Cream Cheese Stuffed Carrot Cake with Orange Glaze

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 80 minutes
Servings -14
Ingredients

 2 1/2 cups peeled and grated carrots

Dry Ingredients

 2 cups all-purpose flour

 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
 1 cup pecans, finely chopped (I use my food
processor)
 2 teaspoons baking soda
 1 teaspoon baking powder
 1/2 teaspoon salt
 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
 1/2 teaspoon allspice
 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Wet ingredients

 4 large eggs
 3/4 cup Vegetable oil
 1/2 cup vanilla Greek yogurt (regular or lowfat)
 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
 2 teaspoons orange extract

Cream Cheese Filling

 8 oz full fat cream cheese, softened

 1/2 cup granulated sugar
 1 large egg
 1 teaspoon lemon juice
 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Orange Cream Cheese Glaze

 4 oz cream cheese, softened

 2 tablespoons butter, softened
 2 tablespoons orange juice
 2 teaspoons lemon juice
  1 teaspoon orange extract
 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
 2 cups powdered sugar, sifted

Optional Decorative Garnishes

 roasted pecans, roughly chopped

 orange zest
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Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350F degrees. Butter and flour a 10” bundt cake pan (or use nonstick-
spray with flour in it). Set aside.**
2. To make the Cream Cheese Filling, beat the cream cheese and sugar until light and
creamy. Beat in remaining Filling Ingredients until smooth. Set Aside.
3. In a large bowl, mix all of the Dry Ingredients together. In a separate bowl, gently whisk
eggs then stir in remaining Wet Ingredients just until combined. Don't overmix.
4. Stir Wet Ingredients into Dry Ingredients just until moistened, then stir in 2 1/2 cups
grated carrots until evenly combined (I use my clean hands to stir in the carrots).
5. Spoon 3 cups batter into prepared bundt cake pan. Spoon Cream Cheese Filling over
batter and gently smooth, but do not touch the sides of the pan. Top with remaining
batter.
6. Bake at 350F degrees for 45 minutes, cover with foil then reduce heat to 325 and bake an
additional 25-30 minutes or until toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool
in the pan for 10 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
7. To make the Orange Cream Cheese Glaze, using an electric mixer, cream together all of
the Glaze ingredients EXCEPT the powdered sugar on medium speed for 1-2 minutes or
until completely smooth. Add sifted powdered sugar and beat until very smooth, scraping
down sides as needed. Place the frosting in the refrigerator for 5 to 10 minutes before
using.
8. When cake has cooled, drizzle Glaze over cake or individual servings, whisking in
additional orange juice/milk if Glaze has become too thick upon standing.
9. Store in the refrigerator for up to 7 days.

Recipe Notes
*To easily shred carrots, use the grater on your food processor. If you don't have the grater blade,
you can also finely chop in your food processor.
**When "flouring" my pan, I use cocoa powder instead of flour because the cake is brown.
***Your cream cheese layer may not be as thick as the picture all the way around - I chose the

thickest slice

When I first posted my Strawberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake, I received  comment from a
reader that they were confused – nowhere in the recipe did it call for coffee?!  I guess the term
“coffee cake” is a widely popular American phrase for our cake-like sweet breads commonly
served for breakfast/brunch and often with coffee, but not world-wide used.  So I hope I don’t
disappoint some of my readers when I tell you that this Coffee Cake does not have coffee – but it
does have bananas, cream cheese, walnuts and chocolate chips!
This deliciously moist Cream Cheese Stuffed Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Coffee Cake is a
banana bread lover’s dream!  Actually, it is everyone’s dream because my husband was going
crazy for this banana coffee cake, and he isn’t a banana bread type of guy.  It tastes like sweet
banana bread with bursts of chocolate, slight crunch of walnuts with a mega creamy cheesecake-
like layer of cream cheese all topped with Cinnamon Walnut Streusel and a kiss of Vanilla
Glaze. It is basically one of my favorite Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream’s – Chunky Monkey – in
cake form.  And I loooooove Chunky Monkey and now I loooooooove this cake!
To make this  breakfast, brunch, or dessert dream, you need ripe bananas, and I, for one, hardly
ever plan ahead enough to have perfectly ripe bananas when I want them. So here is a little
magic trick to transform your  bananas into perfectly ripe bananas in just 25 minutes!  Simply
line your bananas on a baking sheet (the bananas leak a little so you might want to line your
sheet with foil) and bake at 325 F degrees for approximately 25-30 minutes or until your bananas
are dark brown/black on the outside and slightly soft to the touch.
Viola!  Now you can make this Banana Coffee Cake today!   Because is there anything better
than banana cake for breakfast with a hidden surprise cream cheese layer?
I played off of my Cream Cheese Stuffed Carrot Cake for inspiration, but I used a little
different technique for the cream cheese layer by incorporating some of the batter into the cream
cheese instead of egg/flour so it is even creamier and thicker.    
This banana bread coffee cake requires just a few extra steps, but it is totally worth it and really
is quite simple.  And the crowning step, top off this gem with Vanilla Glaze and its time for the
moist chocolate, cream cheese deliciousness to begin… And right about now is when I wish we
were all neighbors so I could share this Cream Cheese Stuffed Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
Coffee Cake heaven with you!
But YOU have a chance to create and share your very own unique banana/cream
cheese/chocolate chip recipes with me and the rest of the world along with a chance to win
$2,000!  Enter HERE. I can’t wait to see what you come up with!
 And now, I’m going to stuff my face with Cream Cheese Stuffed Banana Bread Coffee Coffee
Cake until I am stuffed…and love every second.
Cream Cheese Stuffed Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Coffee Cake
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 60 minutes
Servings -18 servings
Ingredients
Cinnamon Walnut Streusel

