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National Carrot Cake Day
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National Carrot Cake Day.........................................
Categories:
A Taste of February Holidays
- National Carrot Cake Day / February 3
- Ice Cream for Breakfast Day / 1st Saturday in February
- National Wear Red Day / 1st Friday in February
When is Carrot Cake Day?
National Carrot Cake Day is always celebrated annually on February 3rd!
Carrot cake or Passion Cake:
is a sweet spice cake with grated carrot mixed into the batter. The carrot softens in the cooking process, and the cake usually has a soft, dense texture. The carrots themselves enhance the flavour, texture and appearance of the cake.
Origin of this Holiday
Our research did not find the creator, or the origin of this day.
Why the month of February and why the 3th day?? That's the question...
This holiday is referred to as a "National" day as all food and drink holidays are. However, we did not find any congressional records or presidential proclamations for this day. Even though we didn't, this is still a Food Holiday that is publicized to celebrate.
We found plenty of recognition from calendar sites and personal Internet sites that blog and share information about this holiday. We also found plenty of recognition on recipe sites as well. It seems that carrot cake is a traditional southern food and served at major holiday gatherings.
You many also be interested in other National Cake Holidays & Recipes. Live everyday like a holiday!
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Icing or Glaze?
"Carrot cake may be eaten plain, but it is commonly either glazed or topped with white icing or cream cheese icing and walnuts, often chopped." "Often they are decorated with frosting made to look like carrots.' "They are popular in loaf, sheet cake and cupcake form, and (in the United Kingdom as well as the United States) can be found pre-packaged at grocery stores, and fresh at bakeries."
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Recipes will vary
Some recipes call for raisins. Most all recipes call for either pecans or walnuts. You even find recipes with a small amount of apples or pineapple but these two fruits are mainly added for moisture and are not a part of the original carrot cake recipe. More modern versions of the cake may add coconut for a "Coconut Carrot Cake" or even chocolate for a "Chocolate Carrot Cake."
Example of a Carrot Cake Recipe
4 eggs
1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
2 cups white sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3 cups grated carrots
1 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup butter, softened
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
4 cups confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chopped pecans
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan.
2. In a large bowl, beat together eggs, oil, white sugar and 2 teaspoons vanilla. Mix in flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Stir in carrots. Fold in pecans. Pour into prepared pan.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.
4. To Make Frosting: In a medium bowl, combine butter, cream cheese, confectioners' sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Stir in chopped pecans. Frost the cooled cake.
Carrot Cake Shape
Carrot cake is baked in all shapes and sizes. The most popular is a 4 layer stack cake because this cake is absolutely beautiful and gives is a great visual effect to dessert. The cake is white icing with a tanish yellow cake, orange spots of carrots and dark brown spots of raisins or nuts. This cake is a very colorful cake and is traditionaly baked at Easter and Christmas in many areas. You find this cake in sheet cakes and as cupcakes as well.
Carrot Cake History
"Carrots have been used in sweet cakes since the medieval period, during which time sweeteners were scarce and expensive, while carrots, which contain more sugar than any other vegetable besides the sugar beet, were much easier to come by and were used to make sweet desserts. The popularity of carrot cake was likely revived in Britain because of rationing during the Second World War."
"Carrot cakes first became commonly available in restaurants and cafeterias in the United States in the early 1960s. It was at first a novelty item, but people liked them so much that carrot cake became standard dessert fare. In 2005, the American-based Food Network listed carrot cake, with its cream-cheese icing, as number five of the top five fad foods of the 1970s."
Resource Links
You also be interested in these related pages
It is possible this holiday was created by the greeting card industry because we find reference to it on greeting card sites that say "Time to dig into your favorite carrot cake and share the yummy treat with all your friends and loved ones." Add to the fun by sending them ecards." but no reference to the background of the holiday.
Many food historians believe carrot cake originated from Medieval carrot puddings eaten by Europeans. This evolution is said to be originated during the Middle Ages when sugar and sweeteners were expensive for most individuals and often hard to find, so many people used carrots as a substitute for sugar. Recipes for carrot cake occur as early as 1827, in a French cookbook published in England. 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.
Carrot Cake Photo:The beautiful carrot cake photo is by ^-^liz from flickr.com. You can find the recipe and read all about this delishious cake with cream cheese icing at this blog post.
Photo of a Chocolate Carrot Cake