World's Greatest Carrot Cake Recipe

Friday
5^th October, 2001.
World's Greatest Carrot Cake Recipe

This is by far the greatest carrot cake recipe of all time and it has its own story.

I used to teach RE in Plymouth at Tamarside School and every breaktime we had this carrot cake being sold in the staffroom and everytime at breaktime I had a square. I asked the school cook on lots of occasions for the recipe and although she was fond of me, she never would let me have it.

Eventually the school was OFSTEDed and we failed. However, being put under special measures the teaching staff managed to get masses of new training and due to this I beat 4 teachers in London for a Head of RE job in Acland Burleigh School in Camden. Beware of what you wish for – I wished I had stayed in Plymouth. Never mind, at least I met my lovely second husband Fred, but that is another story.

On the day I left Tamarside the cook came up to the staffroom and gave me this recipe in an envelope and kissed me goodbye. It is The Best cake recipe ever – if you make nothing else from this blog make this one!

Oven 190/375/Gas 5

Ingredients

12 oz carrots grated

4 eggs

8 oz soft brown sugar

6 fl oz sunflower oil

8 oz wholemeal flour

2 tsp ground spice

4 oz desiccated coconut

4 oz raisins.

1. Grease roasting tin very well – if you want to make a tray bake, which is really what this cake is all about, you will have enough for the tin and maybe some left over for a 1lb loat tin cake.
2. Whisk eggs and sugar until really thick
3. Turn down mixer and whisk in oil very slowly
4. Mix in the other ingredients really well.
5. Pour into the roasting tin, leaving enough room at the top for it to rise.
6. Level the top of the mixture and bake until firm, shrinking from the sides and golden brown.
7. Cool in tin, sprinkle with sugar, cut into squares and serve.
8. Fantastic.

In my book I wrote -

'I made this to take to Glastonbury for a ceremonial meeting. Wendy grated the carrots for me and gave me a hand mixer she never used.'

My sister and I were talking again at this point – we had fallen out for years over nothing at all, and yet over lots of things all bundled into one. How we made friends again, or really for the first time, is also another story. Wasn't it lovely that she gave me a mixer?

The ceremonial meeting was in the third or fourth year of the Goddess Training. Now this is how it went -

1999/2000 Priestess of Avalon training (Millenium Priestesses)

2000/2001 Rituals and Rites of Passage (Still teaching)

2001/2002 Devotional Year (9.11 and beyond)

2002/2003 Goddess Project (Bed and Breakfast)

I remember now that the ceremonial meeting was for the Goddess Conference – I managed to be in the Ceremonial Group – the group of 8 who held the conference together – twice. In the first year I was West – Earth – and had a magnificent costume with a badger head. In the second year I was East – Fire – and was so exhausted after the conference that I had to rest for a good week – I expanded so much energy in prophesy and nearly caught fire in the fire ceremony, another story for another time.