Much Ado About Carrots
When I noticed I had loads of carrots in the fridge I knew I had to do something about it, so I started flipping through the Joy of Cooking when I came across this seemingly nothing special recipe Carrot Walnut Loaf, I scanned the ingredients and noticed that I had everything needed. And that it fit my current theme of butterless baked goods. You can see my previous post here.
Isn’t that the best when you feel like making something and suddenly you notice something a little off-beat that you kind of want to try just cause you have everything?! Yes! It is. I know.
Carrot Walnut Loaf with Cranberries
Adapted from The Joy of Cooking
- 1 1/2 cups grated carrots
- 1 1/2 cups ground walnuts
- 1/4 cranberries (optional)
- 3/4 cup of sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 tsp baking soda
- pinch of salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 vegetable oil
Start the oven up to 350 degrees, grease one 9×5 inch loaf pan, line the bottom with parchment paper.
Grate carrots and grind the walnuts ( I did mine in a blender and it worked out fine, some small chunks are ok).
Get your dry ingredients together – flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Whisk.
Mix your wet ingredients together – sugar, eggs, vanilla, vegetable oil, add the dry and stir in the grated carrot and walnut mixture. and cranberries!
Pour it in to the prepared pan and bake it for about 45 minutes or until a knife stuck in comes out clean.
This loaf was surprisingly good. I thought to add the cranberries when I saw them in the pantry and I thought they would pair nicely both with the walnuts and the carrots and they did add a little interest. I enjoyed a couple of slices for breakfast this morning and I felt it wasn’t too sweet. Also, I didn’t want to promote something that only I liked so I passed out a few slices around at work and people really liked it so go forth and make carrot walnut loaf – you’ll be as surprised as I was.