 1/2 cup walnuts

 1/2 cup flour
 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
 1/2 tablespoon cinnamon
 4 tablespoons cold butter, cubed

Banana Cake

 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
 1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
 1 teaspoon salt
 1 teaspoon cinnamon
 1/2 cup butter, softened
 1 1/2 cups sugar
 2 large eggs
 1 cup mashed bananas (about 2 large ripe
bananas)
 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
 1 1/4 cups sour ream (not nonfat)
 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional)
 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)

Cream Cheese Filling

 8 ounces cream cheese, softened

 1/4 cup Reserved Batter (see instructions)
 1/4 cup sugar
 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Vanilla Glaze

 1 cup Powdered sugar

 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
 2 tablespoons milk

Garnish (optional)
 Garnish (optional)
 mini chocolate chips
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Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and spray all inside surfaces of a 16 cup nonstick tube pan
with nonstick cooking spray WITH FLOUR or grease and flour the inside of your pan.
Set aside.*
2. Cinnamon Walnut Streusel: Add walnuts to your food processor and pulse 3 times. Add
flour, brown sugar and cinnamon and pulse a few times to combine. Sprinkle cold butter
over top and pulse until the walnuts are chopped and the mixture resembles small
pebbles. (You may also combine in a bowl and cut butter in by hand). Set aside in the
refrigerator.
3. Cake: In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and
cinnamon. Set aside.
4. Using a stand or hand mixer, beat butter and sugar until fluffy on medium high speed,
about 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating just until the yellow disappears after
each egg. Mix in vanilla and bananas until just until combined.
5. Gradually add flour mixture to banana/butter mixture in thirds, alternately with sour
cream in between each third. Beat until just combined. Measure out 1/4 cup batter and set
aside for cream cheese filling. Stir chocolate chips and walnuts into remaining batter until
just until combined.
6. Measure out 1 cup batter (to top cream cheese layer) and spoon the rest of the batter into
the prepared pan.
7. To your now empty mixing bowl, add 1/4 cup reserved batter, cream cheese, 1 teaspoon
vanilla and 1/4 cup sugar. Beat on medium high speed until smooth and creamy, about 1
minute. Spoon Cream Cheese Filling over batter and gently smooth, but do not touch the
sides of the pan. Spread reserved 1 cup batter evenly over filling (it will be very thin).
8. Tap pan on counter a few times to get rid of any air bubbles then sprinkle evenly with
Cinnamon Walnut Streusel.
9. Bake for 55-60 minutes at 350 degrees F or until toothpick inserted comes out clean
(without inserting in cream cheese). Let baked cake cool on wire rack for 1 hour. Gently
invert cake onto a baking sheet, remove pan, and invert back onto cooling rack streusel
side up. Let cool to room temperature.
10. When ready to serve, whisk Vanilla Glaze ingredients together in a medium bowl and
drizzle over cake. Sprinkle cake with mini chocolate chips (optional)
11. Store in the refrigerator for up to 7 days.

Recipe Notes

*A bundt cake pan will NOT work in this recipe because it does not have enough volume.