Carrot Cake Old-Fashioned Donut Loaf

Ingredients

Volume measurements use US cups and level spoons and are approximate. Spoon flour and powdered sugar into the cup, level, then sift if directed. For cocoa and freeze-dried fruit powders, scoop the unsifted powder and level without packing, then sift if directed. Measure sprinkles loosely and level. Pack brown sugar. For ingredients marked "weigh for accuracy", use the listed grams.

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan and fully line it with parchment.
2. Make the streusel: combine the flour, granulated sugar, and salt in a medium bowl. Add the cold cubed butter and vanilla bean paste. Work together with your fingertips until irregular crumbs form, leaving some larger clusters. Refrigerate while preparing the batter.
3. Peel and finely grate the carrots, then weigh 200 g. Do not squeeze, strain, press, or blot them.
4. In a large bowl, whisk the granulated sugar, brown sugar, oil, Greek yogurt, milk, and vanilla bean paste until smooth and combined.
5. Add the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon, and ginger. Fold gently to incorporate the dry ingredients. The batter will be very thick at this stage.
6. Fold in the finely grated carrots. Mix gently but thoroughly until the carrots are evenly distributed and no dry flour or carrot pockets remain. Their moisture will loosen the batter. Do not overmix.
7. Spread approximately half the batter evenly in the prepared pan. Scatter approximately half the chilled streusel over it, keeping it slightly away from the edges.
8. Spoon the remaining batter over the streusel and spread gently. Stop when the pan is just over halfway full; do not force in excess batter.
9. Scatter the remaining streusel generously over the top, then add a light sprinkle of coarse sanding sugar.
10. Bake for 50-60 minutes, tenting loosely with foil as needed once the top is set and browned. The center should be fully set, and a toothpick should come out with a few moist crumbs, not wet batter.
11. Cool in the pan for 20-25 minutes, then carefully transfer to a wire rack. Remove the parchment when the loaf is only slightly warm and sturdy enough to handle. Let it finish cooling directly on the rack, with a tray underneath to catch the glaze.
12. Whisk the powdered sugar, milk, vanilla bean paste, and salt until smooth, thick, and pourable.
13. Once the loaf has cooled, glaze generously. Optional: while the glaze is still fluid, support the loaf from underneath and gently tilt it onto its side over the tray to drain any glaze pooling on top. This is my preference with my loaves. Return it upright to the rack and let the glaze set before slicing.