Spiced Up Carrot Cake

According to food historians, our modern carrot cake most likely descended from Medieval carrot puddings enjoyed by people in Europe. No one really knows where carrot cake came from, It looks like it did evolve from the Carrot Pudding of medieval times, during the middle ages sugar and other sweeteners were difficult or expensive to come by in Britain and carrots had long been used as sugar substitutes. Carrot cake and it's precursors took several forms including baked in pastry, like pumpkin pie steamed and served with sauce, like plum pudding baked in pans and served with icing, like cake.

I can find recipes for carrot pudding as far back as 1591 A Booke of Cookrye, John Evelyn's 'Discourse of Sallets' in 1699, Receipts (recipes) of Pastry and Cookery For the Use of his Scholars, By Ed. Kidder (1720-1740) and Hannah Glasse's 'Art of Cookery' of 1747, but no reference to carrot cake until the 19th century:

In her New York Cookbook (1992), Molly O'Neill says that George Washington was served a carrot tea cake at Fraunces Tavern in lower Manhattan. The date: November 25, 1783. The occasion: British Evacuation Day. She offers an adaptation of that early recipe, which was printed in The Thirteen Colonies Cookbook (1975) by Mary Donovan, Amy Hatrack, and Frances Schull. It is quite close to the carrot cakes of today.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cup olive oil
2 1/2 cup granulated sugar
4 eggs, separated
5 tbsp. hot water
2 1/2 cup flour, sifted
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground cloves
1 1/2 cup grated carrots
1 cup chopped pecans
1/8 tsp. cream of tartar
3/4 cup confectioner’s sugar, sifted
3 tbsp. lemon juice, preferably fresh

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Grease and flour a 10-inch tube cake pan.

In a mixing bowl, combine oil and granulated sugar. Beat in egg yolks, one at a time. Add water.
3. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, cinnamon, and cloves. Add to egg mixture.
4. Stir in carrot and pecans.
5. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites on medium speed until foamy. Add cream of tartar and beat on high until mixture forms stiff peaks. Fold egg whites into flour mixture.
6. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 60-70 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
7. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes before turning out onto cake rack. Allow to cool completely.
8. Mix confectioner’s sugar and lemon juice together to form a glaze. Pour over cooled cake.