Name: Easy Spiced Carrot Cake Loaf - Printable Recipe
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 1 h 10 min
Yield: 10
Cuisine: English
Ingredients: 13 x 23 x 8cm (5 x 9 x 3″) Loaf Tin †; Large Mixing Bowl; Jug; Fork; Rubber Spatula; Wire Cooling Rack; 100g (1/2 Cup) Unsalted Butter, room temp; 40g (1/3 Cup) Icing Sugar; 200g (1 + 2/3 Cup) Full Fat Cream Cheese, cold *; 250g (2 Cups) Plain/All Purpose Flour; 100g (1/2 Cup) Golden 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 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, grated

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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 my ultimate carrot cake recipe, this spiced version gives you snuggly warm hug with every bite! Read on for the full recipe, helpful tips and more…

Carrot loaf cake topped with cream cheese frosting on a worktop with a cloth and forks in the background

Carrot cake has always been a favourite of mine, but sometimes you just don’t want a huge wedge! Cue this carrot cake loaf recipe to save the day.

It’s deeply delicious and remarkably moist with a wonderful warming flavour. The smaller slices are a more sensible portion size, which is always better for your waistline. And if you’d rather be a little bit naughty? You can always cut a thicker slice!

Slice of carrot loaf cake on a white plate with a fork and a cloth in the background

Why does carrot cake take so long to cook?

Well my friend, 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 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?

I like to keep things simple. Too many spices overcomplicate things and it can get very pricey very quickly. That’s why I love to blend mine with citrus in this combination…

Cinnamon
Lemon zest
Orange zest

That’s it! The cinnamon adds a beautiful warmth and the lemon/orange zest adds a zing that lifts the flavour to a whole other level. Just trust me, wait until you try it!

There are other variations of course. You could also add a little ginger and nutmeg, like these gorgeous carrot cake cookies do.

Carrot loaf cake topped with cream cheese frosting on a worktop with a cloth in the background

How do you store carrot cake loaf?

I usually say to never put cake in the fridge as refrigeration saps the moisture out of it. Well, all except carrot cake loaf that is! Due to the high moisture content (and also cream cheese frosting being less stable than other frosting varieties) I actually keep mine in the fridge. It will happily keep for 4-5 days and still stay moist and delicious.

Spiced carrot cake loaf – recipe summary

Mix all the dry ingredients together in a bowl.
Beat all the wet ingredients together in a jug.
Add the wet to the dry and mix to form a batter.
Fold through the grated carrot.
Pour into a lined tin and bake.
Beat together butter, icing sugar and cream cheese to make the frosting.
When the cake has completely cooled, top with the icing.
Enjoy!

Despite there being quite a few ingredients in this cake, it really couldn’t be more simple to throw together!

Carrot cake loaf ingredients

Here’s everything you need to know about the ingredients required for this recipe.

Flour – Plain/all purpose flour is best in this recipe as we use other raising agents to aid the rise.
Sugar – I use a combination of golden caster sugar and dark muscovado for a deep, rich flavour.
Baking Powder – Used to make the cake rise.
Bicarbonate of Soda – Helps the cake to rise.
Salt – Table salt is fine in cakes. It’s not for texture it’s for flavour – and salt is salt!
Cinnamon – Vital for adding a warm spiced flavour to your cake.
Eggs – I use free range organic but whatever you have at home will work well too.
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 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.)

Carrot cake loaf recipe tips and troubleshooting

Don’t want to run into any problems? Here’s some helpful tips for making this recipe…

Prepare your ingredients and read through the whole recipe before you begin to avoid unexpected panic.
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 overmix the cake batter or it may become tough/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 improve your skills first.

It looks like it’s burnt – The colour will be very dark on the top because of 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.
It’s overcooked – 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 – Double check you add the amount of spices and salt specified in the recipe for a delicious and flavourful cake.
My frosting has melted – You added the frosting before the cake had completely cooled.

Other cake recipes you might like…

Spiced Carrot Cake Loaf – Step by Step Picture Recipe

Here is what you will need to serve 10.

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

Ingredients

Cake

250g (2 Cups) Plain/All Purpose Flour
100g (1/2 Cup) Golden 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 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, 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 †
Large Mixing Bowl
Jug
Fork
Rubber Spatula
Wire Cooling Rack

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

†Loaf tin sizes vary quite a lot. Just make sure you don’t overfill yours! Fill no higher than 3/4 full or it will overflow.

Instructions

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

Next up, mix the flour (250g | 2 Cups), caster sugar (100g | 1/2 Cup), dark muscovado (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.

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), Greek or plain 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

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

Carrot loaf cake batter (minus the carrot) in a glass bowl with a spatula

Now you’re ready for the key ingredient! 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 overmix here.

Carrot loaf cake batter in a glass bowl with a spatula

Pour the batter into your lined loaf tin.

PLEASE NOTE Turns out my tin was a little on the small side and I accidentally poured in too much batter. This lead to it overflowing a bit in the oven. 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 pegs!

Bake 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

It will appear quite dark in colour (that’s down to the dark muscovado sugar). Don’t worry – 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 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 it’s 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.

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 on the top.

And there you have it! An exquisite spiced carrot cake loaf that’s perfect for a rainy day. Or any other day for that matter!

Cover your carrot cake, store in the fridge and consume within 5 days. If it’s quite cold (i.e. a Winter’s day) then you could get away with storing it at room temperature. If it’s too warm however, the cream cheese frosting could melt and it won’t be pretty!

Have you made this recipe?

Have you made this gorgeous carrot cake loaf? I’d love to know if you have! Send me your pics, comments and questions on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram or email me at emma@kitchenmason.com.

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