Diner Carrot Cake

There is not a lot of agreement about where carrot cakes got their history. I've looked at a number of resources, and some say Medieval times, some say during War times, others say it really took off in its tradition form during the 1960's (which would explain why I can't find many recipes for it in my collection).

This cookbook is actually from 2000. It is a fun nostalgia trip into Diners, and there is a 2 page recipe. I will just list the ingredients, and tell you it has to cook for 40 - 45 minutes in a 350 oven in THREE 8 inch pans. Sift the dry ingredients, add the wet, and finally add the carrots and nuts before baking. That's a lot of work, folks, plus another page for the Cream cheese frosting.

2 cups all purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

4 large eggs

1 cup granulated sugar

1 1/4 cups firmly packed light brown sugar

1 1/2 cups vegetable oil

1/4 cup heavy cream

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon finely chopped crystallized ginger (oh boy; that would take me a while by itself)

1 tablespoon grated orange zest

1 1/2 teaspoons freshly grated nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

3 cups firmly packed shredded carrots

1 cup walnuts, chopped (that's a ton of nuts)

Wow! Lots of work. There have to be easier recipes than this, though I'm sure it's delicious. I did come across a carrot souffle recipe today, too. Painful.