This article is about the Western cake. For the radish-based Teochew dish also known as "fried carrot cake", see Chai tow kway

Carrot cake is a cake that contains carrots mixed into the batter.

History [ edit ]

The origins of carrot cake are disputed. Published in 1591, there is an English recipe for "pudding in a Carret(sic) root"[2] that is essentially a stuffed carrot, but it includes many elements common to the modern dessert: shortening, cream, eggs, raisins, sweetener (dates and sugar), spices (clove and mace), scraped carrot, and breadcrumbs (in place of flour). Many food historians believe carrot cake originated from such carrot puddings eaten by Europeans in the Middle Ages. This evolution is said to be originated during the Middle Ages when sugar and sweeteners were expensive for most individuals and often hard to find, so many people used carrots as a substitute for sugar.[3]

In volume two of "L'art du cuisinier" (1814), Antoine Beauvilliers, former chef to Louis XVI[4], included a recipe for a "Gâteau de Carottes,"[5] which was popular enough to be copied verbatum in competitors' cookbooks.[6][7] In 1824, Beauvilliers had published in London an English version of his cookbook which includes a recipe for "Carrot Cakes" in a literal translation of his earlier recipe.[8][9]

Another 19th-century recipe comes from the housekeeping school of Kaiseraugst (Canton of Aargau, Switzerland).[10] According to the Culinary Heritage of Switzerland, it is one of the most popular cakes in Switzerland, especially for the birthdays of children.[10]

The popularity of carrot cake was revived in the United Kingdom because of rationing during the Second World War.[11]

See also [ edit ]

Notes and references [ edit ]