This carrot cake loaf is made with an easy carrot cake batter, topped with an incredibly creamy and delicious cream cheese frosting, and topped with chopped pecans.
This carrot cake is made in just one bowl and is super moist and fluffy, and the best part, it is topped with a delicious cream cheese frosting that makes this cake perfect.
We love making cakes in loaf pans and baking easy cakes, if you like easy cake recipes, you should check out my apple upside down cake, apple sharlotka cake, moist honey cake, fudgy flourless chocolate cake, and our favorite marble loaf cake.
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Why this recipe works
- Texture- this carrot cake is unbelievably moist and fluffy and will melt in your mouth.
- Flavor- this cake has the best combination of spices and sweetness.
- Moist- this cake is filled with plenty of grated carrots, greek yogurt, and oil which makes this cake extra moist.
- Cream cheese frosting- Topped with a dreamy cream cheese frosting that is not too sweet and is perfect for carrot cakes.
- Simple- this cake is made with simple ingredients that you can find in any grocery store.
Ingredients
Before you start to make this carrot loaf cake recipe, measure and prepare your ingredients so the cooking process will go smoothly and easily.
Carrots-Â use fresh carrots for this recipe! Not canned carrots and not pre-shredded carrots, to get moist cake use fresh carrots and grate them yourself.
Flour– we used all-purpose flour for this recipe, self-rising flour, and cake flour will work great as well.
Greek yogurt- get your Greek yogurt to room temperature. Any percent of fat will work for this recipe. If you don't have Greek yogurt, simply use sour cream.
Baking powder and baking soda – to allow the cake to rise.
Brown sugar- we like using brown sugar for this recipe, the brown sugar adds extra flavor and tastes amazing with fall spices.
Granulated sugar– we like to use granulated sugar, also the most common sugar used in baking. Caster sugar will work great as well.
Vegetable oil – we used vegetable oil for this recipe. canola oil will work great for this recipe.
Eggs– To give the cake a good structure. Make sure you’re using room-temperature eggs.
Vanilla extract– Vanilla extract Is an essential ingredient for baking.
Cinnamon- use ground cinnamon for this recipe, the cinnamon adds so much flavor so don’t skip it.
Nutmeg- use dried ground nutmeg or freshly grated nutmeg.
Salt– We used kosher salt for this recipe. Salt doesn’t give the cake a salty taste.
For the cream cheese frosting
Butter- make sure you are using room temperate butter.
Cream cheese- make sure that you are using whole-fat cream cheese that is at room temperature. We highly recommend using the famous Philadelphia cream cheese.
Powder sugar- is known as confessional sugar. For a smoother buttercream, sift it before adding it to the butter.
Pinch of salt- to balance the sweetness.
Instructions
Preheat an oven to 180c (350f) and prep a loaf pan with parchment paper.
Peel and grate the carrots. Into a big mixing bowl, add the eggs, vegetable oil, brown sugar, sugar, vanilla extract, cinnamon, nutmeg, greek yogurt, and the grated carrots. Mix until well combined.
Add the flour, baking powder, and baking soda, and mix until just combined.
Pour the batter into the parchment paper-lined loaf pan and bake in a 180c (350f) preheated oven for 40-60 minutes or until a toothpick is inserted into the cake and comes out clean.
Let the cake cool to room temperature before frosting. This step prevents the frosting to melt off the cake.
Make the cream cheese frosting
Into a large bowl add room temperature butter and mix with a hand mixer or a stand mixer until the butter is light and fluffy.
Add the cream cheese and mix until smooth. Then add ½ of the powdered sugar at a time (you don’t want to be in a powdered sugar cloud).
Add a pinch of salt, and the vanilla extract and mix well until smooth.
Top the cake with the cream cheese frosting and make a wave pattern with an offset spatula. Top the cake with chopped walnuts or hazelnuts. Enjoy!
Expert Tips
- Use room temperature ingredients. It is important that you use room-temperature ingredients like eggs, cream cheese, and butter. This step ensures that your mixture mixes into a homogenous mixture and bakes perfectly. you don’t want to place cold batter into the oven.
- Measure your flour correctly! When measuring your flour, avoid scooping it with a measuring cup. Instead, stir the flour with a spoon to create as many air pockets as possible, and spoon it into your measuring cup. Finally, level it with a back of a knife.
- Don’t overmix the batter, you don’t want to develop the gluten in the flour. This step ensures you have a moist cake and not a dense and dry cake.
- Line your baking pan with parchment paper! This step helps the cake to bake evenly, and it makes sure that your loaf cake will release easily from the pan.
- Be patient! I know it’s extremely tempting to frost this cake as soon as it's ready. Allow the cake to cool to room temperature before frosting the cake. This step prevents the frosting to melt.
