Mimi's Cafe Carrot Raisin Bread

I've loved this bread for years and decided I was going to find the recipe on the internet and make it myself.  Guess what?  There are a lot of copycat recipes on the web for this recipe.  Most of them call for molasses which I believe they add to recreate the darkness of the bread. But, when I tried them, they weren't even close and were way too bitter!  So I kept searching.  Eventually I found this recipe that had been printed in the Sacramento Bee.  They have a column where readers request recipes from restaurants and they try to get them. Someone had requested the Carrot Raisin bread from Mimi's Cafe and a manager in Sacramento got permission from the parent company to give it out.  And it has no molasses!

I've been making this recipe for a while now and while it's not as dark as the one they give you in the restaurant, it tastes pretty darn close.  If you do want the darkness, you can use a product a lot of commercial bakers and restaurants use and you'll never guess the name.  It's called....Caramel Color!  I bought mine through King Arthur Flour.  It says it can be used to enhance the visual appeal of pumpernickel, dark breads, gravies, etc.

Here's the recipe:

Mimi’s Café Carrot Raisin Bread

Ingredients:

·       1 3/4 cups flour 

·       1 cup sugar         

·       2 tsp. cinnamon

·       1 tsp. baking soda        

·       1/2 tsp. baking powder

·       1/2 tsp. salt         

·       1/2 cup milk       

·       1/2 cup vegetable oil

·       1 egg

·       1/2 tsp. vanilla   

·       1 cup grated carrot

·       1/2 cup raisins

Directions:

    Preheat oven to 350º.  Spray one 8 1/2 x 4 1/2" loaf pan with cooking spray; set aside. 

    In a large bowl, stir together flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and salt.  In a medium bowl, whisk together milk, oil, egg and vanilla.  Stir milk mixture into dry ingredients until well-blended.  Sprinkle carrot and raisins over batter and blend until evenly distributed. 

    Pour batter into pan and even out on top.  Bake 45-60 minutes or until a tester inserted in center of loaf comes out clean. Cool in pan for five minutes on cooling rack and then remove from pan.   Cool on rack for 15 more minutes before slicing. Serve warm.

Servings: 1 8 1/2 x 4 1/2" loaf

The original recipe called for it to be baked in a mini loaf pan, but since I'm not serving these in a restaurant I use a regular loaf pan.  You can use your standard 9x5" loaf pan, but I picked up a couple beautiful 8 1/2 x 4 1/2" loaf pans made by USA Pans so that's what I used.  

I like to use a product called Bak-Klene.  It's a non-stick spray/flour combination that my mom always used in her bakery.  The only place we can find it is at Smart & Final.  It's works pretty well in all pans except the specialty Nordic Ware pans.  I definitely advise you to do the shortening/flour technique on those puppies. Oops, I digress.  Anyways, here the batter in the oven. As you can see I smoothed out the top of the batter to help it rise evenly.

The recipe calls for regular salt, but if you wish to use kosher salt, just double the amount.  I also recommend using a good quality cinnamon.  I use Vietnamese cinnamon and I believe it really makes a difference in my baked goods.

It's real important to make sure your bread is baked completely.  If you don't, the middle will sink in and it is not very attractive.  You can use toothpicks, but I like to use bamboo skewers you would use for kebabs.  I feel like toothpicks are a little too narrow and the skewers are just the right width to catch the unbaked batter.

Of course you can serve it once it has cooled somewhat, but if you ever have patience enough try bagging it up and letting it sit overnight.  Like cupcakes, most quick breads are actually better the next day.  They will be more moist and have more flavor.  By the way, it is excellent with a nice wisp of butter on your slice!  Enjoy!