Place one oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350˚ Fahrenheit. Oven temperatures vary, the best way to ensure you have the most accurate reading is to use an oven thermometer.

Using nonstick cooking spray, evenly spray one 9” x 5” loaf pan and line it with parchment paper and then set it aside.

Using a medium sized mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, all spice, and cloves and set the bowl aside.

Using a large mixing bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, granulated sugar, and melted butter. Once that is evenly combined, whisk in your eggs one at a time making sure they are fully mixed in, followed by the vanilla bean paste. Next whisk in your sour cream and whole milk.

Once the wet ingredients are fully mixed, use a rubber spatula or wooden spoon and stir in your dry ingredients. You do not want to over mix here, so be sure to slowly stir, and mix the batter just until you no longer see white streaks from the flour.

Using the rubber spatula or wooden spoon, gently fold in the grated carrots and chopped pecans into the batter. Be sure that you do not over mix.

Pour the batter into your prepared loaf pan and use an offset spatula to smooth it out in the pan.

Bake the loaf for approximately 60-75 minutes. Since baking times vary, be sure you check the loaf after 50 minutes to make sure it is not browning too quickly. If you see that the loaf is browning, cover it loosely using a foil tent and continue to bake. Begin testing your loaf for doneness at 55 minutes. Insert a toothpick or knife into the middle of the loaf to check for doneness. When inserted, the toothpick or knife should come out clean.

After the loaf has finished baking, remove the pan from the oven and allow it to cool on a wire rack for approximately 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, carefully remove the loaf from the pan. You will use the parchment paper to lift the loaf from the pan and transfer it to the wire rack to finish cooling completely.

Using the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large mixing bowl using an electric mixer, add the cream cheese and softened butter and mix together on medium speed for 3 minutes until well combined and light in color.

Add in the vanilla bean paste, salt and cinnamon and mix for two more minutes.

Turn the mixer on low and slowly add in the sifted powdered sugar by the ½ cup full.

Once all the powdered sugar has been added, turn the mixer up to medium speed and slowly stream in the whole milk by the spoonful as needed. Continue mixing the frosting at medium speed for two additional minutes. After two minutes it should be a creamy smooth consistency. You can add as much or as little milk as needed to reach the right consistency. If the frosting becomes too thin, add more powdered sugar to the bowl to thicken the frosting back up.

When frosting the loaf, you can use a piping bag to pipe the frosting on or you can use an offset spatula or the back of a spoon and spread the frosting evenly on top. Depending on how much frosting you add to the loaf, you may have some frosting left over.

Lastly, sprinkle the chopped pecans on top of your loaf as an optional garnish.