Author Notes
This is one recipe I was sad to cut from Amanda and my new book, A New Way to Dinner. Du Jour is a favorite the neighborhood spot in Brooklyn that I stop into a couple times a week. The owners, Vera and TJ Obias, are both talented cooks who have also become friends. Muffins are usually pretty far down the list of things I'd choose at a bakery, but not theirs. Their oatmeal muffin made an appearance in the Food52 Baking book, and another standout is the carrot zucchini muffin; it's tender and just sweet enough, studded with plump golden raisins. I asked Vera for the recipe and then played with it a bit. Now, it's a loaf cake with a lemon glaze—just as good for dessert as it is for breakfast. Icing is a breakfast food, right? —Merrill Stubbs
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Ingredients
- For the cake:
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2 2/3 cups
sugar
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4 2/3 cups
all-purpose flour
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1 tablespoon
plus 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
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2 1/2 teaspoons
baking soda
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2 1/2 tablespoons
cinnamon
-
Pinch of salt
-
2 1/4 cups
canola oil
-
7
large eggs
-
4 cups
shredded carrots
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2 1/2 cups
shredded zucchini
-
1 1/2 cups
golden raisins
- For the lemon glaze:
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2 tablespoons
fresh lemon juice
-
1 1/2 cups
confectioners’ sugar
Directions
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Heat the oven to 350°F. In the bowl of a stand mixer with a whisk attachment, combine all of the dry ingredients.
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Add oil and eggs and mix well, about 3 minutes.
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Using a spatula, fold in the carrots, zucchini, and raisins. Divide the batter into 2 greased and floured 9 x 5-inch loaf pans and bake until the cakes are golden and spring back when you touch them, 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes. Cool the cakes in their pans for 10 minutes, then turn onto racks to cool completely.
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To make the glaze, whisk together the lemon juice with the confectioners’ sugar until it reaches glaze consistency. Drizzle over the loaves. If you prefer, halve the glaze recipe and just ice one of the cakes. This way you’ll have a sweeter version and one that’s less sweet (if you’re not an icing for breakfast kind of person).
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The cakes will keep in an airtight container on the counter for up to 4 days.
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