Carrot Coconut Bread

Easter is right around the corner, which means it's pretty much carrot cake season. I'm not a huge fan of carrot cake, but I will have a piece when in the right mood. And I'll certainly entertain the idea of turning carrot cake into something else, like a cookie or in this case, a lovely loaf of quick bread. I actually made this twice in the past week--once for my friend Cindy for her birthday baking and again for us because Dave was drooling when he saw Cindy's loaf and I think was a little disappointed he couldn't try it. But I'm glad to repeat it since it's a delicious twist on a breakfast or snack bread and was super easy to make. And the glaze. Do not skip the glaze. If carrot cake is just a delivery vehicle for cream cheese frosting, then this bread was made specifically for this cream cheese glaze. So. Good. This loaf is hearty, so you could totally just make it breakfast with a cup of coffee. Or a mid morning snack. Or lunch. Or grab a slice when you're up at 2 am with the baby.

My little 50 Quick Breads booklet from the October 2014 issue of Food Network Magazine is getting a little worn, and smattered with ingredients. But I'm totally ok with that because the recipes I'm getting from that looking book, including this one, are absolutely fantastic. Since I made two loaves, I took the opportunity to make one with vanilla extract and the other with coconut emulsion--either is great, but if you want more coconut flavor go for the emulsion. I skipped the raisins since I didn't have them and bumped up the coconut flakes by a quarter cup. This bread would be perfect for Easter brunch, so do yourself a favor and bake it up for your hostess or your guests.

Carrot Coconut Bread

Ingredients

1 cup shredded carrot (about 2-3 carrots)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup sour cream
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract or coconut emulsion
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup coconut flakes
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon plus a pinch salt, divided
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2 ounces cream cheese, softened
3 Tablespoons milk
2 Tablespoons powdered sugar

In a large bowl, whisk together shredded carrot, oil, sour cream, eggs and vanilla or emulsion.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, coconut flakes, baking powder, cinnamon /12 teaspoon salt, baking soda and nutmeg. Add flour mixture to carrot mixture and stir until just combined when all the flour mixture is moistened.

Transfer batter to a lightly greased 8 x 4 inch loaf pan.

Bake at 350 degrees F for an hour or until top is set and golden and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

Remove from oven and cool in pan on wire rack for an hour. Then remove from pan and let cool completely on rack.

While loaf cools, prepare the glaze by whisking cream cheese, milk, powdered sugar and pinch of salt in a small bowl. Continue to whisk until a thick gaze forms, about 5 minutes or so.

Place a flexible cutting mat, or waxed paper, under the wire rack with the loaf on it and drizzle glaze over the top of loaf, allowing it to drip down the sides. Allow glaze to set before slicing.

Makes 1 loaf.

Happy Baking,
The Cookie Princess

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