A couple of weeks ago I had the privilege of making a carrot cake for a friend’s birthday. While preparing the recipe, I started to wonder about the history behind the carrot cake.
Carrots contain natural sugars, which can help to give the cake its sweetness. Historians believe that the cake originated in the Middle Ages. This was when sugar and other sweeteners were hard to come by. In return they would substitute carrots for the sugar. It is believed that carrot cake came from what the Europeans would call “carrot pudding”. Variations of the carrot pudding evolved into baking in a crust, similar to how a pumpkin pie is prepared. Others would mold it into a pan to resemble a sticky pudding.1
In 1814, volume two of L’art du Cuisinier was published. Beauvilliers (1814)2 In it, Antoine Beauvilliers, former chef to King Louis XVI, entered a recipe called “Gâteau de Carottes” (lit. Carrot Cake). When translated to English in 1824 London, the carrot cake recipe was included and directly translated from the original French version.1
One of the most popular cakes in the 19th century in Switzerland was the carrot cake; being especially popular among children’s birthdays. Carrot cake was made popular again in the United Kingdom during the Second World War because of rationing.1
In her New York Cookbook, Molly O’Neill shares that George Washington was served a Carrot Tea Cake at Fraunces Tavern in lower Manhattan on November 25, 1783; in celebration of British Evacuation Day. O’Neill (1992)3 Below is Molly’s take on the Carrot Tea Cake recipe.4
George Washington’s Carrot Tea Cake
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup canola oil
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 cups grated carrotsPreheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a Bundt pan with cooking spray. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt. In a large bowl, combine the oil, sugar, eggs and carrots, and mix well. Add the flour mixture and stir until smooth. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake until a tester comes out clean, about 1 hour. Cool in the pan 2 minutes, then turn the cake out onto a rack to finish cooling**
Guinness World Records gives the award for the largest carrot cake, currently held by the Saint Germain Bakery in Canada. The Guildford Town Centre (British Columbia, Canada) marked its 50th anniversary on November 8, 2016. They celebrated with the cake which was six meters by six meters by 10 centimeters high. It weighed approximately 2.25 tons(2250 kg) and contained 460kg of carrots. Prepared by bakers at the Saint Germain Bakery, the cake was large enough for 23,000 people. The batter contained 4,300 eggs, 500 kilograms of carrots, 500 kilograms of sugar and 625 kilograms of flour. The assembly of the cake took place over a three day period between November 6 to 8.5
National Carrot Cake Day is celebrated on February 3rd. You can celebrate by baking your very own carrot cake! The internet is full of different variations. I guarantee you will find one you like. Maybe your family has a recipe tucked away in a cookbook that you can experiment with. Whatever recipe you choose keep in mind that cake is never a bad idea!