Carrot cake

The origin of carrot cake is disputed. An English recipe published in 1591 for "pudding in a Carret root" 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 that carrot cake originated in 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. 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. included a recipe for a "Gâteau de Carottes", which was popular enough to be copied verbatim in competitors' cookbooks. In 1824, Beauvilliers published an English version of his cookbook in London which includes a recipe for "Carrot Cakes" in a literal translation of his earlier recipe. Another 19th-century recipe comes from the housekeeping school of Kaiseraugst (canton of Aargau, Switzerland). According to the Culinary Heritage of Switzerland, it is one of the most popular cakes in Switzerland, especially for the birthdays of children. ==Regional variations==

Brazil Brazilian () 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, is much more recent and began appearing in Brazilian cookbooks only in the 1960s. The inspiration behind comes from the American recipe for carrot cake. February 3 is national carrot cake day in Brazil. Switzerland Swiss features almonds and hazelnuts and is often covered in glacé icing containing kirsch and topped with decorative carrots made from marzipan. Fruits, including pineapple, raisins and shredded coconut, can also be used to add sweetness. ;United States A carrot cake cookie is a type of cookie prepared with ingredients that replicate the flavor and texture of carrot cake. Typical ingredients include grated carrot, flour, white sugar or brown sugar, cooking oil, spices and baking soda. Many variations exist, such as carrot cake whoopie pies, cookie sandwiches, and those prepared in the style of an energy bar. Cream cheese is sometimes used as a topping or a filling in cookie sandwich varieties. == Gallery ==

File:Rueblitorte.jpg|Swiss File:Carrotcake cupcakes with candied ginger icing.jpg|Carrot cake cupcakes with candied ginger icing File:Worteltjestaart - Vegan Carrot cake (3862393257).jpg|A vegan carrot cake File:Carrot cake cookie sandwhich.jpg|Two carrot cake cookies with a cream filling between them ==See also==