Banana Carrot Loaf

Banana Carrot Loaf
Source: Maida Heatter's Cakes (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 2011 ed.), pg. 266.

This is a slight variation on banana bread and it is very good. It calls for a tablespoon of cocoa powder, which I could not detect. Michael says this would be better with nuts but he still liked it. I used dark raisins since that was all I had in the pantry. The cocoa makes this a dark bread so I don't think the color (or taste) of the raisins makes a difference.

5 oz. (1 cup) light raisins (steamed)
About 3 medium carrots (to make 1 packed cup, grated)
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 TBS. unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Dutch-processed)
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed
3/4 cup vegetable oil
About 2 large fully ripened bananas (to make 1 cup, mashed)

Adjust rack one-third up from the bottom of the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Butter a 9-by-5-by-3-inch loaf pan (8-cup capacity) and dust with breadcrumbs.

Steam the raisins by placing them in a strainer or colander over shallow hot water. Cover and let the water boil for 5 minutes. Remove the strainer or colander and set aside.

Sift flour, cocoa, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.

In the large bowl of an electric mixer, beat the eggs just to mix.

Beat in sugar and oil.



Beat the bananas, raisins and carrots into the egg mixture.

On low speed, add the dry ingredients.

Turn the mixture into the prepared pan and smooth the top.

Bake for about 1 hour and 10 minutes, until a tester comes out clean. Toward the end of baking time, if the top of the loaf becomes too dark, cover it loosely with foil. During baking, cracks will form on the top.

Cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes. Remove from pan and cool completely on a cooling rack.