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Browned Butter Carrot Loaf Cake

March 27, 2018 by Joy the Baker 49 Comments

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I don’t need much convincing when it comes to carrot cake.  I’ll have it any which way you’re making it.  Is it more coconut than carrot?  Chocked full of walnuts and dried cranberries and pineapple and raisins?  I’m here for it. Mostly, I’m here for the cream cheese frosting so…. whatever is underneath gets a hearty thumbs up from me.  

If you have my first cookbook, there’s a Carrot Bundt Cake, kitchen-sink-style, in that in has every dang thing in it.  

You might also enjoy these Carrot Cake Cupcakes topped with dreamy Pineapple Cream Cheese Frosting.  

We’ve got bells. We’ve got whistles. We’ve got it all.

With this loaf cake, we’re stripping it all away.  

This if this loaf as a simple, sweet and dense cake.  Along the lines of a banana bread, without the banana – with a big heap of fresh shredded carrots.  

Why should banana get all the glory?  

Here’s what you’ll need: 

•  Flour and granulated sugar.  Leavening and spices.  

This cake works really well in the gluten-free arena if you’d like to substitute flours.  I love Cup4Cup gluten free flour because it produces the lightest gf breads but it does contain milk powder.  Bob’s Red Mill is also a great option! 

•  Large eggs and buttermilk.  

• Butter that’s been melted to brown.  It’ll smell deliciously nutty.  Pro tips:  How To Brown Butter (I don’t want you to burn anything, k?)

•  Carrots, peeled and grated on the fine side of a box grater.  

Let’s go! 

We’ll start by mixing the dry ingredients together. 

It starts with flour and sugar in a large bowl.  

Baking soda is our leavener.  It will react with the buttermilk and create that distinct rise in the oven. 

Salt, too.  As it goes with every fine baked good. 

Spices are up to you!  You can keep this bread plain and sweet though I like a big dose of cinnamon, ground ginger and freshly grated nutmeg.  I think they balance the sweetness with intention.  

Now for the wet ingredients.  

We’ll start with buttermilk! (the best of all baking milks)

Two large eggs. 

Pro tip:  Why We Use Large Eggs! 

We’ll add the browned butter (and all those browned bits) to the egg and milk mixture, whisking it thoroughly to combine. 

The carrots! 

Peel two carrots (this should be enough but it depends on the size of yours) before grating them. The outsides have be a bit dry and have a bitterness that we don’t want in our bread. 

Grate on the fine side of a box grater.  

Watch your fingers. Always. 

Add the shredded carrots to the wet ingredients and stir to combine. 

A spoon is the way to go here. 

A whisk will catch too much of the carrot strands. 

Add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.  Use a spatula… get all the goodness in there.

(I’m bossy.) 

The batter will be thicker than pourable and feel almost fluffy. 

Grease a loaf pan and, for ease, line the pan with parchment paper and grease the paper, too.  

The paper makes it super easy to lift the bread out of the pan once it’s baked and cooled. 

Can we get to the good stuff? 

Cream Cheese Frosting!  (I’m shouting that from the depths of my heart.)

The cake needs to be completely cooled before it’s frosted.  Not mostly cool. Not kinda cool.  Completely Cool.  Trust me on this.  We’re frosting a sloped surface and if the cake is warm at all, the precious frosting will slide right off.  

You can leave the frosting as is OR add chopped almonds and pistachios.  

May I humbly suggest you add the nuts.  The salt and crunch is really very nice.

A quick spell in the refrigerator will help chill are slightly harden the frosting.  It will always be a little sticky but that’s part of the charm. 

Dense, but somehow tender and light, studded with orange bits and carrot flavor.  It’s really simple and that’s just what I wanted it to be.  If you have a few carrots and a bit of butter…. you’ve got this breadcake.  Delicious with out without the cream cheese frosting.

The recipe below is for a single loaf though I happen to feel like this recipe is just begging to be doubled.  

These photos were made with the ever-dear Jon Melendez. 

