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Carrot Cake- a Short History of this Sweet Treat

Carrot cake is just the "latest" in desserts made from this deliciously sweet vegetable. Long before anyone thought of grating it into cake batter, carrots were used in Ireland and England for puddings, in France as candied slivers in a cream, and in a sweet carrot stew as a traditional dish for the Jewish New Year. And to think that carrot cake recipes didn't appear until the 1960s!

A Yugoslavian version of the carrot cake, takes a basic carrot cake recipe, and cooks it in a 9 x 13" pan. The cake is then split horizontally, and spread with pure cream cheese, not cream cheese icing. The cream cheese is then topped with a layer of jam, and the top half is put back on, and the whole covered in whipped cream. (Hint: try cutting the cake with an electric knife or bread knife for best results.)

Chocolate carrot cake will please the family members who can never get enough of the cocoa bean. Sift together 4 oz. of self-raising flour, 2 tbs. of cocoa, ½ tsp. of baking soda and 2oz. of sugar. Add 1/3 cup of chopped pecans, 4oz. of finely grated carrot, 1 finely grated Granny Smith apple, 2 eggs and ¼ cup of oil. Blend, then pour into a greased 8 x 8" cake pan. Bake for 25 min. at 108C (225 F).

Oh yes, and the cream cheese frosting that seems to be part of so many recipes? If you don't want to buy a prepared jar, it's simple to make your own frosting for a carrot cake. Just blend 2oz. of softened butter with 2oz. of cream cheese and 8 oz. of icing sugar. Depending on your tastes, you can also throw in a dash of rum, a tablespoon of marmalade, or two teaspoons of maple syrup.

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