Carrot Cake Loaf
Nothing says fall holiday baking quite like a deliciously moist carrot cake loaf loaded down with the spices of the season and topped with a generous portion of cream cheese icing.
I’m so excited to share this carrot cake loaf recipe with you today. This recipe came from my friend, Amanda, who is a kitchen genius. Everything Amanda makes is good, so I know you’ll love this decadent carrot cake loaf as much as we do.
I personally love that this loaf has the same delicious flavors and texture as a traditional carrot cake, just in a smaller, more portable version. It’s perfect for traveling, as who wants to travel with a traditional three-layer cake? (Not me!). It’s also a great idea for gift-giving. Take it as a hostess gift for the holidays or a special gift for friends, family, or coworkers.
As mentioned, this carrot cake loaf recipe is loaded with the exact same ingredients as a carrot cake and the same fall spices you’d also find in pumpkin bread, like cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. Studded with raisins and pecans, the only difference is you bake it in a loaf pan rather than a cake pan. Then you get to top it with scrumptious cream cheese icing.
This carrot cake loaf is easy to make with simple ingredients, so let’s get baking!
Recipe Ingredients
- All-purpose flour
- Sugar
- Vegetable oil
- Eggs
- Vanilla extract
- Grated carrot
- Raisins
- Chopped pecans
- Baking powder
- Cinnamon
- Ginger
- Nutmeg
- Salt
Cream Cheese Icing
- Cream cheese (here’s our homemade cream cheese recipe)
- Butter
- Powdered sugar
- Heavy cream or milk
- Vanilla extract
How to Make Carrot Cake Loaf
In a mixing bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt until combined.
In another large bowl, mix together the eggs and sugar until combined. Then, add in the oil and vanilla.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix together until fully incorporated.
You can use an electric mixer or a spoon to mix your carrot cake batter.
With a spatula, fold in the carrots, raisins, and pecans.
Pour this into a greased loaf pan and bake at 350 for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Remove the carrot cake loaf from the oven when done and allow it to cool for 10 minutes before removing it from the pan to cool completely.
Now we need to make our carrot cake loaf frosting!
Mix all of the frosting ingredients together, using additional milk if you’d like your icing a bit thinner.
Frost the cooled loaf and top with a few extra pecans if you like.
Enjoy this wonderful treat!
Storage
- Cover and store leftover carrot bread in the fridge for up to 1 week.
- This bread also freezes well and extra pecans on top help keep the icing pretty once you wrap it to freeze. Store in the freezer for up to 3 months and thaw in the fridge before serving.
Recipe Notes
- You can substitute granulated sugar for light or dark brown sugar or coconut sugar.
- I definitely recommend shredding the carrot at home and not using pre-shredded carrot, as it can be hard and dry.
- Instead of raisins, add in chocolate chips, sweetened shredded coconut, or dried cranberries. You can also substitute the pecans for walnuts.
- For cinnamon cream cheese icing, add 1/4 teaspoon of ground cinnamon to the frosting ingredients. Another option is to add a tablespoon of maple syrup to make maple cream cheese icing.
- Because it can last in the fridge for up to a week, this carrot cake loaf is a great recipe to make ahead of time.
- This unfrosted carrot loaf recipe is naturally dairy-free.
You may also like these other carrot cake recipes:
Skillet Carrot Cake from Southern Cast Iron
Carrot Cake Recipe from Southern Cakes!
Ingredients
- 1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 3 carrots, grated about 1 cup
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
Cream Cheese Icing
- 4 oz cream cheese
- 1/4 cup butter, unsalted if you have it but salted is fine
- 1 1/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon heavy cream or milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt until combined.1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon ginger, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, 1/2 teaspoon salt
- In another large bowl, mix together the eggs and sugar until combined. Then, add in the oil and vanilla.3 eggs, 1 cup sugar, 1 cup vegetable oil, 2 teaspoons vanilla
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix together until fully incorporated. With a spatula, fold in the carrots, raisins, and pecans.3 carrots, grated, 1/2 cup chopped pecans, 1/2 cup raisins
- Pour this into a greased 9×5 loaf pan and bake at 350 for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven when done and allow it to cool for 10 minutes before removing from the pan to cool completely.
- Mix all of the frosting ingredients together, using additional milk if you’d like your icing a bit thinner. Frost the cooled loaf and top with a few extra pecans if you like. Enjoy!4 oz cream cheese, 1 1/4 cup powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon heavy cream or milk, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 1/4 cup butter, unsalted if you have it but salted is fine
Nutrition
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I always get frustrated when recipes don’t have measurements. Carrots come in different sizes (as do other things) so how many cups are three carrots shredded? Thank you.
I love your site and your recipes. I’ve had great luck with them.
Your words of wisdom always make my day. Thank you again.
Easy to miss – she said about 1 cup shredded carrots.
Has anyone added crushed pineapple to this recipe? How much? And what did you replace it for?
This looks really good to make. Can I make this with self rising flour instead of using the flour and baking soda combination? If should would the measurements be different?
Great idea for us travelers. I wonder if pumpkin pie spice would work .
I love the flavor burst of roasted pecans. So I’ll be spreading the chopped pecans onto a microwave safe plate and microwave for 1 – 2 minutes. Then add into the batter as instructed.
Thank you for (another) great idea
The Carrot Cake Loaf looks so yummy. Carrot cake is one of my favorites.
My husband loves carrot cake, I’ll be making this for him. It’s also just the right size for us.
It’s always a challenge to bake at high altitude, however with the leavening adjustments I’ve learned to do with baking it turned out just like the picture! I must say this carrot cake loaf with just the ‘right’ spicy Fall flavors it is so scrumptious I will be making this many times over! Thank-you so very much for sharing so many wonderful recipes.
I love Adams Best Vanilla Extract. I was not a my normal store and discovered Walmart doesn’t carry it so I will be trying Great Value Pure Vanilla Extract. Hope it’s as good!