I came up with this recipe after hours and hours of experimentation in the crummy little kitchen of my first apartment. I know, that sounds nuts, but this was “back in the day” before you could tap your ingredients into Google and have a recipe in seconds, and I wanted to make a carrot bread.  I started with a zucchini bread and modified it heavily.  I made at least three batches before I came up with something you’d really want to eat. It became a staple of my holiday baking for several years.

My past self could use a few notes from my present self about how to put a recipe together, however… I made a list of ingredients and noted the bake time and just assumed I’d remember the rest. After I had Ian I scaled back my holiday baking, so I made this for the first time in a long time today and apparently I figured it out. So, past self, take note: THIS is how you write out a recipe.

Yield: 1 loaf

3 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
2 1/4 cup shredded carrots (finer is better)
1 apple, peeled, cored, and minced
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon orange extract (optional)
3 cups flour (half whole wheat is okay)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 cup raisins
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9″ loaf pan with non-stick spray.

Combine eggs, oil, and sugar in a small bowl. Mix well on low speed. Add vanilla, carrot, and apple, and orange extract if using, and combine.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon. Stir well.

Add the first bowl to the second bowl and mix well on low speed, occasionally scraping the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula.

Fold in raisins. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 50 minutes or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean.

NOTE:  You can also substitute grated zucchini for part of the carrots.  Zucchini is a little wetter than carrot, so my instinct would be not to substitute more than 1/3 zucchini.

PS: Little Dude LOVED it.