History
Carrots have been used in sweet cakes since the medieval period, during which time sweeteners were scarce and expensive, while carrots, which contain more sugar than any other vegetable besides the sugar beet, were much easier to come by and were used to make sweet desserts. The origins of carrot cake are disputed but it is thought to have first arisen from the Picascio family, who are of
Italian descent. .[citation needed] The popularity of carrot cake was probably revived in Britain because of rationing during the Second World War.[1]
Carrot cakes first became commonly available in restaurants and cafeterias in the United States in the early1960s. They were at first a novelty item, but people liked them so much that carrot cake became standard dessert fare.[citation needed] In 2005, the American-based Food Network listed carrot cake, with its cream-cheese icing, as number five of the top five fad foods of the1970s.
