by Donna Cain
I have always loved Carrot Cake and have fond memories of my mom asking for Carrot Cake on her birthday. We have a family recipe with cream cheese frosting that is to die for and is in the Captain Freeman Inn Cookbook. Just let us know if you would like a cookbook and we can mail it off to you.
One of my favorite cook books is Huckleberries. It’s written by a young baker, Zoe Nathan that has a bakery in California. Her recipes are right up my alley as she always used fresh ingredients and her cookbook is filled with wonderful pictures to inspire you.
I recently tried her Apple Carrot Tea Cake and have decided this recipe is a KEEPER! It’s healthy and delicious and highly recommended.
We served it for our afternoon tea at the inn today with huge accolades. It’s absolutely delicious!
- ¾ cups raisons
- ¾ cups canola oil
- 1 cup plus 2 Tablespoons sugar, plus more for topping
- 1¼ teaspoons kosher salt
- Zest of 1 orange
- 3 egg whites
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup plus 2 Tablespoons AP flour
- ¼ cup plus 2 Tablespoons Whole Wheat Flour
- 1½ teaspoons wheat germ or ground flax seeds
- ¾ teaspoons baking powder
- 1½ teaspoons baking soda
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- 1½ cups shredded carrots
- ¾ cups peeled grated apples
- 1¼ cups chopped walnuts, toasted
- Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9x5 loaf pan. Plump the raisons in 1 cup of warm water for 10 minutes then strain.
- Dump everything into a big bowl and stir together. No really- throw everything into a big bowl and mix together. (You can even use your hands:)
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and sprinkle with extra sugar. Bake for 50 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. Let cool completely. Place a flat pan over the top of the cake and invert. Rest your serving plate on top and invert again.
- This keeps beautifully tightly wrapped at room temperature for up to 4 days.
Yum!
