Spiced Carrot Bread

Beware – this isn’t just any carrot bread recipe as it has some specialty ingredients you may not have readily available. You can, theoretically, make this recipe without all the bells and whistles, but then it wouldn’t be the same.

Makes one 9”x5” quick bread loaf.

Ingredients

• 2 cups flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup Cinnamon Sweet Bits – King Arthur Baking Company
• 2 tablespoons Mini Diced Ginger | King Arthur Baking Company
• 3/4 cup roughly chopped candied pecans (optional)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon cardamom
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup whole milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 1/2 cups grated carrots

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9”x5” loaf pan with cooking spray, line with two strips of parchment paper (one length wise and the other width wise), and then grease the parchment.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon sweet bits, candied ginger, candied pecans, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, cardamom, and ground ginger with a whisk and break up any clumps. (The pecans and ginger are added at this step to coat with flour so that they will evenly distribute through the batter. Without this coating, they make risk sinking to the bottom of the pan in the batter.)
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, granulated sugar, light brown sugar, vegetable oil, whole milk, and vanilla until combined and slightly pale (approximately 2-3 minutes). Mix in the grated carrots.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and fold to combine until no dry spots remain. Do not overmix the batter as this will prevent a good rise.
5. Bake for approximately 65 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean from the center of the bread. If there is residue on the tester, continue baking for short increments until the tester comes out clean.
6. Remove from oven and let cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Remove from pan, remove parchment, and cool on wire rack for approximately 1.5 hours before slicing.