How to Make an Easy Spiced Carrot Cake Loaf

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Searching for a comforting cake to go with your cuppa? This gorgeous spiced carrot cake loaf is perfect! It’s easy to make, wonderfully balanced, and every bite will envelope you in a warming, satisfying embrace that will keep you going back for more! Keep reading for the easy picture recipe and lots of tips…

A partially sliced carrot cake loaf on a kitchen worktop with a linen napkin to the side.

Why you’ll love this recipe

With a deep rich flavour and velvety cream cheese frosting, this intensely delicious carrot cake loaf recipe is one you should definitely have in your armoury! More flavour intense than a regular carrot cake recipe, this spiced version delivers a snuggly warm hug with every bite.

Just like a gingerbread spice cake, it’s deeply delicious and remarkably moist. With a wonderful warming flavour!

A linen napkin next to a plate with a slice of carrot cake loaf on it.

Ingredients

Confused about what ingredients to buy? Not sure about a substitution? Here’s everything you might need to know…

Flour – Plain/all purpose flour is what’s needed. Don’t switch it out for self raising or other flours.
Sugar – I use a combination of caster sugar and dark muscovado for a deep, rich flavour.
Baking Powder & Bicarbonate of Soda- Both needed to give the cake it’s rise.
Salt – Makes the flavours pop and strengthens gluten structure, giving a better texture.
Cinnamon – Vital for adding a warm spiced flavour to your cake.
Eggs – I use free range eggs, but whatever you have will work. Try not to use eggs that are very small or very large though.
Oil – I use sunflower oil as it doesn’t alter the flavour of the cake. You could also use vegetable oil.
Yoghurt – I used plain Greek style yoghurt, but plain/natural yoghurt would also work.
Orange/Lemon Zest – Gives a real lift to the overall flavour and works so well alongside the cinnamon!
Carrot – Carrot sizes vary a lot so I definitely recommend weighing your grated carrot in this recipe.
Icing Sugar – Used to make the cream cheese frosting, icing sugar is the only one that will work for this purpose.
Cream Cheese – Only full fat will do! I always use Philadelphia as it’s very stable and has never let me down. (Lighter/cheaper versions have.)

Close up of a spiced carrot cake topped with cream cheese frosting on a work surface.

Emma’s top tips

Here are tips you’ll find helpful when making this carrot cake loaf recipe.

Prepare your ingredients and read through the whole recipe before you begin to avoid unexpected panic and unnecessary mistakes.
Ensure all ingredients are at the same temperature, unless specified otherwise. (i.e. Take eggs, butter etc out the fridge 1 hour before baking.)
Don’t over mix the cake batter or it may become tough and chewy.
Allow the cake to cool completely before topping with the cream cheese frosting.
Store your cake in the fridge. It will stay moist and delicious for at least 4-5 days.

Still not feeling confident? Read through baking for beginners to brush up on your skills first, and bag a helpful freebie in the process!

A front view of a carrot loaf cake topped with cream cheese frosting on a worktop.

Troubleshooting

It looks like it’s burnt – The colour will be very dark on the top due to the dark muscovado sugar. Make sure you test with a skewer to see if it’s properly cooked, rather than going by the colour.
My cake isn’t cooked through – Insert a skewer into the centre of your cake. If it comes out clean, it’s cooked. If there is batter on it, bake for a little longer then check again.
It’s over cooked – Remember that all ovens vary so you need to keep an eye on your cake in the last 15 mins or so.
My cake tastes bland – Make sure you add the amount of spices and salt specified in the recipe for a delicious and flavourful cake.
My frosting has melted – Don’t add the frosting before the cake had completely cooled. Cream cheese frosting isn’t as stable as buttercream frosting, and melts much easier.

A slice of carrot cake on a pale plate with a fork, with a linen napkin to the side.

Timings

Have limited time? Struggle with recipe timings? Or juggling around other things? Here’s some time managing info to make your life easier!

Preheating your oven will take around 15-20 mins. You can make the cake batter in the meantime.
Lining your tin, and making the carrot loaf cake batter should take no more than 15 mins.
Baking this cake takes between 45-55 mins.
You must allow time for your cake to cool completely before frosting. Depending on the time of year, this could be up to 90 minutes.
Frosting your cake will only take 1-2 mins.

Two crossed forks next to a sliced spiced carrot loaf cake.

Spiced Carrot Cake Loaf – Step by Step Picture Recipe

(For a printer friendly version, see the recipe card at the end of this post)

Please note, this recipe includes both UK metric and US Cup measurements.

Ingredients

Here is what you will need to serve 10.