Faq's
This cake will last up to 4 days at room temperature or up to one week in the fridge. Cover the cake with plastic wrap or foil to prevent it from drying out.
We use all-purpose flour for this cake. Self-rising flour and cake flour will work great as well.
Yes. If you would like to consume less sugar or less sweet carrot cake, reduce the amount of sugar by â…“ cup.
The carrots give this cake a moist and tender texture. It also adds sweetness to the cake as carrots are naturally sweet.
Storing
Store this cake in the fridge (because the frosting contains dairy) covered with plastic wrap or foil, or stored in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
Freezing
Freeze this cake after it cooled completely in an airtight freezer-friendly container for up to 3 months, some people find the cupcake tastes better after freezing it.
Our tip is not to freeze it decorated or covered with frosting, because it can ruin the decorating of the cake, we suggest freezing the cake and decorating it when you defrost it.
If you’re not looking to impress anyone with your decorating skills, it’s absolutely okay to freeze the cupcake with the frosting on.
Substitutions
Gluten-free - if you want to make this recipe gluten-free, simply replace the flour with gluten-free flour.
Oil- if you don't want to use vegetable oil or canola oil for this recipe, swap it with melted butter or melted coconut oil.
Variations
Add ins- You can add any of your favorite add-ins to this cake like chopped nuts, raisins, pineapple, chocolate chips, applesauce, etc.
Spices- add your favorite spices for cinnamon-spiced desserts! Like nutmeg, cloves, pumpkin spice, ginger, etc.
Toppings- this cake can be topped with cinnamon buttercream frosting or maple cream cheese frosting. Use your favorite toppings that you like to make the most!
More easy cake recipes
Apple sharlotka cake- This easy apple cake is going to be your new favorite easy and light cake! This cake is fluffy, light, airy, moist, soft, and delicious.
Pecan upside down cake- This pecan upside down cake is made with a moist and simple vanilla cake and topped with an easy caramel pecan topping.
Marble loaf cake- This marble loaf cake is moist and flavorful and topped with a layer of chocolate ganache, it's so beautiful and so delicious.
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📖 Recipe
Easy Carrot Cake Loaf With Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups Carrots grated
- ½ cup Vegetable oil
- ¼ cup Greek yogurt
- 2 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- 3 Eggs large
- â…” cup Brown sugar
- ½ cup Sugar
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1 ½ teaspoon Cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon Nutmeg
- 1 ½ cups Flour
- 1 teaspoon Baking powder
- 1 ½ teaspoon Baking soda
Cream cheese frosting
- 80 g Butter soft
- 150 g Cream cheese
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- 2 cups Powder sugar
- â…“ teaspoon Kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat an oven to 180c (350f) and prep a loaf pan with parchment paper.
- Peel and grate the carrots. Into a big mixing bowl, add the eggs, vegetable oil, brown sugar, sugar, vanilla extract, cinnamon, nutmeg, greek yogurt, and the grated carrots. Mix until well combined.
- Add the flour, baking powder, and baking soda, and mix until just combined.
- Pour the batter into the parchment paper-lined loaf pan and bake in a 180c (350f) preheated oven for 40-60 minutes or until a toothpick is inserted into the cake comes out clean.
- Let the cake cool to room temperature before frosting. This step prevents the frosting to melt off the cake.
Make the cream cheese frosting:
- Into a large bowl add room temperature butter and mix with a hand mixer or a stand mixer until the butter is light and fluffy.
- Add the cream cheese and mix until smooth. Then add ½ of the powder sugar at a time (you don’t want to be in a powder sugar cloud).
- Add a pinch of salt, and the vanilla extract and mix well until smooth.
- Top the cake with the cream cheese frosting and make a wave pattern with an offset spatula. Top the cake with chopped walnuts or hazelnuts. Enjoy!
Notes
- Use room temperature ingredients. It is important that you use room-temperature ingredients like eggs, cream cheese, and butter. This step ensures that your mixture mixes into a homogenous mixture and bakes perfectly. you don’t want to place cold batter into the oven.
- Measure your flour correctly! When measuring your flour, avoid scooping it with a measuring cup. Instead, stir the flour with a spoon to create as many air pockets as possible, and spoon it into your measuring cup. Finally, level it with a back of a knife.
- Don’t overmix the batter, you don’t want to develop the gluten in the flour. This step ensures you have a moist cake and not a dense and dry cake.
- Line your baking pan with parchment paper! This step helps the cake to bake evenly, and it makes sure that your loaf cake will release easily from the pan.
- Make sure that your butter is at room temperature. An hour or two before making these cookies, take the butter out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature. The butter should be soft to the touch. If your butter is too cold, it will be harder to mix and there will be lumps of butter in the dough.
- Be patient! I know it’s extremely tempting to frost this cake as soon as it's ready. Allow the cake to cool to room temperature before frosting the cake. This step prevents the frosting to melt.
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