 A slice of carrot cake with frosting | |
| Type | sheet cake, layer cake, cupcake |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | Disputed; either England, Switzerland |
| Region or state | Western Europe |
| Main ingredients | Flour, eggs, sugar, carrots, and baking powder |
| Variations | Hazelnuts, lemon, kirsch, [1] cinnamon, almonds, walnuts |
Carrot cake (also known as passion cake) is cake that contains carrots mixed into the batter.
The origins of carrot cake is disputed. Published in 1591, there is an English recipe for "pudding in a Carret[ sic ] root" [2] that is essentially a carrot stuffed with meat, 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, when sugar and sweeteners were expensive and many people used carrots as a substitute for sugar. [3]
Variations of the carrot pudding evolved to include baking with a crust (as pumpkin pie), steamed with a sauce, or molded in pans (as plum pudding) with icing. [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 verbatim 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 the rationing during the Second World War and also because of the promotion of carrot consumption by the government. [11] [12]
Brazilian Bolo de cenoura (lit. 'carrot cake') is a fluffy and moist cake that is commonly served with a chocolate ganache topping. As opposed to other Brazilian desserts that originated with the Portuguese, Bolo de cenoura is much more recent and only began appearing in Brazilian cookbooks in the 1960s. The inspiration behind Bolo de cenoura comes from the American recipe for carrot cake. [13]
February 3 is National carrot cake day in Brazil. [14]
Swiss Rüeblitorte features almonds and hazelnuts and is often covered in glacé icing containing kirsch and topped with decorative carrots made from marzipan. [1]
Modern UK and US recipes typically feature a white cream cheese frosting. Sometimes nuts such as walnuts or pecans are added into the cake batter, as well as spices such as cinnamon, ginger and ground mixed spice. Toasting pecans and using brown sugar can add extra flavor and moisture. [15] Fruit including pineapple, raisins and shredded coconut can also be used to add sweetness.
A carrot cake cookie is a cookie prepared with ingredients that provide a flavor and texture similar to carrot cake. [16] [17] Typical ingredients include grated carrot, flour, sugar or brown sugar, cooking oil, spices and baking soda. [16] [17] Additional ingredients may include shredded coconut, raisins, molasses and nuts. [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] Many variations exist, such as carrot cake whoopie pies, cookie sandwiches, and those prepared in the style of an energy bar. [19] [20] [21] [22] Cream cheese is sometimes used as a topping or a filling in cookie sandwich varieties. [16] [17] [20] [21] Vegan versions may use vegan cream cheese as a substitute for dairy-based cream cheese. [17] [18] From the 2020s, versions of the cookie were produced by Oreo, Subway, and Aldi. [23] [24] [25] [26]
A cookie or biscuit is a baked snack or dessert that is typically small, flat, and sweet. It usually contains flour, sugar, egg, and some type of oil, fat, or butter. It may include other ingredients such as raisins, oats, chocolate chips, or nuts.
Dessert is a course that concludes a meal. The course consists of sweet foods, such as cake, biscuit, ice cream and possibly a beverage such as dessert wine and liqueur. Some cultures sweeten foods that are more commonly savory to create desserts. In some parts of the world there is no tradition of a dessert course to conclude a meal.
New England cuisine is an American cuisine which originated in the New England region of the United States, and traces its roots to traditional English cuisine and Native American cuisine of the Abenaki, Narragansett, Niantic, Wabanaki, Wampanoag, and other native peoples. It also includes influences from Irish, French-Canadian, Italian, and Portuguese cuisine, among others. It is characterized by extensive use of potatoes, beans, dairy products and seafood, resulting from its historical reliance on its seaports and fishing industry. Corn, the major crop historically grown by Native American tribes in New England, continues to be grown in all New England states, primarily as sweet corn although flint corn is grown as well. It is traditionally used in hasty puddings, cornbreads and corn chowders.