Cake

250g (2 Cups) Plain/All Purpose Flour
100g (1/2 Cup) Caster Sugar
220g (1 Cup) Dark Muscovado Sugar
2 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Bicarbonate of Soda
1/2 tsp Salt
2 tsp Ground Cinnamon
3 x Large Eggs, room temp
125ml (1/2 Cup) Sunflower Oil
125ml (1/2 Cup) Greek or Plain Yoghurt
Zest of 1 Orange
Zest of 1 Lemon
200g (2 + 1/2 Cups) Carrot, peeled and grated

Cream cheese frosting

100g (1/2 Cup) Unsalted Butter, room temp
40g (1/3 Cup) Icing Sugar
200g (1 + 2/3 Cup) Full Fat Cream Cheese, cold *

Essential equipment

13 x 23 x 8cm (5 x 9 x 3″) Loaf Tin †
Baking Paper
Large Mixing Bowl
Spatula
Jug
Fork
Wire Cooling Rack

*This has to be full fat or it won’t work. I use Philadelphia, as it’s never let me down.

†Loaf tin sizes vary quite a lot. Make sure you don’t over fill yours! No higher than 3/4 full or it could overflow.

Instructions

First, grease and line your tin with baking paper, and preheat your oven to 180°C/Fan 170°C/350°F.

Next, mix the flour (250g | 2 Cups), caster sugar (100g | 1/2 Cup), dark muscovado sugar (220g | 1 Cup), baking powder (2 tsp), bicarbonate of soda (1 tsp), salt (1/2 tsp) and cinnamon (2 tsp) together in a large mixing bowl with a spatula.

If there are any large lumps of muscovado sugar, rub them between your forefingers and thumbs to blend them in.

Carrot cake loaf dry ingredients in a glass bowl.

Then beat together the eggs (3 x large), sunflower oil (125ml | 1/2 Cup), yoghurt (125ml | 1/2 Cup), orange zest (1 x orange) and lemon zest (1 x lemon) in a jug with a fork.

Carrot cake loaf wet ingredients in a jug.

Now in thirds, add the wet ingredients to the dry, and fold just until you can’t see any more streaks of flour.

Partially complete carrot loaf cake batter in a glass bowl with a spatula.

Then add the grated carrot (200g | 2 + 1/2 cups) into the batter, and fold just until it’s evenly distributed. You don’t want to over mix here.

Carrot loaf cake batter in a glass bowl with a spatula.

Finally, pour the batter into your lined loaf tin.

PLEASE NOTE: It turns out my tin was a little small, and I poured in too much batter. This lead to some overflowing. Not the end of the world, (bonus cake baby did mean I got to taste some before the main cake was cooled – win!) but obviously not ideal. As loaf tins vary in sizes, make sure you fill yours no more than three quarters full, just in case.

Carrot loaf cake batter in a lined loaf tin ready for the oven.

And yes, I’m a very lazy liner – I use wooden pegs!

Next, bake your carrot cake loaf in the centre of your preheated oven for 45-55 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Baked carrot loaf cake in a loaf tin on a cooling rack.

Don’t worry – it will appear quite dark in colour, (that’s down to the dark muscovado sugar) but it’s not burnt! It’s just got a wonderfully deep and rich flavour.

Allow your carrot cake loaf to cool for 15 minutes in the tin, before peeling off the baking paper and transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Cream cheese frosting instructions

Meanwhile, beat the unsalted butter (100g | 1/2 Cup room temperature) in a mixing bowl with a spatula until it’s really soft.

Softened butter in a glass bowl with a spatula.

Then sift in the icing sugar (40g | 1/3 Cup) and beat again until very light and fluffy.

Softened butter and icing sugar beaten together in a glass bowl with a spatula.

Finally, beat in the cold cream cheese (200g | 1 + 2/3 Cup) until it becomes smooth, light and shiny. Keep refrigerated until needed.

Cream cheese frosting in a glass bowl with a spatula.

When your carrot cake loaf has completely cooled (and I do mean completely!), spread the cream cheese frosting over the top.

And there you have it! An exquisite spiced carrot cake loaf that’s perfect with a cup of tea, or on a rainy day. (Or any other day for that matter!)

A slice of spiced carrot loaf cake on a plate with a fork.

How to store spiced carrot cake loaf

I usually say to never put cake in the fridge, as refrigeration generally saps the moisture out of things. However, this carrot cake loaf an exception to that rule.

Due to the high moisture content (and also cream cheese frosting being less stable than other frostings) I recommend storing this cake covered and in the fridge. It will happily keep for 4-5 days and still stay moist and delicious.

The front of a sliced carrot loaf cake topped with cream cheese frosting. A linen napkin is in the background.

FAQs

Why does carrot cake take so long to cook?

That’s because of the high moisture content. With such a wet batter (using lots of oil and eggs) and carrot being quite wet also, there’s a lot of liquid to get rid of before a cake can actually form. This extra moisture also allows time for the carrot to cook through, yielding a super soft and incredibly moist cake.

What spices do you need for a carrot cake loaf?

In my opinion, too many spices overcomplicate things and can get very pricey. That’s why I love to blend with citrus. In this carrot cake loaf I use cinnamon, lemon zest and orange zest. The cinnamon adds a familiar warmth, and the citrus lifts the flavour to a very special place! You could add ground ginger, nutmeg, or mixed spice if you like though.

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A partially sliced spiced carrot cake loaf on a work surface with a light brown linen napkin behind it.