Carrot Loaf Cake (Plumcake alle Carote)

I’m excited to share this carrot loaf cake recipe with you today. Why? It is absolutely delicious, simple, easy, and incredibly light. You can serve it either at breakfast or as an afternoon treat. If you like sweets that aren’t too sweet, then this cake will be perfect for you. (Think of an Italian ciambella or a yogurt cake.) It’s something nice to have with coffee or as a snack. Unexpected guests? No problem. Have slices of this ready in your freezer and you’ll be ready for anything. (I’m eating a semi-frozen piece of it right now. It’s really good. FYI.) This carrot loaf cake, flavored with either hazelnuts or almonds, and lemon or orange zest is a delight. It’s flexible and yummy either way. (I’ve tried it both ways.)

Beautiful Abruzzo…

This is a recipe that I picked up on my recent travels to Abruzzo. Actually, it is my second recipe from a gorgeous spot called the B&B Sotto le Volte in Navelli in the L’Aquila Province. (The first recipe was Savory Pizzelles.) We visited this gorgeous village and B&B last year and loved it so much that we had to go back. Christel, the owner is a very talented cook and baker and makes the most incredible breakfasts for her guests. Highly creative in the kitchen, Christel always seems to be trying out new things – switching out one flour for another, using different sugars, and playing as a whole in the kitchen. This carrot loaf cake is her invention. What an invention.

I must admit, I’m not a huge sponge cake fan. I love cookies, brownies, spoon desserts, gelato, pies, cheesecake, cannolis, crostatas, you name it, but cake? Meh. It’s usually too dry, too sweet, is heavy, has an unappealing texture, etc., This cake, however, got me. It is so unbelievably moist and light. I couldn’t stop eating it. The subtle flavor of the nuts in the background and the light hint of zest, really make it a lovely and subtle cake. Christel said that the use of coconut oil mixed with a neutral oil makes the cake even lighter. It also adds a lovely scent.

Plumcake alle Carote (Carrot Loaf Cake)

Surprisingly, there are carrot cakes in Italy. I wasn’t expecting that when we moved here. They are different from in the US in that they usually are unspiced, often have almonds ground up inside and there is no cream cheese frosting. Sometimes you will see orange involved too. This carrot loaf cake is more along those lines. Since it is baked in a loaf pan vs. in a round cake pan, I am calling it Plumcake alle Carote in Italian. If you have ever seen plumcakes in Italy, they have nothing to do with plums but speak of cakes baked in a loaf pan. The story behind that is a bit convoluted and long so I won’t go into it!

Quickly, I also wanted to let you know that you can make lovely muffins with the recipe as well. I have been making carrot muffins for my daughter for her school snacks. They are so good! You will need to adjust the baking time. It should take under half an hour in muffin form.

Measurements

I quickly want to mention that the measurements are in grams. This is how the original recipe was written and converting a pastry recipe to ounces and pounds from the Metric system doesn’t always work well. If you have a scale, don’t mess with converting anything. Most scales work in pounds, ounces, grams, and kilograms. You can easily switch between measurement systems which is a good thing to know how to do. For those of you accustomed to measuring by volume, please give a scale a try. You will have fewer dishes, more accuracy, and better results. Very good things indeed!

Coffee time!

Before I get to the recipe which is pretty straight forward, I thought I’d mention two other treats that are also great for coffee/tea time as well as breakfast. Take my recipes for Ciambella allo Yogurt agli Agrumi (Italian Breakfast Cake with Citrus) and Pizza Ebraica (Sweet Roman-Jewish “Pizza”).

Now, to the recipe! Enjoy. Thank you Christel (again)!

Carrot Loaf Cake (Plumcake alle Carote)

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Serves: 6-8 Prep Time: 10-15 Minutes Cooking Time: 40-50 Minutes 40-50 Minutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Rating: 5.0/5

( 2 voted )

Ingredients

• 300 grams carrots, trimmed, cleaned, peeled and chopped (weigh after carrots are prepped)
• 180 grams sugar
• 45 grams neutral oil (such as sunflower or canola)
• 45 grams coconut oil (see note)
• 3 large eggs, room temperature (medium eggs in Italy)
• 1/2 organic lemon or orange, zested
• 250 grams flour (can be unbleached All-Purpose, 00, 0, or semi-whole wheat flour)
• 50 grams corn starch or potato starch
• 50 grams hazelnut or almond flour (see note)
• sea salt, a generous pinch
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, or, 1 whole packet of lievito per i dolci (Italian leavener for desserts)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 165 C/325 F, ventilated, or 180 C/350 F, non-ventilated.
2. In a food processor, process the carrots, sugar, and neutral oil together until you have a smooth puree. Place the mixture into a bowl. (Make sure that you use a rubber spatula to scrape all of it out.) Stir in the coconut oil, the lemon or orange zest, and the eggs, one by one, until combined.
3. Mix the flour with corn or potato starch, nut flour, and a generous pinch of salt. 
4. Gently combine the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients. Do not overmix. 
5. Lastly, add the baking powder or lievito per i dolci.
6. Pour the cake batter into a greased loaf pan and place on a sheet pan lined with parchment to avoid any spills.
7. Bake until golden on top and a toothpick comes out clean, approximately 40-50 minutes (depending on your oven). Let the cake cool in the pan for about 5-10 minutes, then, gently turn out onto a cooling rack. Let it cool entirely before cutting.

Notes

If you do not wish to use coconut oil, use neutral oil for the whole recipe. Note, if you cannot find hazelnut or almond flour in your area, you can make it by pulsing nuts in a food processor. Do not keep the motor running or you will make a nut butter instead of powder!