Bread pudding is a bread-based dessert popular in many countries' cuisines. It is made with stale bread and milk or cream, generally containing eggs, a form of fat such as oil, butter or suet and, depending on whether the pudding is sweet or savory, a variety of other ingredients. Sweet bread puddings may use sugar, syrup, honey, dried fruit, nuts, as well as spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, mace, or vanilla. The bread is soaked in the liquids, mixed with the other ingredients, and baked.
Cheesecake is a dessert made with a soft fresh cheese, eggs, and sugar. It may have a crust or base made from crushed cookies, graham crackers, pastry, or sometimes sponge cake. Cheesecake may be baked or unbaked, and is usually served chilled.
Icing, or frosting, is a sweet, often creamy glaze made of sugar with a liquid, such as water or milk, that is often enriched with ingredients like butter, egg whites, cream cheese, or flavorings. It is used to coat or decorate baked goods, such as cakes. When it is used between layers of cake it is known as a filling.
A cinnamon roll is a sweet roll commonly served in Northern Europe and North America. In Denmark it is known as kanelsnegl, in Sweden it is called kanelbulle, in Norway it is known as kanelbolle, skillingsbolle, kanelsnurr, or kanel i svingene, in Finland it is known as korvapuusti, in Iceland it is known as kanilsnúður, and in Estonia it is known as kaneelirull. In Austria and Germany, it is called Zimtschnecke. In Slovakia and the Czech Republic, it is called škoricové slimáky/skořicoví šneci.
Pennsylvania Dutch cuisine is the typical and traditional fare of the Pennsylvania Dutch.
A layer cake or sandwich cake is a cake consisting of multiple stacked sheets of cake, held together by a filling such as frosting, jam, or other preserves. Most cake recipes can be adapted for layer cakes; butter cakes and sponge cakes are common choices. Frequently, the cake is covered with icing, but sometimes, the sides are left undecorated, so that the filling and the number of layers are visible.
Cinnamon sugar is a mixture of ground cinnamon and granulated sugar used as a spice to flavor foods such as Belgian waffles, Snickerdoodle cookies, tortillas, coffee cake, French toast, and churros. It is also used to flavor apples, cereals, and other fruits. As McCormick describes cinnamon sugar, "it’s the comforting scent of Sunday morning cinnamon toast and mid-summer’s peach cobbler...the aroma of the holidays, with cinnamon cookies and spice cake."
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to chocolate:
Sponge cake is a light cake made with eggs, flour and sugar, sometimes leavened with baking powder. Some sponge cakes do not contain egg yolks, like angel food cake, but most of them do. Sponge cakes, leavened with beaten eggs, originated during the Renaissance, possibly in Spain. The sponge cake is thought to be one of the first non-yeasted cakes, and the earliest attested sponge cake recipe in English is found in a book by the British poet Gervase Markham, The English Huswife, Containing the Inward and Outward Virtues Which Ought to Be in a Complete Woman (1615). Still, the cake was much more like a cracker: thin and crispy. Sponge cakes became the cake recognised today when bakers started using beaten eggs as a rising agent in the mid-18th century. The Victorian creation of baking powder by British food manufacturer Alfred Bird in 1843 allowed the addition of butter to the traditional sponge recipe, resulting in the creation of the Victoria sponge. Cakes are available in many flavours and have many recipes as well. Sponge cakes have become snack cakes via the Twinkie.
A sandwich cookie, also known as a sandwich biscuit, is a type of cookie made from two cookies with a filling between them. Typically the hard, thin cookies known as biscuits outside North America are used, though some sandwich cookies use softer or thicker cookies. Many types of fillings are used, such as cream, ganache, buttercream, chocolate, cream cheese, jam, peanut butter, lemon curd, or ice cream.
Pie in American cuisine evolved over centuries from savory game pies. When sugar became more widely available women began making simple sweet fillings with a handful of basic ingredients. By the 1920s and 1930s there was growing consensus that cookbooks needed to be updated for the modern electric kitchen. New appliances, recipes and convenience food ingredients changed the way Americans made iconic dessert pies like key lime pie, coconut cream pie and banana cream pie.
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