Gastronomy612′s Weblog

By most standards, if not all, carrot is not so much a cake as it is a quick bread, and often, quick breads are cakes  But then there isn’t much of a difference between the two.  Regardless, both cakes and quick breads are moist, and dense in texture.  Carrots are a natural sweetener, (which is only enhanced by the amount of sugar in most carrot cake recipes) and easily dissolves, or gets soft in the baking process due to the amount of water they release.  Often times, these vegetable laden cakes contain nuts, raisins, and a cream cheese frosting, though some are more apt too use a vanilla based frosting.    

Carrots are believed to be first used in MedievalEurope when refined sweeteners were rare and moreover, expensive.  Because they are so naturally sweet, they also blend in well with any dessert recipe whether it be cakes or puddings as was evidenced in 18th and 18th century cookbooks. 

These rooted vegetables first made they’re way to the Americas by European settlers, but became most popular during WWII when again, like Medieval Europe, sweeteners were difficult to come by.  Because sweeteners, butter, and eggs were all rationed during the war, the concoction of vegetable oil, sweet carrots and some brown sugar substituted nicely as a dessert replacement.  it has only become more popular since that time, and in some countries, considered a healthy snack.

Today, there are many cookbooks that advertisement the use of sneaky vegetables and such into foods and calling them healthy.  However, many vegetables, carrots included lose their vitamins and minerals in the baking/cooking process thus not making a healthy alternative to eating a pound of carrots (the amount that is often used in carrot cake recipes).  Although, in my own opinion, I feel that it is important to get those picky eaters to eat even the unhealthy version to get their minds open to the possibilities of this otherwise healthy snack.   

Additional info can be found here, here, and here.  And I made carrot cake too.