugar
½teaspoonvanilla extract
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.