A carrot loaf for slicing, without frosting
Finely grated carrot spreads through this honey-sweetened loaf, with cinnamon, ginger and a little nutmeg. It is a plain quick bread baked in one loaf pan rather than a layered carrot cake.
The carrot is weighed after trimming and peeling. Keep the full grated amount and any juice; the nutrition and method do not assume an unmeasured drained vegetable.
Recipe
Honey Carrot Bread
A plain carrot quick bread sweetened with honey, with finely grated carrots, cinnamon and ginger. No frosting; makes ten slices after cooling.
11Ingredients
Yield: 10 servings
- 225 g carrots, trimmed, peeled and finely grated
- 250 g all-purpose flour
- 10 g double-acting baking powder
- 3 g table salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon (5.2 g)
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger (0.9 g)
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg (0.55 g)
- 1/2 cup clover honey (169.5 g)
- 72 g canola oil
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (4.2 g)
Ingredient amounts scale; instructions show the original batch. Cooking times and pan sizes may need adjustment. Season to taste. Honey grams use US measures at 20°C and 17.5% moisture, a density estimate; weigh your honey for precision.
Instructions
- 1Prepare the oven, pan and carrotsHeat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan with parchment. Wash, trim and peel the carrots, then weigh 225 g edible carrot. Finely grate it by hand and keep all shreds and collected juice.
- 2Whisk the dry ingredientsWhisk flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg in a bowl until the spices and leavener are evenly distributed.
- 3Mix the wet ingredientsWhisk honey, canola oil, eggs and vanilla in a second bowl until blended. Stir in the entire weighed amount of finely grated carrot and its collected juice.
- 4Fold and fill the panFold the dry mixture into the wet mixture just until no dry flour remains. Scrape into the lined pan and smooth the top. Do not keep beating once the flour has been incorporated.
- 5Bake until the center is setBake for about 55–65 minutes, checking at 55 minutes. A skewer inserted into the center should come out without wet batter. Tent loosely with foil if the top is coloring too quickly while the middle finishes.
- 6Cool and portionCool in the pan for 15 minutes, then lift onto a rack and cool for about 45 minutes more. Cut the loaf into ten slices. The planning total allows 15 minutes preparation, 60 minutes baking and 60 minutes cooling; actual baking and cooling may take longer.
Estimated nutrition per serving
233.32 calories · 8.48 g fat · 36.11 g carbohydrate · 4.13 g protein · 253.43 mg sodium
Serving: 1 of 10 equal portions
Calculated from ingredient weights and USDA FoodData Central: 170393, 168894, 172803, 173468, 171320, 170926, 171326, 169640, 172336, 171287, 173471. Estimates use ingredient input weights; actual portions, brands and cooking losses vary. Omitted nutrient values are unavailable, not zero.
Grate finely and mix briefly
Hand-grated carrot disperses more easily than thick, dry matchstick shreds sold for salads. Wash and prepare the carrots, weigh 225 g edible carrot, then use the fine grating holes. Scrape the grater so the measured amount reaches the bowl.
Whisk the baking powder through the flour with the spices before combining the bowls. A few folds should bring the wet and dry mixtures together. Continued beating makes the crumb tougher without helping the carrot distribute.
Use the center check rather than crust color alone. Honey can brown the surface while the middle still needs time; loose foil can shield a darkening top during the later part of baking.
Get the Honey Buyer's Cheat Sheet (free PDF)
16 varieties on one page — color, flavor, best use and what a fair price looks like — from the 304 honeys we track.
Choose the honey by flavor
Clover honey has a mild flavor, wildflower honey varies with its floral mix, and orange blossom honey brings citrus-floral aroma. Buckwheat honey has a stronger, malty flavor. The baking pairing guide offers more choices.
The chart uses an editorial 1–5 flavor-intensity scale for pairing. Individual jars vary with floral source and harvest.
1 = mild, 5 = bold. Editorial pairing guidance, not laboratory measurements; jars vary.
- Clover
- Mild carrot spice loaf
- Wildflower
- Floral spiced bread
- Orange blossom
- Citrus-carrot aroma
- Buckwheat
- A strong malty spice loaf
Serving and optional additions
Cool the loaf on a rack before slicing it into ten portions. A plain slice works on its own; butter, a honey drizzle or another spread is additional to the base nutrition.
This version has no nuts, raisins or frosting. Those can be separate variations, but they change the ingredient total and may affect the bake. For another cake-style bake, honey cake has its own formula.
Honey banana bread is another fruit-and-vegetable loaf, while honey muffins use a different pan and baking schedule.
Cooling and storage
The hour of cooling is part of the planning total. Give a still-hot center longer before wrapping or making neat slices. Wrapping while hot traps steam against the bread.
Refrigerate the completely cooled loaf in a covered container and use within about four days, or freeze individual slices. Warm a slice gently if you prefer a softer texture. Discard bread showing mold.
Nutrition and source ingredients
One portion has an estimated 233.32 calories, 8.48 g fat, 0.91 g saturated fat, 36.11 g carbohydrate, 15.16 g sugars, 1.64 g fiber, 4.13 g protein and 253.43 mg sodium.
All 225 g prepared carrot and any juice are included, with no invented vegetable recovery or draining factor. The full loaf is divided into ten portions. Nuts, raisins, frosting and serving spreads are separate additions.
These values sum the USDA reference ingredients and divide them by the stated portions. They are estimates, not laboratory measurements of the finished bread. Baking changes water content; no guessed cooking-loss or recovery factor has been applied.
- USDA FoodData Central 170393: Carrots, raw.
- USDA FoodData Central 168894: Wheat flour, white, all-purpose, enriched, bleached.
- USDA FoodData Central 172803: Leavening agents, baking powder, double-acting, sodium aluminum sulfate.
- USDA FoodData Central 173468: Salt, table.
- USDA FoodData Central 171320: Spices, cinnamon, ground.
- USDA FoodData Central 170926: Spices, ginger, ground.
- USDA FoodData Central 171326: Spices, nutmeg, ground.
- USDA FoodData Central 169640: Honey.
- USDA FoodData Central 172336: Oil, canola.
- USDA FoodData Central 171287: Egg, whole, raw, fresh.
- USDA FoodData Central 173471: Vanilla extract.
