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Salted Date & Brown Butter Carrot Bread

4.93 | 27 reviews
One of my most famous recipes is my brown butter banana bread, but now it’s time for carrot bread to get the same treatment. This carrot loaf with salty cardamom dates and not-too-sweet cream cheese icing is a secret-weapon dessert. Meaning: it’s super easy and remarkably impressive. Plus, you can skip the icing and call it breakfast, or use it for an extra decadent dessert.
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour

Equipment

Ingredients

  • 12 ounces carrots, 350 grams
  • ½ cup salted butter, 113 grams
  • 3/4 cup dark brown sugar, 165 grams
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour, 210 grams
  • 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt, use half if using Morton’s
  • 6 dates, 120 grams
  • 3 cardamom pods, for topping
  • Flaky salt, for topping
For the not-too-sweet cardamom cream cheese frosting
  • 1/4 cup salted butter, softened, 57 grams
  • 1/4 cup cream cheese, softened, 57 grams
  • 1 cup powdered sugar, 120 grams
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom

Instructions 

  1. Position a rack to the center of the oven and preheat to 350°F.
  2. Add the carrots to a food processor and chop them as finely as possible. Add these to a large bowl.
  3. Set a small sauté pan over medium heat and add 113 grams of salted butter. Let it melt and foam. The milk solids will begin to brown at the bottom of the pan. Cook for 4-5 minutes or until deeply brown. Transfer this to the bowl with the carrots. Mix so the carrots cool the butter.
  4. Add 165 grams of dark brown sugar, 2 eggs and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract to the bowl. Mix all the wet ingredients together.
  5. Add 210 grams of flour, 1 teaspoon of cardamom, 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda and 1 teaspoon kosher salt. Mix to form a batter. It will be thick, so don’t worry!
  6. Pit the dates and either chop them or tear them into bean-sized pieces. Mix most of them into the batter, reserving some for topping.
  7. Pour the batter into a parchment-lined 9 by 4-inch loaf pan. Dot the top with dates, crack open the cardamom pods and sprinkle the cardamom on top, and sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon of flaky salt.
  8. Bake for 50-55 minutes, or until you can insert a toothpick and it comes out clean.
  9. While the loaf is baking, use an electric mixer to beat together 57 grams of salted butter and 57 grams of cream cheese. Add 120 grams of powdered sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of cardamom and continue to beat until an icing forms. Transfer this to a piping bag.
  10. When the loaf is out of the oven let it cool for 30 minutes before slicing.
  11. I like to serve each slice by piping on a 2 tablespoon circle of icing and sprinkling with more salt, but it’s up to you how to combine the two!