EVELYN CROSS’S VERY SPECIAL LONG-AGO CARROT CAKE

RECIPE ONLY

Moist, tender, sweet (honey-sweetened, with a little molasses, no sugar), and rich, spiced but not overly so, this is best traditional-styled carrot cake I have ever tasted. I never order carrot cake no matter how good the bakery or restaurant, because I know it won’t be as delish as this one. Thank you, Evelyn Cross… who gave me this recipe a shocking 45 years ago!

Of course you can top it in the classic manner, with a cream cheese icing, but to me it is infinitely more perfect with my Indian-Style Buttermilk-Rosewater Ice Cream and a sprinkle of finely chopped pistachio nuts.

Ingredients:
Wet ingredients:

1 cup mild vegetable oil (corn, peanut, canola, or algae all work well here); plus a little extra for greasing pan
1 cup minus 2 tablespoons honey (warm honey slightly if it is more solid than liquid)
2 tablespoons blackstrap molasses
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla ice cream

Dry ingredients:

1 1/3 cup wholewheat pastry flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/3 teaspoons EACH baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg, preferably freshly ground

Mix-ins:

2 cups grated carrots, packed
3/4 cup dark raisins
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts, toasted (omit if you are going to serve with the Indian-Style Buttermilk-Rosewater Ice Cream and a sprinkle of finely chopped pistachio nuts)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300. Oil a rectangular 9X13 inch pan, and set aside.

2. Combine the vegetable oil, honey, and molasses, using a handheld mixer, until emulsified (whipped into one gooey mass, no distinct oil or honey). Add, one at a time, the eggs, then the vanilla. Set aside.

3. Sift together, into a large bowl, all the dry ingredients.

4. Pour/scrape the honey-oil-egg mixture into the sifted dry ingredients, scraping out every last bit with a rubber spatula.Combine the wet and dry mixtures thoroughly, by hand, but don’t overbeat; lastly, stir in the carrots, raisins, and, if using, the walnuts.

5. Transfer the batter into the prepared pan, and bake for an hour. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature.