Trader Joe’s Carrot Cake Spread, reviewed

Carrot cake is a dessert that you can enjoy all year round, but I particularly enjoy it towards the end of summer and into the fall. During this season, the warm spices that I associate with carrot cake taste even more delicious. I’ve made carrot cake muffins and cookies, but Trader Joe’s just launched a new product that takes the love of carrot cake to a whole new level: Carrot Cake Spread.

Trader Joe’s Carrot Cake Spread is exactly what it sounds like, meaning that it is a jam-like spread that is made up of the same ingredients that you would find in carrot cake! It contains dried carrots, crushed pineapple, golden raisins, molasses, vanilla and spices – in addition to a fair amount of sugar and apple juice concentrate for sweetness. The carrots, pineapple and raisins are crushed into very tiny bits, so they give the jam a lot of texture without making it as chunky as a traditional fruit preserve. It does taste like carrot cake, with a nice balance of sweetness and spice, and a very spreadable texture.

While the obvious way to use this spread is to eat it straight out of the jar, there are quite a few ways to enjoy it. You could spread it onto a piece of toast or some homemade scones, for instance. If you are missing the cream cheese frosting from the classic layer cake, you can mix it with cream cheese before using it as a spread. The spread can also be dolloped on top of ice cream or a slice of plainer cake (a piece of vanilla or chocolate) to add extra layers of flavor and turn an everyday dessert into one full of fall flavor.

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