Place carrots in a saucepan and fill with water to about 2” above the carrots. Bring water to a boil. Reduce to a low boil and cook until carrots are very soft (pierce easily with a fork, about 15 minutes.) Drain water and allow carrots to cool slightly.
In a blender carafe, add the cooked carrots and all remaining ingredients. Blend on high speed for 1 minute.TIP - We like to cool down the cooked carrots before adding with the eggs to ensure that the hot carrots don’t start cooking them into scrambled eggs.
Transfer carrot mixture to a greased 1.5-2 quart baking dish. Bake for 40-45 minutes, until carrot souffle is puffed evenly across the top and begins to turn golden brown (or looks matte across the entire surface.)TIP - Be gentle handling the souffle so it does not fall. Do not open and shut the oven door during baking. Close the oven door gently when checking on the souffle at the end.
Allow souffle to set for 5-10 minutes before scooping into it.
Dust with powdered sugar for serving, if desired.
Notes
Room temperature eggs will incorporate more air during blending and provide more lift to the cooked souffle.
Some people like to reduce the amount of sugar, especially if using sweet carrots. We found that 1/2 cup of sugar was perfectly sweet when using typical grocery store carrots.
You can substitute with baby carrots if desired, but they tend to be sweeter than regular carrots.
You CAN mash the carrots by hand using a potato masher and whisk the ingredients together without a blender. I found that I did not get quite as much of a lift in the souffle, but the texture and flavor was still great. The carrot was not as smooth, though it was soft enough that there was not a huge texture difference. If mixing by hand, beat the eggs well before adding to the remaining ingredients.
Storage - As with most souffles, this dish is best served right away. However, you can store leftovers in an air-tight container or tightly wrapped with plastic wrap in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.
Make Ahead - You can prepare the carrot souffle a day in advance and store it, covered, in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve. When ready to bake, allow the dish to sit at room temperature until the chill is taken off (especially if using a glass dish) then bake according to recipe instructions.
We wouldn't recommend freezing this carrot souffle as the texture just doesn't hold up very well when frozen and thawed.