Carrot Loaf-Cake with Orange Glaze (Vegan!)

Hello everyone! Thank you so much for supporting me by reading my ~first post~ on my random whim to start a food blog. I honestly do appreciate all the encouragement.

I am much better at making main entrees (especially that of the Indian type,) but this summer, I've been learning to bake more, so I thought I'd start out Vegephant with a lovely, super easy recipe I came up with tonight.

I made this with my siblings, and we were inspired by (get ready for a Florida moment) the famous cute Publix carrot cakes. It's our Dad's birthday on Monday, and he has a habit of buying the Publix cakes for EVERY special occasion in our household. So, we thought we would make him our own, healthier version of the cake. And, instead of the really heavy frosting, we decided to make an orange glaze instead, as our Dad really likes oranges. The flavors really meld together quite beautifully. My siblings had the idea of drawing a carrot in the glaze with food coloring to mimic the Publix carrot. That... didn't come out too well, but I hope my Dad will appreciate the sentiment and the flavors!

Also, please excuse my HORRIFIC first attempt at food photography! I really apologize for the food seeming completely unappetizing, but please try out this recipe and you'll see that it really isn't.... (I hope!) I got some tips from my experienced friends about photographing food, so hopefully my pictures will improve from here on out.

Ingredients:
***Use these measurements to make a dish with 8 servings***

- Loaf:

• 1 ½ cups of whole wheat flour (you can use whole wheat pastry flour also if you want a fluffier result)
• 1 cup of sugar
• 1 ½ teaspoons of cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon of salt
• 1 teaspoon of baking powder
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 1 whole carrot (or ~10 baby carrots) – shredded
• 1 ½ cups unsweetened applesauce (or 2 or 3 applesauce cups, depending how much moisture you want)

- Glaze:

• 1 package of (vegan) cream cheese
• 1 teaspoon of orange extract (you can actually use whatever extract you have on hand; vanilla, lemon, maple, or almond extract all sound like they'd be wonderful, too)
• 1 cup of confectioners’ sugar (add more or less depending on the consistency you want)
• 1 teaspoon of (non-dairy) milk

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Grease a loaf pan with nonstick spray or vegan shortening.
3. In a bowl, mix the flour, sugar, cinnamon, salt, baking powder, and baking soda well. 
4. Separately, in a different bowl, mix applesauce, vanilla extract, and shredded carrots well.
5. Add the flour mixture to the applesauce mixture in small batches, making sure to mix all the ingredients thoroughly.
6. Pour your batter into your greased pan, three-fourths of the way.
7. Bake for 45 minutes, or until fork inserted into the center of the dish comes out dry and clean.
8. Using a whisk, combine cream cheese, extract, milk, and confectioners’ sugar until you cannot see the individual ingredients. Add more or less confectioners’ sugar depending on if you’d prefer a more frosting or glaze-like consistency.
9. After loaf is done, cool on a wire rack for a few hours.
10. Once cool, drizzle glaze over loaf and let chill in fridge for a few hours before serving.

The final stage of the loaf batter.

The loaf right as it finished in the oven.

The consistency of our finished glaze.

The finished Carrot Loaf-Cake with Orange Glaze (and a silly carrot drawing!)

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Did you try this recipe out?
Please let me know in the comments!