Carrot Cake

My love for St. Patrick’s Day has evolved over the years. Growing up my mom made corned beef and cabbage each year. This was exciting for me because we didn’t do much to celebrate our heritage so it was one of the only times each year that I felt like I really had an identity. In a cruel twist of irony, I came to find out last year that our friends in Ireland don’t really eat corned beef for St. Patrick’s Day. Elaine at 34 years old can cope with that, but let’s not tell 10 year-old Elaine. She might crumble.

Speaking of crumble - let’s talk about this carrot cake. Irish desserts are often the unsung heroes of UK cuisine. They are always chock full of fruits, nuts, and spices; and because of their beautiful density, they can feed your whole dinner party two times over. I found a delicious Irish carrot cake recipe to cap off our St. Patrick’s Day dinner and after feeding five people for dinner we still had slices left over for days after (carrot cake makes a fabulous partner to coffee and, therefore, constitutes a balanced breakfast). What makes this recipe Irish, you may be wondering? Simply the addition of crushed walnuts into the batter (traditional recipes typically use crushed almonds or pecans, if any nuts at all).

Carrot Cake: A Brief History

Even though the carrot cake most likely got its roots (see what I did there?) in the Middle East, they’ve become a staple dessert in most regions today. This spiced treat can be traced back to England as early as 1591 under the name “carrot pudding”. The carrot was introduced into desserts as an alternative to sugar. During WWII the UK saw a resurgence of the carrot cake (and carrot desserts in general) due to sugar rationing.

Irish Carrot Cake

Eat While: Getting your daily dose of veggies.

Pairing: Glass of sweet sherry

Dedicated Time: 1 hour + cooling time

Components:

For the Cake: 

Butter for greasing pan

2 1/3 c all-purpose flour

1 1/2 c brown sugar, firmly packed

2 3/4 c carrots, peeled and grated

1/2 c raisins

3 1/2 oz walnuts, crushed

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp sea salt

4 eggs, beaten

1 1/4 c canola oil

Preheat oven to 325°F.

Grease a 9-in cake pan or Bundt cake pan.

Combine all dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.

Combine eggs and oil in a bowl. Gradually fold into the dry ingredients.

Pour batter into the greased pan and bake in oven until firm, 45 min. Allow to cool ~30 min and transfer cake to wire rack.

For the Icing:

1 c cream cheese

1/4 c powdered sugar

6 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened

1/2 c toasted pecans for garnish

Combine cream cheese, sugar, and butter until whipped. Ice the cake once cooled and top with toasted pecans.

*10-12 servings