Carrot Cake Day!

Posted on: 03/02/2016

Carrot Cake Day!Carrot Cake Day! Today is Carrot Cake Day.

Carrot Cake has been around since the Middle Ages. This was when sugar and other sweeteners were rare and very expensive,so people used sweet vegetables to flavour their puddings. During World War II, the British government rationed many luxury foods and household staples including sugar. So, To appease the nation’s sweet tooth, the Ministry of Food promoted recipes for carrot puddings, carrot-filled pies, and carrot cakes. Today, many families in the UK still serve carrot cake! Carrot cake is much healthier than many other baked goods. A traditional recipe calls for carrots, raisins, walnuts, and brown sugar. We've included a Carrot Cake Recipe below, so whether you bake your own, or enjoy a slice from a local bakery, honour Carrot Cake day by tucking in to a yummy, scrummy, Carrot Cake. Ingredients - Yummy Scrummy Carrot Cake BBC Good Food
  • 175g light muscovado sugar
  • 175ml sunflower oil
  • 3 large eggs, lightly beaten
  • 140g grated carrot (about 3 medium)
  • 100g raisins
  • grated zest of 1 large orange
  • 175g self-raising flour
  • 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • ½ tsp grated nutmeg (freshly grated will give you the best flavour)

For the frosting

  • 175g icing sugar
  • 1½-2 tbsp orange juice

    Method

    1. Preheat the oven to 180C/Gas 4/fan 160C. Oil and line the base and sides of an 18cm square cake tin with baking parchment. The easiest way to do this is to cut two long strips the width of the tin and put each strip crossways, covering the base and sides of the tin, with a double layer in the base.
    2. Tip the sugar into a large mixing bowl, pour in the oil and add the eggs. Lightly mix with a wooden spoon. Stir in the grated carrots, raisins and orange rind.
    3. Mix the flour, bicarbonate of soda and spices, then sift into the bowl. Lightly mix all the ingredients – when everything is evenly amalgamated stop mixing. The mixture will be fairly soft and almost runny.
    4. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 40- 45 minutes, until it feels firm and springy when you press it in the centre. Cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then turn it out, peel off the paper and cool on a wire rack. (You can freeze the cake at this point.)
    5. Beat together the frosting ingredients in a small bowl until smooth – you want the icing about as runny as single cream. Set the cake on a serving plate and boldly drizzle the icing back and forth in diagonal lines over the top, letting it drip down the sides.
    Will you be trying out this delicious Carrot Cake recipe? Let us know if you do! We'll definitely be having a onesie bake day.