I love baking breakfast on the weekends. Yesterday I got a late start, because I decided to not set my alarm on Friday night and sleep in a little! After finally waking up around 8:30, I started the coffee pot and got to baking. Nathan thought I was making actual carrot cake, so he was a little surprised when I pulled a loaf out of the oven!
Carrot Tea Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting {from MarthaStewart.com}
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for pan
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg {I used Pumpkin Pie Spice instead! Great idea.}
- 1/2 cup packed dark-brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup packed grated carrots (from about 2 carrots)
- 1 bar (8 ounces) cream cheese, room temperature {I used fat-free, and it worked fine}
- 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 5-by-9-inch (6-cup) loaf pan. In a bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
- Using an electric mixer, beat butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy; beat in eggs and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat in carrots. With mixer on low, gradually add flour mixture; beat just until combined. Transfer batter to prepared pan; bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Let cool in pan 5 minutes. Turn cake out onto a wire rack, and let cool completely.
- Make frosting: Using mixer, beat cream cheese, confectioners’ sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla until fluffy. Frost top of cooled cake.
Grade: A
Comments: This is so delicious, and it is the perfect blend of sweet and carrot-y. Definitely pair it with a glass of milk or coffee. It definitely needs a beverage. The icing is perfect. I had never made cream cheese frosting with confectioners’ sugar rather than regular sugar. I can’t believe the difference it made!
***On another note, I had planned on posting a homemade mac & cheese recipe today. However, when I made it last night the recipe was terrible. Neither of us could even eat it. So, I decided to not even bother.
