Skip to main content

Carrot Cake





It was school summer vacation for our little man and Miss J. We had been to Kerala, so kids could spend some time with their grandma. During our stay there, Mother's Day was coming up and we wanted to do something special. 

Miss J had packed along her art kit, so she was making a greeting card for grandma. Me, on the other hand, thought of baking a cake for her. There were good amount of carrots lying at home and all the other ingredients were also there. So, it was decided....a quick and easy carrot cake for Mother's Day.

Many food historians believe carrot cake originated from Medieval carrot puddings eaten by Europeans. 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. Recipes for carrot cake occur as early as 1827, in a French cookbook published in England. According to the Culinary Heritage of Switzerland, it is one of the most popular cakes in Switzerland, especially for the birthdays of children. The popularity of carrot cake was revived in Great Britain because of rationing during the Second World War. 

I bake this cake very often. It's really moist and aromatic. I like the it when our house is filled with the scent of cinnamon. 


Here's the recipe: 


Ingredients
2 cups Flour
1 tsp Baking soda
1 1/2 tsp Baking powder
1/2 tsp Salt
1 1/2 tsp Cinnamon powder
4 Eggs
1 1/2 cup Granulated sugar
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature 
1/2 cup Finely grated carrot

Method

Preheat the oven at 180°C.
Mix all the dry ingredients - Maida, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon together, sieve twice and keep it aside.
Beat butter and sugar till well combined and smooth.
Add in eggs one at a time and mix well. 

Fold in flour mixture gently until well incorporated.
Then mix in grated carrots. 

Bake for 25-30 minutes at 180°C or until a toothpick inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.

Miss J isn't fond of nuts, so I made a plain cake with half of the batter and with the remaining batter I made cupcakes, in which  I added walnuts and cashews. 

At the end of the day, there were nice moist and aromatic cakes.....and everyone was happy. 



That's how we celebrated Mother's Day and Grandmother's Day, in May 2015.


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Triple Chocolate mousse

They say that no matter how old you become, when you are with your siblings, you revert back to your childhood. Growing up with my kid brother was one of the best adventures of my life. We’ve laughed over the silliest of things, fought for the tv remote almost everyday, we played as a team in home video games of Contra and Mario, watched the same movies over and over again and enjoyed the food during our every trip to the Gulf. He was my first “Foodie Buddy”. Years have passed by, and now when we are living in different continents, amidst the hustle and bustle of everyday life, we still connect over food in our conversations of what we used to eat in the past and what we relish today. Growing up, we didn’t have big celebrations during birthdays with cakes and parties…didn’t feel the need then…but today, we look forward to celebrate any occasion. So, whether we’re near or far, birthdays and anniversaries we celebrate for each other wherever geographically we are. While my kid brother ce...

Kannur - it's about the beaches, sunsets, malabar cuisine & more....

Kerala is my native land. I'm a Malayalee by birth..... but, I grew up in Bangalore. I've stayed all my life in Bangalore. Going to Kerala was either to meet my grandparents during school vacations or to attend some family functions and get togethers. But none of those times did I ever have a chance to actually sight see this state known as "God's own country". It was after we got married that Mr. Peter has taken me to different places in Kerala, like Munnar, Alappuzha, Kochi, Calicut and Kannur. All of these places are wonderful and each has its own distinctiveness. Kannur is located in the northern part of Kerala. Cannanore is the old English name for this city. Kannur is known as the Land of Looms And Lore, because of the loom industries functioning in the district and the ritualistic folk arts held in temples. Kannur is famous for three main things....its beautiful beaches, Theyyam - its native performing art, and its handloom industry. Mr. Pe...

Red Velvet Cupcakes

  Red velvet cupcakes There is something really elegant about red velvet cupcakes. They just look so cool and they taste awesome, especially when covered with a nice homemade cream cheese frosting. Velvet cake is thought to have originated in USA in the early 20th century. During WWII,  soldiers and civilians had to ration off food and supplies. Baking products like sugar and butter were a part of the rations. As a result, some bakers chose to use beet juice in their cakes. Beet was and is used in some recipes as a filler or to retain moisture. The red color of the beets makes the cake have a more delicious appeal. However, not only do the beets make the cake pretty, but they also make the cake soft. These days, most have steered away from beets in their red velvet cake recipe, and instead opt for red food coloring to give the cake vibrancy. In recent years, red velvet cake and red velvet cupcakes have become increasingly popular in the US and many countries, especially a...