Butter the inside of a 9-inch x 5-inch loaf pan and dust with sugar. Shake the pan to cover the bottom and sides with sugar and tap out any excess sugar. Set aside.

Whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt together in a bowl. In a large second bowl, combine the sugar, brown sugar and vegetable oil, whisking to combine. Add the eggs one at a time and stir in the vanilla extract. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Mix by hand just until the dry ingredients are incorporated into the wet. Do Not over-mix the batter. Gently fold in the shredded carrots, walnut and raisins (if using).

Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan, sprinkle the top with sanding sugar and transfer the pan to the oven.

Transfer the pan to a cooling rack and allow the carrot loaf to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Remove the loaf from the pan and cool completely on cooling rack.

To make the cream cheese glaze, place the cream cheese and butter in a microwave-safe bowl. Soften the mixture in the microwave for 30 seconds at a time until it is easy to stir. Gradually add the powdered sugar and stir to combine. Add the vanilla extract and 1 tablespoon of the milk, whisk until smooth.

Place a baking sheet under the cooling rack. Drizzle the cooled carrot loaf cake with the cream cheese glaze. If the glaze is too thick to drizzle, add additional milk gradually to thin it out to a pourable consistency. Let glaze set for at least 20 minutes before serving.