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Browned Butter Carrot Loaf Cake

★★★★★ 5 from 4 reviews
  • Author: Joy the Baker
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Ingredients

Scale
  • 6 ounces unsalted butter, melted and browned to just over 1/2 cup of butter
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup buttermilk
  • 1 1/4 cup finely grated carrots

For the Frosting

  • 2 ounces cream cheese, softened
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
  • pinch of salt
  • 2 – 3 tablespoons heavy cream
  • roasted almonds, coarsely chopped
  • roasted pistachios, coarsely chopped

Instructions

  1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9×5-inch loaf pan and set aside.
  2. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Butter will begin to foam and crackle as it melts. When the crackling subsides, the butter will begin to brown. Swirl the pan as the butter cooks. When the butter browns and begins to smell nutty, remove the pan from the flame and transfer the butter to a small bowl. Taking the butter out of the hot saucepan will stop the butter from overcooking and burning. Set aside to cool.
  3. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg.
  4. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, vanilla extract, and buttermilk. Stir in the grated carrots. When butter has cooled, whisk in the browned butter.
  5. Add the wet ingredients, all at once to the dry ingredients. Fold together, making sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl to reveal any hidden pockets of flour. Fold together ingredients, but try not to over stir.
  6. Spoon batter into prepared pan. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to rest in the pan for 15 minutes, before inverting onto a wire rack to cool completely.
  7. To make the frosting, in a medium bowl stir together cream cheese and butter. Add sugar and salt. Whisk in 2 tablespoons of cream, adding more if necessary. The frosting should be thick and spreadable.
  8. Remove the loaf cake from the pan and spread the frosting over the cooled loaf cake. Sprinkle generously with chopped nuts. Slice generously and enjoy!
  9. Bread will last 4 days, well wrapped at room temperature.

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Reader Interactions

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Questions
  1. Sarah

    August 23, 2021 at 9:58 am

    Made this with King Arthur cup for cup so it was gluten free. Still turned out amazing. The frosting is fantastic. The cake was so moist and not too sweet. This recipe is going to be worn out this fall.

    S

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  2. Angelique

    May 10, 2020 at 9:49 am

    Just put this into the oven and i’m realizing my batter was much thicker than your photos, almost like a cookie dough but not quite. Perhaps my butter had less water in it than yours? Is it salvageable at this point? Should I bake it a little longer?

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  3. chai_caramba

    May 9, 2020 at 4:35 pm

    This carrot cake was AMAZING. Although I didn’t have cream cheese and had to improvise a bit on the icing front, the cake itself was incredible. I will absolutely be making this again. Thank you, Joy!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  4. dianne

    May 5, 2020 at 3:59 pm

    this was one of the most delicious carrot breads ever!!!!! It made it 3 days and the third day was even better than the first! this recipe is a total keeper!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  5. Lu

    May 4, 2020 at 1:29 am

    What is the weight of the carrots? I weigh everything when I bake.

    Reply
  6. Janet

    May 3, 2020 at 3:34 am

    You mention studded with orange bits and carrot flavor. What orange? I may have to make this today!

    Reply
  7. Jasmine

    May 1, 2020 at 7:15 am

    Joy, I think you’re awesome. Your recipes are yum, IG content is top notch and music tastes are even better.
    Please can you do metric versions of recipe quantities for your European fans? Thank you!

    Reply
  8. Lisa

    December 16, 2018 at 3:21 pm

    The flavor was perfect but mine came out dry! I have a new oven so maybe it runs hot, I love that this recipe doesn’t have “the works” which most carrot cake recipes have. The recipes reads 1/4 buttermilk. Am I reading this properly? It seems like a small amount.

    Reply
  9. Heather

    October 15, 2018 at 7:33 pm

    My husband and I just made this! It was delicious. Thank you for sharing the recipe. Made our night!

    Reply
    • Allison Glider

      January 4, 2023 at 7:07 pm

      Will this freeze?

      Reply
  10. Emily

    August 20, 2018 at 10:12 am

    This! This is what I’ve been looking for! I do not enjoy a kitchen-sink style carrot cake and I was convinced there was something simpler and more sophisticated out there and here it is. I’ll bake up a test batch and if it passes muster (I have very gracious neighbors who are willing guinea pigs) then it will probably land in my teacher gift rotation. Thank you!

    Reply
  11. Lisa

    May 4, 2018 at 12:29 am

    This looks perfect! I am not a fan of lots of bits in carrot cake. The nuts, raisins, too much! This looks so moist and the perfect texture.

    Reply
  12. Amy

    May 3, 2018 at 4:21 am

    I made this cake for a friends birthday and it went down really well. I added some orange zest to the cake and the icing. Great recipe!

    Reply
  13. Alicia

    April 19, 2018 at 10:45 am

    I love the kitchen sink carrot cake (in your book). Trying this one today so i can compare!

    Reply
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