Baking at Isabelle's: Morning Glory Loaf Cake

Almost more mix-ins than cake

Welcome! You’re At Isabelle’s—home to all things tasteful and tasty.

I first came across Morning Glory muffins in a baking book called Butter Baked Goods. I borrowed it from my high school library, and come to think of it, I never returned the copy—it's still sitting on my mom's bookshelf (whoops!). ANYWAYS, accidental theft aside, I got the book because I was getting really into baking around grade 10. I heard this book had a recipe for the best homemade marshmallows, and for some reason, that felt like a skill I had to master. I remember flipping through the book and feeling particularly intrigued by the idea of a Morning Glory muffin. I honestly don’t know why, because looking back at that recipe, the muffin really doesn’t look anything special. I think I just read the ingredient list and realized it’s basically loaded carrot cake which sounds lovely.

But clearly, this is not a muffin recipe, so let's talk cake. This recipe is a baby between a Morning Glory muffin and a classic carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. Baked in a loaf pan because that makes it feel more acceptable to eat for breakfast. When developing this recipe, I initially thought I could just add all the other mix-ins to my regular carrot cake recipe—but the results were not good. So instead, I spent the weekend baking four variations before getting it just right. And let’s just say it's taking all my willpower not to eat half the cake in one day.

This cake is loaded with your usual Morning Glory suspects: carrot, apple, coconut, walnuts, and cinnamon (no raisins here). But I've also added a generous amount of fresh ginger, orange zest, and freshly ground cardamom. It's topped with cream cheese frosting and toasted coconut chips (optional, but very delicious). The end result is borderline more mix-ins than cake, but that's just how I like it.

Recipe:

Makes 1 9 x 4 inch loaf

If you have a scale I highly recommend using the weight measurements!

Cake

Ingredients:

• 67g / 1/3 cup granulated sugar​

• 65g / 1/3 cup packed brown sugar​

• 1 tsp freshly ground cardamom​

• Zest of 2 oranges​

• 3 large eggs​

• 1 heaping tbsp freshly grated ginger​

• 1 tsp vanilla extract​

• 148g / 3/4 cup vegetable oil​

• 200g / 1 2/3 cup all-purpose flour​

• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda​

• 1 tsp salt

• 1 tsp ground cinnamon​

• 225g / 2 1/4 cups grated carrots​

• 150g / 1 cup grated apple​ (about 2 medium)

• 110g / 1 cup chopped walnuts​

• 40g / 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Lightly grease a 9x4" loaf pan and line with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on two sides.

2. In a large bowl, combine granulated sugar, brown sugar, cardamom, and orange zest. Mix together, breaking apart any clumps of brown sugar, until mixture resembles wet sand and is very fragrant.

3. Add eggs, ginger, vanilla, and vegetable oil into sugar mixture, gently mix until just combined.

4. Sift the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon into the bowl with the egg mixture. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold until just combined. Do not overmix.

5. Fold in the carrots, apples, walnuts, and shredded coconut.

6. Transfer the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the surface. Bake the loaf for around 70-80 minutes.

   1. This cake takes a while to bake fully through. The concern here is more it being underbaked and stodgy, rather than overcooked and dry. So heir on the side of baking slightly longer than you’d think.

7. Carefully lift out of pan onto a wire rack and cool.

Cream Cheese Frosting (optional)

Ingredients:

• 6 oz cream cheese, room temperature

• 170g / 3/4 stick unsalted butter, room temperature

• 3 cups powder sugar

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• pinch of salt

• toasted coconut chips (optional)

1. Using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter on high speed until well incorporated.

2. Add in the powder sugar, vanilla and salt. Start mixing on low, once the powder sugar is mostly incorporated increase speed to high and mix of a few minutes. It should start looking a little whipped/fluffy.

3. Once the cake has fully cooled, top with the frosting and garnish with toasted coconut chips if desired.

That’s all for now! See you next time At Isabelle’s.

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