Carrot Cake Bread

Happy Wednesday!

That's actually the name of the event Bryan and I are planning on checking out tonight - it's a mid-week horse race at the racing track on Hong Kong Island. It's every Wednesday throughout the season, and since tonight's the last time they'll have it during the summer (because it gets too hot for the horses), we're going to check it out! We're going to watch horse racing while watching from a beer garden - so I'll have to update you on how that goes tomorrow.

For today, I made a carrot cake bread (I call it bread because there is no frosting on this one). With that said, you can definitely make it into a cake by adding your frosting of choice - a simple glaze, butter cream, or cream cheese frosting.

Yummy! For this, I baked it in the microwave (and it turned out even better than expected!). I used a 15 oz. sandwich box container, which made for a perfect miniature carrot cake (bread). The recipe is similar to many cakes - mix the dry ingredients and wet ingredients in separate bowls, and then combine - but I've listed everything you'll need to know below. I've also put in a few optional items, if you want to spice your cake up even more!

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 3/4 eggs (or egg whites)* 
• 1/4 zest of an orange (optional)
• 1/8 cup raisins (optional)
• 1/2 large carrot, grated
• 4 1/2 tablespoons all purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon salt 

*For the eggs, I used egg beaters egg whites because it's what I had on hand. They worked just as well as eggs, and made it easier to measure out a part of an egg. You can also use regular egg beaters or part of a regular egg.

Instructions:

1. Mix brown sugar, oil, and egg in a bowl. Add carrots (and orange zest and raisins if using). Mix until combined.
2. Mix flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a separate bowl.
3. Pour flour mixture into wet mixture, stir until combined.
4. Prepare your baking container (must be microwave safe!) by coating with vegetable oil.
5. Pour the cake mix into the container, and place in the microwave. Bake for 3 minutes, without opening the microwave. 
6. Now dig in!

*If you want to add a frosting, wait until it is cooled.