Carrot Cake Bread (with Cream Cheese Frosting)

Carrot Cake Bread (with Cream Cheese Frosting)

This moist carrot cake loaf is packed with warm spices, fresh carrots, and rich brown butter flavor, then topped with a tangy cream cheese frosting. It’s an easy carrot cake bread recipe that delivers all the flavor of a classic carrot cake in a simple loaf form.

Course Breakfast, Dessert, easter, Snack

Cuisine American

Keyword Carrot Cake Bread, easy, moist, quick, spiced

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 1

Cooling Time 1

Servings slices

Calories 291kcal

Author Bon Appeteach

Ingredients

8 tbsp Butter, divided (6 tbsp for the bread, 2 tbsp for the frosting)
2 tbsp Vegetable Oil
2 Eggs room temperature
3/4 cup Brown Sugar packed
1/4 cup Granulated Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1.5 cups All Purpose Flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
1.5 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Nutmeg
1/2 tsp Ginger

Add In's

1.5 cups Finely Grated Fresh Carrots
1/2 cup Chopped Walnuts or Pecans optional
1/3 cup Raisins optional

Cream Cheese Frosting

4 oz Cream Cheese softened, room temperature
2 tbsp Browned Butter from above
1 cup Powdered Sugar
1/2 tsp Vanilla
1 pinch Salt

Instructions

Brown The Butter

In a light-colored pan over medium heat, melt the butter and continue cooking until it foams and turns golden brown with a nutty aroma, then pour it into a small bowl and let it cool for 5–10 minutes. Make sure to keep 2 tbsp aside for the frosting.

Assembling the Carrot Cake Bread Batter

Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a 9x5 loaf pan with parchment paper, then lightly coat with cooking spray or nonstick baking spray.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the cooled browned butter, vegetable oil, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until smooth and well combined.
Add the room temperature eggs and vanilla extract to the wet ingredients and mix until fully incorporated.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger to evenly combine the dry ingredients.
Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and gently fold together until just combined, being careful not to overmix so the loaf stays soft with a tender crumb.
Fold in the finely grated fresh carrots along with any optional nuts or raisins until evenly distributed throughout the carrot cake batter.
Pour batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top so it bakes evenly.

Baking and Cooling

Bake for 50–60 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, tenting loosely with aluminum foil if the top browns too quickly.
Let the carrot cake bread cool in the pan for 10–15 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

In a bowl, mix together the softened cream cheese, browned butter, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt until smooth and spreadable.
Once the loaf is fully cooled, spread the tangy cream cheese frosting over the top, slice, and serve.

Notes

Turn the frosting into a cream cheese glaze by adding a splash of milk

Nutrition