Mini Carrot Cake Loaves with Baked Cream Cheese Topping

I love carrot cake. Yes it can be hit or miss, but for the most part as long as raisins (and pineapple) are out of the picture, I'll gobble it up at any given chance! Since Easter is just around the corner I thought I'd make myself some little loaves to snack on over the next few days. Instead of topping them with a fresh cream cheese frosting, I opted for a cheesecake-like batter that would go on top prior to baking. I'm not a big frosting fan (I find it a little too sweet, especially for breads) but I love the texture of cheesecake, so it turned out to be a really good last minute decision! They baked evenly and the topping was perfectly set. I could't resist grabbing one and munching on it while I finished cleaning up the kitchen!

Mini Carrot Cake Loaves with Baked Cream Cheese Topping

Ingredients

1½ c. all-purpose flour

¾ c. sugar

¼ c. brown sugar

⅓ c. oil

2 tbsp. applesauce

1 c. grated carrot*

2 eggs

½ tsp. salt

½ tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. baking powder
1½ tsp. cinnamon
¼ tsp. nutmeg

1½ tsp. vanilla

¼ c. walnuts, finely chopped (optional)

Cream cheese topping:

8 oz. (1 block) original cream cheese, room temperature

¼ c. powdered sugar

1 egg

¼ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. vanilla bean paste

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray and flour an 8-well mini loaf pan or 1 standard loaf pan, set aside.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together sugars, oil, applesauce and vanilla. With mixing speed on low, beat in one egg at a time. Add the grated carrot and mix until just combined.
3. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and chopped walnuts. With mixing speed on low, slowly add the dry ingredients. Mix until combined.
4. In a medium size mixing bowl (using a hand mixer or a sturdy spatula) beat together cream cheese, powdered sugar, egg, salt and vanilla bean paste until smooth and creamy. Set aside.
5. Pour the carrot cake batter into the prepared pan, then top with cream cheese mixture, making sure to spread evenly across the batter. Place in oven and bake for 30-35 minutes (or about 1 hour for a loaf). The cream cheese should be lightly browned on top, and yes, it will crack! Remove from oven and allow to cool in pan for 30 minutes (longer for a large loaf). Remove from pan and allow to cool for 15 more minutes before serving.

*When grating the carrot use the bigger holes, this will help prevent the carrots from becoming mushy and juicy.

NOTE: I used my Goldtouch® nonstick mini loaf pan from Williams-Sonoma. 

Created using a Stephen + Natalie family recipe | Makes approximately 8 mini loaves or 1 standard size loaf