History of Carrot Cake from England

History

The origin of carrot cake is said to come from an article in 1591. The article was published for a "pudding" that was essentially a stuffed carrot, but it called for many similar elements seen in modern carrot cake: shortening, cream, eggs, raisins, sweetener, spices, scraped carrot, and breadcrumbs. The evolution into carrot cake is said to take place in the Middle Ages when sugar and sweeteners became too expensive, so people resorted to carrots as a substitute. 

The modern carrot cake is simply a cake or cupcake that contains carrots mixed into the batter, and usually calls for a white cream frosting. A lot of the time, small carrot designs are drawn on top of the icing. 

Recipe 

Prep Time: 1 hr 20 min Cook Time: 30 min Total Time: 1 hr 50 min

 Ingredients 

Cake

• 3 cups carrot, hand-grated
  
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon allspice
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup raisin
• 1 cup crushed pineapple, canned
• 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour, plus 1 tablespoon, divided
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs, room temperature
• ½ teaspoon baking soda

Icing

• 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 2 cups walnuts, crushed
• 1 cup unsalted butter, (2 sticks) room temperature
• 12 oz cream cheese, room temperature

 Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Grease 3 8-inch round cake pans and line with parchment paper.
2. Grate the carrots on the small holes of a box grater. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, sift together 2½ cups of flour, cinnamon, allspice, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Whisk together.
4. In a separate large bowl, beat the brown sugar, granulated sugar, and eggs together with an electric hand mixer on medium speed until combined.
5. With the mixer running, gradually pour in the vegetable oil.
6. With the mixer on medium-low speed, add ⅓ of the flour mixture at a time to the wet ingredients. Beat just to incorporate. Stop mixing when there is just a small amount of flour visible.
7. In a small bowl, toss the raisins with the remaining tablespoon of flour.
8. Add the raisin, grated carrots, and pineapple to the batter and fold to incorporate with a rubber spatula.
9. Divide the cake batter evenly between the prepared pans.
10. Bake for 25-30 minutes.
11. Cool the cakes on a wire rack until the pans are cool to the touch. Remove the cakes from the pans and let cool completely.
12. In a large bowl, beat together the butter, cream cheese, and vanilla with an electric hand mixer on medium-low speed. Once combined, mix on medium-high speed for 30 seconds, until light and fluffy.
13. Add the powdered sugar, ½ cup at a time, beating on medium-low speed to incorporate each addition.
14. Assemble the cake. Check to see if the top of each cake is flat. If not, use a serrated knife level off the cakes.
15. Place 1 cake layer on a serving platter or cake stand. Spoon ¼ of the icing on top and spread in an even layer. Add another layer of cake and spread with another ¼ of the icing. Set the last cake layer on top with the bottom up to ensure a very flat surface. Spread the rest of the icing over the top and sides.
16. Gently press the walnuts into the icing around the sides.
17. Chill for 30-60 minutes to let the icing set.
18. Serve.

 Analysis

I've always enjoyed carrot cake as it's a staple, easy, go to dessert to make when I'm in the mood to bake something. I prefer my carrot cake without pineapple, but otherwise, I enjoyed this recipe.