It’s dark, moist and delicious. And it comes in a bread basket
to your table at this French-themed west coast casual restaurant.
Now the tastiest carrot bread ever can be yours to create at home
with a couple of grated carrots, molasses, raisins and chopped
walnuts. You’ll be baking this one in the oven for at least an
hour. That should be enough time to warm up the house and send
amazing smells wafting through every room. Line the carpet with
newspaper to catch the family drool.
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
3 eggs
1/4 cup molasses
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup shredded carrot
1 cup raisins
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
Dark, moist carrot bread is a Mimi’s Cafe specialty. Now it’s yours.
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in
a large mixing bowl.
3. In another bowl, combine oil, sugar, eggs, molasses, and vanilla
with an electric mixer. Add shredded carrot and mix. Add raisins
and walnuts and mix well by hand.
4. Pour flour mixture into the other ingredients and stir until
combined.
5. Pour batter into two ungreased 8-inch loaf pans. Bake for 60
minutes, or until done.
Makes 2 loaves.
dan says
This is NOT the correct recipe. The bread should be made with brown sugar, no molasses, and should include crushed pinapple. Also it does stick, I use parchment paper for best results.
Richard says
You are right. I got the recipe off Mimi’s web site a couple of years ago. I can’t share it because it is a copyrighted recipe. Mimi’s restaurants serve it as a mini-loaf. It is really good. This recipe is similar, but not exact.
Sylvia says
I made this tonight with a couple of alterations and it came out delicious!! Instead of using 1 full cup of sugar, I only used 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup Splenda, and instead of using a whole cup of oil I used only 1/2 cup of oil and 1/2 cup of applesauce. I also used Blackstrap molassas which I believe adds to the dark color. I always use Pam when I bake also….better safe than sorry. Just like everyone else mine sunk a little bit in the middle but I honestly don’t care, they taste great.
This recipe is a keeper!!
Apple says
I have never been to Mimi’s restaurant, but I do bake a lot. My oven bakes exactly on target, determined by an oven thermometer, so that is not a problem. I had the right sized pans, and it was completely baked throught…the bread fell in the middle, stuck to the bottom, the sides were hard, and the center was baked through. Don’t waste your time or ingredients with this recipe because it can’t be the “original” recipe.
Madelene says
I made a recipe similar to this. Can’t remember the website I got it from but I was told it was the “original recipe”. It did not include the molasses, so I am thinking that maybe the molasses made the loaves fall through, not sure though. I made mini loaves with my recipe and everything came out perfect. The loaves were dark and moist and it taste just like the ones in Mimi’s. I really loved it! My husband loved it too and said it tasted better than the raisin bread in Mimi’s. Also, the recipe I used has brown sugar instead of granulated sugar, this is what made my bread loaves dark, and it has less salt so not salty at all, and last but not least it has crushed pineapple which made it sweet and delicious! If you want to use the recipe I used here it is:
Carrot Raisin Nut Bread, Original Recipe
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups brown sugar, firmly packed
3 egg
1/2 cup chopped walnut
1/2 cup canned crushed pineapple in juice, drained
1/2 cup raisins
1 cup finely shredded carrot
Directions
1 Sift first five ingredients into a mixing bowl.
2 In a separate bowl, whisk together the oil, sugar and eggs.
3 Stir the liquid mixture into the flour; mix well.
4 Add the next four ingredients; stir again.
5 Grease and flour a 9-inch square pan or four mini-loaf pans. (Fill the pans 2/3 full with batter).
6 Bake at 350* for about 40 minutes. (Mini loaves take about 30 minutes.).
7 Yield: one 9-inch square, or four 3″ x 6″ mini-loaves.
Mmmm…..enjoy!
Doreen says
I made this recipe last night and had the same problem as others – it fell in the middle while still in the oven. I made mini loaves. I made slices of the loaves and just threw away the middle parts – they did not seemed baked enough. The sides however were almost hard and definitely baked enough. Taste is really good – but I won’t use this recipe again. Just can’t waste all those ingredients. I wanted to give some as Christmas gifts – oh well – back to the drawing boards!!
Jennifer says
Tried the recipe tonight – loaves fell in the middle 🙁
Haven’t tasted yet…I’m leaving that job for my husband as this is his favorite treat…
Kathy says
I too had trouble with the loaves falling in the middle (all my ingredients were fresh) and the loaves did not come out of the pan. It did not taste like Mimi’s bread. I am going to break up what remains and put some whipped cream on top and serve as a bread pudding for dessert. Hate to waste all those ingredients. Wonder why so many had a problem with the cake falling
Sue says
I tried this recipe too. It has too much of a salty taste. I am going to try to reduce the amount of salt. Being in love with Mimi’s Carrot Bread, I was pleased that the color and texture was just right. However, I made it in mini loaves like the restaurant serves.
Ellen says
I’ve also made this recipe and to me, it looked and tasted like Mimi’s. However, the loaves fell in the center. I’ve also tried another recipe that was supposedly Mimi’s and the same thing happened. Anyone know how to avoid this?
Pam A says
Tastes good but don’t believe the directions about the ungreased loaf pan- I had to throw the loaf out as the bottom would not release and the bread did not come out in one piece.
Peggy McMurtry says
I made this carrot raisin bread today, and it did not taste like the bread at Mimi’s,
nor was it the same dark color. Where did I go wrong?
Thanks, Peggy