Maria Tillman Jackson Rogers’ Carrot Cake

Many years ago my friend, Deborah, jotted this recipe for carrot cake on the back of a piece of paper which had the short version of the biography of the artist Michelangelo Pistoletto printed on the opposite side.  The recipe itself is originally from a book called, My Mother Cooked My Way Through Harvard with These Creole Recipes, by Mrs. Walter Tillman and Oscar A. Rodgers, published in 1972.  The life of Oscar Rogers is fascinating and definitely worth looking into if you have a chance. The cookbook is a difficult book to find, but I’m dying to get my hands on a copy.  The recipe also eventually found its way into the James Beard Award winning book, The New York Times Cookbook: Classic Recipes for a New Century by Amanda Hesser. 

Michelangelo Pistoletto is an equally intriguing character.  He was born in 1933 in the small Italian city of Biella and is considered a founding member of the Arte Povera movement which espouses a focus on simple objects and meaning found in the everyday.  My very simplistic translation - art IS life. Pistoletto also won the Venice Biennale’s Golden Lion for Lifelong Achievement in 2003. In what feels like a crazy coincidence, Thom and I actually attended the Venice Biennale in the summer of 2019 and it was nothing short of life affirming. Part of Pistoletto’s body of work consists of a series known as ‘time continents’ - I’m still wrapping my head around the multitudes that phrase contains.

The confluence of all these things is not lost on me and is, in fact, exactly what I cherish about my friendship with Deborah.  She is a gifted artist and art educator.  She is also an accomplished chef and a marvelous storyteller.  It’s a delight to experience all that she brings to our friendship. After recanting a personal story or one about her family, she will inevitably think that she has said too much about herself and every once in a while will say, “That’s enough about me - what do you think about my dress?” Cracks me up every time. We no longer live in the same town or share the same workplace, but quite often Deborah will pop into my head, and I can’t shake the thought of her until we actually have a chance to catch up.  This happened a couple weeks ago, and since I’ve been focused on food and memory I thought about this recipe and decided it was about time I baked the cake.  It was utterly worth the wait.  When I spoke to Deborah she described it as ‘simple and sublime’.  It is indeed.  Deborah made a couple of changes from the original.  She added a bit of nutmeg and she bakes it in a tube pan instead of two cake pans.  I added some cinnamon and a pinch of ground cloves.  I also reduced the oil by a smidge.  Rob finished it in less than three days, so I think he likes it.  I’m making it again for Thanksgiving, perhaps as a way to remain connected to Deborah in the time of Covid, and perhaps because it’s just delicious.

In an article in The New York Times Magazine written by Craig Claiborne and Pierre Franey in 1981, the authors seem to echo Michelangelo Pistoletto when they write about Mrs. Tillman’s cake. After considering the idea that the popularity of particular dishes runs in cycles (remember this was written in 1981) the authors continue, “The fashionable foods of the moment may be “sophisticated” recipes, such as quiche Lorraine, beef Wellington, gazpacho or ratatouille. Or they may be down-to-earth creations as homespun and tempting as carrot cake and zucchini bread.” 

Homespun, simple, everyday...it’s not a stretch to say this cake is a work of art.

Maria Tillman Jackson Rogers’ Carrot Cake

1 lb carrots

2 cups sugar

1 ⅓ cups oil (I used safflower, and the original uses 1 ½ cups) 

4 eggs

2 cups flour

2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp nutmeg

⅛ - ¼ tsp ground cloves (depending on preference)

¾ cup chopped walnuts or pecans (the original uses ½ cup)

Preheat the oven to 325°

Trim, scrape, and grate carrots (they should measure 3 cups).  Set aside

Combine sugar and oil in the bowl of a stand mixer (or use a hand mixer).  Beat on low speed and increase to medium.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well.

Sift together the flour, salt, soda, and powder.  Add the cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.  Add to the sugar mixture while beating.

Add the grated carrots and nuts.

Oil a tube pan and pour the batter in.  Bake for 1 - 1 ½ hours until golden and somewhat caramelized on top.  Toothpick should be clean. (Mine is done in 1 hour and 5 minutes with the tube pan I used.)

Cream Cheese Frosting

2 cups sifted confectioner’s sugar

8 oz softened cream cheese

4 tbsp softened butter

2 tsp vanilla

Cream butter and cream cheese well.  Add sugar and vanilla and continue beating until the mixture is glossy.