MY LAST ENTRY WAS FOR CARROT SOUP. I THOUGHT IF WE HAVE CARROT SOUP, WE JUST HAVE TO FOLLOW IT WITH CARROT CAKE.
Carrots have been included in sweet recipes in Britain
since mediaeval times. Because carrots provided a cheaper and more
easily available alternative to other sweeteners, their use was
encouraged during the Second World War and rationing. Carrot cake didn’t
really gain in popularity until the last quarter of the twentieth
century but now it’s found in just about every coffee shop and tea room.
Apart
from the fact that it tastes delicious, there’s an air of
wholesomenesss about carrot cake, it has that …’this is good for me’
feeling.
The Basics
Fat
The
fat you use will determine the method – creaming or all-in-one. Butter
or margarine is one option but more usually oil is used. Olive oil is
too heavy; a light vegetable oil - groundnut maybe - is the best choice.
Flour
It’s
got to be wholemeal – organic stoneground is the healthy option.
Self-raising is best, with baking powder and spices (cinnamon, mixed,
nutmeg) sieved in. Most recipes call for some extra bicarbonate of soda
to help the raising process.
Sugar
Dark and brown for a lovely rich colour as well as that moist sweetness that is associated with carrot cake. Weightwatchers UK use runny honey as an alternative – yes, there is a diet version of Carrot Cake!
Carrots
Find
the easiest way you can to grate them! If you have a food processor,
use that, otherwise it’s a time-consuming job. When you put the grated
carrot in the bowl you might fear you’re going to end up with a cake
full of bits, but don’t worry: they soften as they cook and become
unrecognisable.
Eggs
Last
but not least, the number of eggs, free-range large are best, you can
use from 2 to 4 range, add a pinch of salt to draw out flavour.
Added Extras
The
zest and juice of a lemon or orange add their own distinctive zing to
the cake, or you might prefer to drop in a teaspoonful of vanilla
essence. Think of what flavour topping you want and use the same for the
cake.
Desiccated
coconut adds a distinctive taste and texture to the cake, as do ground
almonds. Or you can add chopped walnuts or pecans to the mix, using the
same nuts to decorate the topping.
Topping
Most
recipes agree on the topping: a mixture of cream cheese and icing
sugar, sometimes with unsalted butter. Where the recipes disagree is on
proportions, this just comes down to how sweet or creamy you like your
topping.
Include
a flavouring of your choice, beat it all together, adding a little milk
if it’s too stiff and you’ve got your topping ready to spread on the
cooled cake. Decorate with nuts, zest or leave simple.
And Now; The Carrot Cake
Ingredients for the cake
• 12½ oz carrots
• 2 oz pecans
• 4 oz self-raising wholemeal flour
• 4 oz plain wholemeal flour
• 2 teaspoons of cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• ½ teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 8 fl oz vegetable oil
• 6 oz soft brown sugar
• 4 eggs
• 2 tablespoons’ golden syrup
Ingredients for the topping
• 7 oz cream cheese
• 2 oz softened unsalted butter
• 2 oz sifted icing sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
These quantities make a 9” round cake.
• Start off by grating 12½ oz carrots and chopping 2 oz pecans. Put to one side.
• Sieve
together 4 oz self-raising flour and 4 oz plain flour (both wholemeal)
with 2 teaspoons of cinnamon, 1 teaspoon ground ginger, ½ teaspoon
nutmeg and 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda. (Tip the bran bits left in
the sieve into the mixture.)
• Whisk
together 8 fl oz vegetable oil, 6 oz soft brown sugar, 4 eggs and 2
tablespoons’ golden syrup. (Heat the spoon first and the syrup will
slide off easily.)
• Add this to the dry ingredients and mix until it’s nice and smooth. Stir in the carrots and pecans.
• Tip the mixture into a greased lined tin and cook at 160oC for an hour, or until cooked.
• For
the topping, mix 7 oz cream cheese, 2 oz softened unsalted butter, 2 oz
sifted icing sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla essence, until smooth.
• Allow the cake to cool and then add the topping
THE CARROT
Parts Used Medicinally
The whole herb, collected in July; the seeds and root. The whole herb is the part now more generally in use.
Medicinal Action and Uses.
Used
as a Diuretic or sometimes as a Stimulant. An infusion of the whole
herb was considered a valuable remedy in the treatment of chronic kidney
diseases and affections of the bladder. The infusion of tea, made from
one ounce of the herb in a pint of boiling water, is taken in
wineglassful doses. Carrot tea, taken night and morning, and brewed in
this way from the whole plant, is considered excellent for certain types
of arthritis or gout. A strong decoction is very useful in gravel and
stone, and is good against flatulence. A fluid extract is also prepared,
the dose being from 1/2 to 1 drachm.
The seeds are said to be very
useful in colic, hiccough, dysentery, chronic coughs. The dose of the
seeds is one teaspoonful, repeated as necessary. They were at one time
considered a valuable remedy for jaundice. They have a slight aromatic
smell and a warm, pungent taste. They add an very agreeable aromatic
flavour to malt liquor.
Old
writers tell us that a poultice made of the roots has been found to
ease the pain of ulcers, and that the leaves, applied with honey,
cleanse sores and ulcers. An infusion of the root was also used as an
aperient. A humble veggie with an impressive history.
And this is a wild carrot.
8 Comments
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acousticeagle wrote on Sep 24, '08
Hey!
what's up doc? a blog on carrots and their uses, very practical! I also
love carrot cake and because I have to live wheat-free I can buy a
carrot cake mix in a packet from my local supermarkets. Homemade is best
though. I always feel like I'm having the 'healthy carb' alternative
when I eat it. I love the traditional cream cheese icing.
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starfishred wrote on Sep 23, '08
Wonderful blog loretta-germans love carrots and my kids grew up with mashed carrots and they are so easy
just mash carrots with some potatoes and after melting butter in pan ad eaquel ammount of flour and let sweat but not to brown add your mashed mix and stir till nicely thickend wonderful thanks for this blog |
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kathyinozarks wrote on Sep 23, '08
I
am with our friend Sea-a very Awesome blog!!-I will link up with on
thursdays-thanks and this cake looks sooo good. thanks for sharing.
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I
do believe that carrot cake is my absolute favorite. I had to think
about that for a while, because zucchini cake is wonderful too. I have
always put raisins in both cakes, but in recent years switched to
'Craisins,' dried cranberries.
Correct me, if I am wrong, but the wild carrots, which are know as Queen Anne's Lace, are biennial. I have decided that they don't skip a year, as some think, but rather have a 24 month cycle. I am wondering if the wild tubers are like cultivated carrots. I can see an acre of wild carrots this year. That would be a lot of cake. |
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