Easy Carrot Cake Loaf
Ingredients
For the cake
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1 cup (213g) packed?light brown sugar
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1/2?cup?vegetable oil
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1/4 cup (57g)?unsalted butter, melted
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1 1/2?teaspoons?ground cinnamon
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1/2?teaspoon?ground nutmeg
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1/2?teaspoon?ground ginger
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1/2?teaspoon?kosher salt
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2?large?eggs
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1 3/4 cups (210g)?all-purpose flour
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2?teaspoons?baking powder
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1/2?teaspoon?baking soda
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2 cups (210g) grated?carrots, about 3 large carrots
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1/2?cup?chopped toasted?walnuts, plus extra for sprinkling (optional)
For the optional cream cheese frosting
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4 ounces (113g)?cream cheese, softened
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2 tablespoons (28g)?butter, softened
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3/4 cup (90g)?powdered sugar
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1/2?teaspoon?vanilla extract? ??
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Method
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Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan and?line the bottom and two sides?with a piece of parchment paper, leaving a slight overhang.
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Make the batter:?
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, vegetable oil, melted butter, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and salt. Add the eggs, and whisk until fully combined.?
Switch to a silicone spatula and add the flour, baking powder, and baking soda, gently stirring until the batter is mostly combined. It’s okay if there are still a few streaks of dry flour.?
Add the grated carrots and chopped walnuts and stir just until distributed through the batter and no dry streaks of flour remain.
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Bake:
Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and smooth the top with the spatula. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean, 50 to 60 minutes.
Let the carrot loaf cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Run a butter knife along the two unlined ends of the cake, then use the parchment overhang like a sling to pull the cake out of the pan. Set the cake on the wire rack to cool completely.
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Frost the cake (optional) and serve:
While the cake cools, make the cream cheese frosting.
In a medium bowl, use a hand mixer or a whisk to beat the cream cheese and butter until fully combined and smooth, about 1 minute. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla extract and mix until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute.
When the cake has cooled completely, use a small offset spatula or the back of a spoon to spread the frosting on top of the cake, making decorative swoops and swirls. Sprinkle the top with a handful of chopped toasted walnuts.
Store the cake, covered tightly, for up to 4 days at room temperature without frosting or in the fridge with frosting.