True cinnamon is cultivated in much of the tropical world, including South America, the Pacific, Africa, and tropical Asia. The bark is cut off the cinnamon tree in long strips and slowly dried into “quills” – those long, curling, tubular cinnamon sticks with which we are familiar. Often used to adulterate ground cinnamon is “cassia”, or Chinese cinnamon, which is more easily and widely cultivated (and therefore cheaper) and has a taste very similar to real cinnamon, though more pungent and less delicate. So if you want to be sure of your cinnamon, buy it in stick form.
Cinnamon was highly prized in ancient times as a perfume, medicine, preservative, and flavoring spice; small quantities of the precious quills were considered fit gifts for kings. The Arabs, who first brought cinnamon to the West, shrouded its origins in grotesque mysteries to frighten off rival traders. As you stir your espresso with a cinnamon quill and nibble on a cinnamon cookie, imagine yourself the envy of ancient potentates and bedaggered Arabs.
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CARROT CAKE WITH CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
¼ cup vegetable oil (preferably pressed oil)
¼ cup honey
4 eggs, well beaten
3½ cups grated carrots
· Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Oil and flour two 8-inch layer pans or one 8-inch spring form pan.
· Sift together the flour, soda, salt, and cinnamon. Stir in oil and honey, and then the well-beaten eggs. Mix in the grated carrots.
· Pour batter in prepared pans and bake for 35 minutes. Remove from pans and cool on a cake rack while you prepare the cream cheese frosting below – also delicious unfrosted.
Cream Cheese Frosting:
8 ounces cream cheese
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
3 cups powdered sugar
· Have cream cheese and butter at room temperature. Cream together, using a spoon or fingers. Add powdered sugar until desired consistency is reached. Makes enough frosting for a two-layer cake.
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