Carrot Walnut Bread
Submitted by Sephie
Moist carrot walnut quick bread spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice. Loaded with grated carrots, chopped walnuts, and raisins for a warmly spiced loaf.
YIELD
1 loafPREP
20 minCOOK
40 minREADY
60 minThis carrot bread is a close cousin of carrot cake but baked in a loaf pan and sliced like a quick bread. Grated carrots add natural sweetness and incredible moisture, so the recipe uses less sugar than a typical zucchini bread while still producing a tender, dense crumb.
Three warm spices do the work here: cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice. The butter and sugar get creamed together until light and fluffy, which is what gives this bread its fine, cake-like texture rather than the heavier crumb you get from a muffin-method quick bread.
Chopped walnuts and raisins are folded in at the end, giving every slice pockets of crunch and chewy sweetness. The food processor tip in the directions is worth following. Processing the carrots yields a smoother, more uniform slice, and chopping the nuts and raisins together in the processor saves time.
Chef Tips
- Cream the butter and sugar until genuinely fluffy, at least 3 to 4 minutes. This step aerates the batter and determines the final texture.
- Cool in the pan for 15 minutes before turning out. Too early and it falls apart; too long and steam makes the bottom soggy.
- Test with a cake tester or toothpick at the one-hour mark. The center should come out clean or with just a few moist crumbs.
- This bread tastes even better the next day. Wrap tightly and let it sit overnight so the spices and moisture meld together.
Variations
- Add orange zest to the batter to play up the carrot’s natural sweetness with citrus.
- Swap walnuts for pecans and add a pinch of ground ginger for a spicier profile.
- Spread slices with cream cheese for a breakfast treat that echoes carrot cake.
Ingredients
Directions
Two favorite vegetables, carrots and zucchini, have given us popular, moist loaf breads.
Because of the natural sweetness of carrots, carrot bread requires less sugar than zucchini bread and the added touch of orange is beautiful against a white serving platter.
Preheat oven to 350℉ (180℃).
Brush a 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pan with melted butter or coat with vegetable spray.
Combine in a bowl the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and salt, stirring with a rubber spatula until very well mixed.
Cream together the butter and sugar in bowl of an electric mixer until light and fluffy.
Add the eggs and beat until creamy.
Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture gradually, blending well.
Fold in the carrots and nuts.
(The carrots can be grated in a food processor.
Remove them and then chop the nuts and raisins together.
Processor-chopped ingredients will yield a smoother slice of bread.
) Spread the batter in the prepared pan and bake approximately one hour or until the bread tests done with a cake tester.
Remove from the oven and cool in the pan on a wire rack 15 minutes.
Turn bread out on rack to finish cooling.
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