Wartime Gingerbread Carrot Cake – Lavender and Lovage

Wartime Gingerbread Carrot Cake is part of my VE Day 80 Ration Book & Vintage Recipes series, for the 80th anniversary of VE and VJ day

VE Day 80 Ration Book and Vintage Recipes

Today’s recipe for Wartime Gingerbread Carrot Cake is part of my VE Day 80 Ration Book and Vintage Recipes series, as we head towards the 80th anniversary of VE and VJ day.

It’s a hybrid recipe using two recipes from two wartime cookbooks – Victory in the Kitchen Wartime Recipes, and Eating for Victory – Healthy Home Front Cooking on War Rations.

Carrots were used a lot during WWII, as padding for meat dishes, as well as in salads and in sweet bakes, cakes and puddings.

We think of Carrot Cake being a modern invention, but in fact carrots have been used in recipes for many years, and not jusst during the war years, but in peacetime, in Christmas Puddings.

In fact, Carrot Pudding is an old English recipe, made popular by Mrs Beeton, who added spices and suet to hers, which made it a hearty and very comforting pud for winter.

But back to today’s recipe for Wartime Gingerbread Carrot Cake, this makes a loaf cake with a moist crumb, plus it’s egg and fat free making it vegan.

The recipe makes a “loaf style” cake, which is fabulous when served in slices and buttered. I’ve shared an image of the last one I made with a scraping of margarine, as would have been how it was served in WWII.

This cake keeps very well in an airtight tin, and is perfect for tea time trays, supper and afternoon tea, as well as picnics and street parties.

I hope you feel inspired to make this authentic wartime “ration book” recipe, it’s an easy recipe to make, with sime of your five-a-day in it too! Enjoy, Karen

More about British Rationing during WWII

Find out more about rationing during the Second World War in this film from 1944. In it, an American commentator explains how one family copes with the rationing system, the workings of ‘point’ systems and other restrictions, and the difficulties people face when eating ‘on the ration’.

© IWM COI 155

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Wartime Gingerbread Carrot Cake Recipe

Wartime Gingerbread Carrot Cake

Yield:
12

Prep Time:
20 minutes

Cook Time:
1 hour 15 minutes

Total Time:
1 hour 35 minutes

Today’s recipe for Wartime Gingerbread Carrot Cake is part of my VE Day 80 Ration Book and Vintage Recipes series, as we head towards the 80th anniversary of VE and VJ day.

It’s a hybrid recipe using 2 recipes from 2 wartime cookbooks – Victory in the Kitchen Wartime Recipes, and Eating for Victory – Healthy Home Front Cooking on War Rations.

Carrots were used a lot during WWII, as padding for meat dishes, as well as in salads and in sweet bakes, cakes and puddings.

We think of Carrot Cake being a modern invention, but in fact carrots have been used in recipes for many years, and not jusst during the war years, but in peacetime, in Christmas Puddings.

In fact, Carrot Pudding is an old English recipe, made popular by Mrs Beeton, who added spices and suet to hers, which made it a hearty and very comforting pud for winter.

But back to today’s recipe for Wartime Gingerbread Carrot Cake, this makes a loaf cake with a moist crumb, plus it’s egg and fat free making it vegan.

The recipe makes a “loaf style” cake, which is fabulous when served in slices and buttered. I’ve shared an image of the last one I made with a scraping of margarine, as would have been how it was served in WWII.

This cake keeps very well in an airtight tin, and is perfect for tea time trays, supper and afternoon tea, as well as picnics and street parties.

I hope you feel inspired to make this authentic wartime “ration book” recipe, it’s an easy recipe to make, with sime of your five-a-day in it too! Enjoy, Karen

Ingredients

• 1/2lb (225g) SR Flour
• 6oz (150g) golden syrup
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 1/4 pint (150ml) tepid water
• 1 large carrot, peeled and very finely grated

Instructions

1. Pre-heat oven to 180C/160C Fan/350F/Gas mark 4. Grease and/or line a large 2lb (450g) loaf tin, or a 11″ x 7″ (28cm x 18cm) baking tray for a tray bake style cake.
2. Pur the flour and golden syrup into a mixing bowl.
3. Mix the bicarbonate of soda, ground ginger with the tepid water, then add it to the flour and syrup mixture.
4. Add the grated carrot and mix well.
5. Spoon into the prepared loaf tin or baking tray.
6. Bake for about 1 hour to 1 and a quarter hours, until it is well risen and springs back to touch.
7. Allow to cool in the tin, then turn out if using the loaf tin, but keep it in the baking tray if using that.
8. This is best when not cut for 1 to 2 days.
9. Serve sliced spread with butter.
10. Keeps well in an airtight tin.

Notes

This is a vegan cake as it is egg and fat free.

This is best when not cut for 1 to 2 days.

Keeps well in an airtight tin.

Serve sliced spread with butter.

Nutrition Information

Yield 12

Serving Size 1

Amount Per Serving

Calories 59Total Fat 0gSaturated Fat 0gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 0gCholesterol 0mgSodium 112mgCarbohydrates 13gFiber 0gSugar 3gProtein 1g