Let's all eat some cake!

Poor Marie Antoinette! She is saddled with the unfortunate "let them eat cake" maxim. There is a great amount of controversy around its origin. From all accounts, even though Marie Antoinette was from Austrian aristocracy, she, in fact, had great charity and cared deeply about the people of France. She was the wife of Louis the XIV. There is no record or any evidence that she utter these words. But history is often distorted, and with famine in Europe and the cost of bread ingredients, Marie comes out being callus and unsympathetic.

Marie Antoinette

Today cake is much different than that in Marie's time. In fact, it was the Ancient Greeks that developed the notion of baking.  From that possibility, cake took it's place in history. But even prior to that villages in Neolithic times 10,000 BC, there is evidence of simple cakes made out of grains that were moistened and packed into cakes and likely cooked on hot stones. These were likely more like biscuits and maybe cookies.  But through time and advances  the cakes we are more familiar with were developed.  It is not uncommon when looking at history that the distinction between bread, cake, cookies, and biscuits was not very clear.  

When yeast was discovered, thanks to Louis Pasteur, as a leavening agent, it was used for bread and cake.  They were not all that different, although cake often included honey.  In time, yeast was substituted with eggs that, when whipped up, gave enough air to lift the batter.  This was followed by the introduction in the 19th century of baking soda and baking powder.  (We'll talk more about that in our cookie post coming soon.)  This was probably the defining point of distinguishing bread from cake.  As technology advanced and ovens were improved, baking a cake  was more and more easy to manage.

The word "cake" comes from the old Norse word "kaka."  Cake first made with refined sugar was available mostly to the wealthy who could afford such a new ingredient.  Previously, honey was the sweetener that made cake different from bread.  The French were the first to adopt the concept of dessert and cake finally took it's place as part of the course in a meal. More importantly, during the time that ingredients were expensive, cake became a most special thing.  There is a mystique around cake, and always has been because it was often presented at celebrations.  Let's face it, cake for a birthday, wedding, retirement, or anniversaries is as much a part of the celebration as anything else.  We have held on to the special nature of cake for centuries. Throughout time, cake, regardless of how it was defined, has been a treat. 

So how many different cakes from around the world can you name?  We'll help you out a bit here.

• Smorgastarta, a savory sandwich cake from Sweden and Finland
• Panettone, a cake from Italy made with raisins, orange peel and lemon peel
• Magdalena, a cake from Spain that is much like a muffin
• Kransekake, a cake from Denmark made with egg whites, sugar and almond
• Dobos cake, a cake from Hungary is a sponge cake with layers of chocolate cream
• Petit fours, a cake from France that includes butter cream
• Sernik, a cake from Poland includes sponge cake, cream cheese, and raisins
• Yokan, a cake from Japan made with red bean paste

Dobos Cake

And that is only beginning.  Every country, every culture has its own special definition and recipe for cake.  Because there is so many culture within the United States, we wonder if you can name the different cakes just in the US.  Again, we'll help you out.

• Black Forest Cake, a popular cake in the Midwest with German influence
• Red Velvet Cake, a cake from the Southern states.  The red originally came from beets
• Cassata, a dense chocolate cake filled with ricotta cheese from the east coast with Sicilian origins
• Funnel Cake, well maybe not really a cake.  With a Dutch influence, this cake is found at fair around the country.
• Marble Cake, originally from Canada or the US, combines white cake with chocolate cake to make a swirl.

Marble Cake

Of course, this list doesn't even begin to address all the cakes from around this country.  But it gives you an idea of how cultures within a culture are influenced from around the world.

But there is a cake not included on the list.  It's the cake we are going to talk about in more detail and ultimately make.  Can you guess?  Here's a hint.  Bugs Bunny would love love love this cake.  Yes, it is Carrot Cake!

Did you know that there is a World Carrot Museum?  Did you know that there are dozens of varieties of carrots?  If you want to know about that, look here.  And did you know that the predecessor to carrot cake was likely carrot pudding made in Medieval times?

Carrot Pudding

Turns out that when sugar was rare and expensive, carrots were used as a sweetener.  It seems that one cup of sliced, cooked carrots has 2.69 grams of sugar.  Now, don't get excited. No one is saying that carrots are not a good food source.  It simply is true that vegetables have dietary sugar.  The balanced nutrition of vegetables is necessary for good health. History shows us the use of various forms of sweeteners like carrots were much easier to come by and actually better for consumption than refined sugar.

From carrot pudding came carrot loaf in Europe, sort of like a quick bread during World War II.  By the 50's the carrot cake made its way to the US.  One story for this new dessert is based on the fact that there was a glut of canned carrots.  George Page, a businessman, hired bakers to find a use for the surplus carrots.  The result was the carrot cake we know today.

  

Ironically the popularity of carrot cake came in the 70's when it was perceived as being healthy.  Now, while it is true that carrots and walnuts and raisins are easily recognizable as healthy, the truth is that carrot cake also has butter and cream cheese and sugar.  We wouldn't think of suggesting that carrot cake is a health food.  But our purpose is to offer you an opportunity to make your family and yourself a lovely treat.  And so we offer you the 2 Prickly Pear recipe for Carrot Cake.  Let's get started.

Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

What you need:

CAKE:

2 1/2 cup flour

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1 Tablespoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

1 1/2 cup olive oil

4 large eggs, lightly beaten

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 cup chopped walnuts

2 cups grated carrots

FROSTING:

12 oz cream cheese, room temperature

1/2 cup butter, room temperature

2 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 Tablespoon milk (as needed)

What you need to do:

Preheat over to 350 degrees.  Butter and flour 2 9" cake pans.

Whisk together flour, sugars, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and salt in a large bowl.

Add the oil, eggs and vanilla and mix well.  Fold in the nuts and carrots.

Divide the batter into the 2 cake pans and bake for 45-50 minutes.  Cool on rack for 10 minutes.  Remove the cake from the pans and allow to cool completely.

While cake is cooling, cream together the cream cheese and butter.  Sift the confectioners' sugar into the butter mixture and beat until the mixture is smooth.  Stir in vanilla.  Add milk as needed at achieve the necessary thickness.

Once the cake is cooled, frost.

There are literally hundreds of cake recipes to choose from when selecting the perfect treat for a celebration or to simply treat yourself.

Now go out and make something good.