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My favorite Banana Bread Carrot Cake with Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting. This is a simple loaf of banana bread with incredible flavor made with fresh carrots. It’s SO DELICIOUS! Mix overripe bananas and sweet grated carrots with coconut oil, honey or maple syrup, eggs, vanilla, flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and a pinch of salt. Bake the carrot cake batter until set, then add a layer of creamy cream cheese frosting. This is sure to become your favorite banana bread. It’s perfect for an afternoon snack or served for dessert. Trust me, this recipe gets star reviews!
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Mother’s Day is around the corner, and I’m already planning a simple but very spring-like menu. I’ve only recently started baking carrot cake; it’s not something I grew up eating, so I’m having a lot of fun sharing new recipes!
My mom and little sister, Asher, both love banana bread or banana cake. I decided that mixing in carrots and using cream cheese frosting could be fun for this time of year.
And delicious, of course!
To make this recipe, I used my favorite banana bread recipe as a base and added carrots to the batter. The bread—or maybe it’s more of a cake—turned out so yummy… with the most wonderful texture!
This is definitely a recipe you can make for mom, but truly, you can bake this any time of the year!
Ingredients
- Medium overly ripe bananas
- Grated carrots
- Melted coconut oil
- Honey or maple syrup
- Eggs
- Vanilla extract
- Whole wheat pastry flour
- Baking soda
- Ground cinnamon
- Kosher salt
- Chopped walnuts
- Frosting
- Salted butter, at room temperature (unsalted butter works too if you prefer)
- Cream cheese
- Vanilla
- Cinnamon
- Powdered sugar
Kitchen Supplies
- electric mixer
- small bowl
- 9×5 inch bread pan
- parchment paper
- medium mixing bowl
- cooling rack
- airtight container
These are the details
Step 1: start with the bananas
The key is using very ripe bananas. I’m talking brown spots all over. These are perfect for banana bread.
Mash up the bananas. Tip I love to use a potato masher!
Step 2: mix the batter
Add the mashed bananas and grated carrots. Then whisk and mix with coconut oil, pure maple syrup, or honey; both are great.
Next, crack in a couple of eggs and a splash of vanilla. Then, add the dry ingredients. Add flour, a pinch of cinnamon, and a dash of salt. The cinnamon adds a warmth that I find lovely with these flavors. It’s subtle enough that you can’t really tell it’s there, but it adds a special touch.
Bake the bread in a 1-pound bread loaf pan. Carrot cake lovers, I hope you love banana carrot cake version! I think it creates a perfectly moist carrot cake recipe.
Step 3: the frosting
While the bread is baking, make the tangy cream cheese frosting.
I love cream cheese frosting with any kind of carrot cake, so I felt like we needed a thick layer. I make mine with butter, cream cheese, cinnamon, vanilla, and sea salt. Beat this all together, then mix in powdered sugar to your taste. I never use more than a cup.
Some might skip this frosting, but please, I’m begging you all, make it!
It’s so delicious when slathered over an ever-so-slightly warmed piece of bread.
The bread with the frosting slathered on is very tender, very banana-y, lightly sweetened, and full of yumminess.
A slice of carrot cake banana bread is perfect any time of day, yet special enough to serve mom too!
Looking for other sweet recipes? Here are a few ideas:
Blender Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Banana Muffins
Giant Double Blueberry Muffin Cookies
Bakery Blueberry Vanilla Crunch Muffins
Blueberry Swirl Coffee Cake Muffins
Baked Chocolate Fudge Glazed Doughnuts
Baked Apple Cider Doughnuts with Cinnamon Maple Glaze
Lastly, if you make this Banana Bread Carrot Cake with Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And, of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Banana Bread Carrot Cake with Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
- 3 medium overly ripe bananas, mashed , (about 1 cup mashed)
- 1 cup grated carrots
- 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
- 1/4 cup honey or maple syrup
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour , (or all-purpose flour)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup chopped walnuts , (optional)
Frosting
- 2 tablespoons salted butter, at room temperature
- 2 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1-2 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Grease a 9×5 inch bread pan.2. In a bowl, stir together the mashed bananas, carrots, coconut oil, honey/maple syrup, eggs, and vanilla until combined. Add the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt, and mix until just combined. Fold in the walnuts if using. 3. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until the center is just set. Remove and let cool for 30 minutes before frosting.4. To make the frosting. In a bowl, beat the butter, cream cheese, vanilla, cinnamon, and a pinch of salt. Mix in the sugar, using it to your taste. Frost the top of the bread. Slice and enjoy!
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
How could I adapt this to baking as muffins?
Hi Dale,
I have not tested that with this recipe, but I would suggest reducing your bake time. You might also like this recipe:
https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/carrot-cake-cupcakes/
Please let me know if you have any other questions!
This was quick and easy to make, and exceeded my expectations. I only had 2x ripe bananas, so I added 115g of apple puree and it worked out perfectly. I also added shredded coconut, as per another persons comment.
As for the cream cheese frosting, I only used 90g of powdered sugar, as any more and it would have been too sweet for us.
I will definitely be making this again!
Hey Holly,
Happy Sunday! Big thanks for making this recipe and your comment, I love that it turned out well for you!
Turned out great! Wasn’t sure if I’d like mixed flavours but really like the more muted banana flavour. I added a sprinkle of unsweetened shredded coconut to it 1/4 cup or so). The icing was fantastic and made the loaf!
Hey Isabelle,
Wonderful! So glad this recipe turned out nicely for you, thanks for making it! Have a great Friday! 💐