Carrot Cake Banana Bread with Cream Cheese Frosting
This Carrot Cake Banana Bread with Cream Cheese Frosting combines two classic bakes in one delicious loaf. The cake is spiced and beautifully moist, with a lovely sweetness coming from the ripe banana and raisins, and a nice crunch coming from the walnuts, while the frosting is smooth and silky and divinely scrumptious.
Servings: 1 loaf
Calories: 2400kcal
Ingredients
For the sponge
- 190 g self-raising flour (1 ½ cups)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon mixed spice (pumpkin spice)
- 50 g chopped walnuts (¼ cup)
- 50 g raisins (¼ cup)
- 1 large ripe banana
- 1 large carrot
- 125 ml vegetable oil (½ cup)
- 125 g light brown sugar (½ cup)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the frosting
- 100 g icing sugar (confectioners' sugar, 1 cup)
- 50 g soft butter (¼ cup)
- 50 g cream cheese (¼ cup)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 Fahrenheit).
- In a large mixing bowl sift the flour, add the baking powder and bicarb of soda, sugar, spices, chopped walnuts and raisins and mix well.
- In a jug, crack the egg in and beat it well with a fork.
- Add the oil and vanilla extract and mix.
- Mash the banana, grate the carrot and squeeze out the excess liquid.
- Add them to the jug and mix well.
- Combine the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients.
- Use a spatula to mix everything into a batter.
- Oil and flour a standard 2lb loaf tin, add the batter and bake for 40-45 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Remove the cake from the oven, and allow it to cool down completely.
- To make the frosting, use a hand mixer to beat the butter and icing sugar, then add the cream cheese and vanilla extract and beat again to get a smooth texture.
- Once the sponge has cooled down, run a sharp knife around the edges of the tin, it will come out easily.
- Decorate with the frosting and chopped walnuts.
Video
Notes
- Use very ripe bananas, the darker the bananas, the sweeter and flavourful the sponge will be.
- Don't overmix the batter, overmixing develops gluten, which can make the sponge dense and stoggy. Mix just enough for the ingredients to come together in a thick batter.
- Use neutral oils like sunflower or vegetable oil, unlike butter, oil keeps the cake softer for longer, and gives it a light texture.
- Allow the cake to cool down completely before decorating with frosting
Nutrition
Calories: 2400kcal | Carbohydrates: 450g | Protein: 39g | Fat: 56g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 26g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Cholesterol: 56mg | Sodium: 869mg | Potassium: 2186mg | Fiber: 18g | Sugar: 244g | Vitamin A: 11045IU | Vitamin C: 18mg | Calcium: 539mg | Iron: 7mg