Cream Cheese Swirled Carrot Cake

Ingredients:

For the Cream Cheese Swirl:
* 4 ounces (½ block/113g) full-fat cream cheese, cut into cubes
* 3 tbsps granulated sugar
* 1 tbsps all-purpose flour
* 1 large egg yolk
* ½ tsp vanilla extract

cream cheese

For the Cake:

* 1½ (180g) cups all-purpose flour
* 1½ tsps baking powder
* ¾ tsp baking soda
* ½ tsp salt
* ¾ tsp ground cinnamon
* ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
* ¼ cup (80mL) vegetable oil
* 2 large eggs, room temperature
* ½ cup (110g) packed light brown sugar
* ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
* ¼ cup (60g) sour cream, room temperature
* 1 tsp vanilla extract
* 1½ cups (160g) peeled and grated carrots (about 3 medium carrots)
* ¾ cup (80g) chopped toasted pecans or walnuts
* ½ cup (60g) dark or golden raisins (optional)
* 2 tbsps turbinado sugar (optional)

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease an 8½x4½-inch loaf pan with baking spray and line it with a parchment paper sling, allowing excess to hang over the long sides of the pan.
Make the Cream Cheese Swirl:

2. Place the cream cheese in a small microwavable bowl. Microwave in 5- to 10-second intervals until just softened, about 30 seconds total. Stir until creamy. Whisk in the sugar, flour, egg yolk, and vanilla until smooth. Set aside.

Make the Cake:
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

4. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the oil, eggs, granulated and brown sugars, sour cream, and vanilla until well combined. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry mixture and fold together just until combined, leaving only a few streaks of flour.

5. Add the carrots, pecans, and raisins (if using), and fold them into the batter using a spatula until the flour is fully combined and the mix-ins are well dispersed.

6. Pour about half of the batter into the prepared pan and spread it into an even layer. Spoon the cream cheese mixture evenly over the batter. Dollop the remaining batter on top and spread gently to cover the cream cheese layer. Sprinkle evenly with turbinado sugar, or more granulated sugar, if you’d like a sugary top crust. (It’s delicious!!)

7. Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted into the center comes out clean. Loosely cover the top of the loaf with foil during the last 10 minutes of baking if the top or edges are already dark brown. Allow the cake to cool completely in the pan. Use the excess parchment to lift the loaf out of the pan before slicing it.