Divorce Carrot Cake

Have you heard about the recipe for “Divorce Carrot Cake” taking over the internet? Anything with the word divorce gets our attention. Add the word “cake” – and well, we had to check this out.

The story goes like this:

A user named spider_hugs (real name, Elizabeth) was asked by her dad to get the recipe for her mom’s carrot cake and make it for his birthday. The thing is, mom and dad have been divorced for 25 years.

Apparently, he couldn’t stop thinking about the cake.

Elizabeth was blown away by the fact that the cake could remain in her dad’s memory 25 years after her parents’ marriage ended. So, she affectionately deemed it “Divorce Carrot Cake” and posted the recipe on Reddit.

After hundreds of comments and thousands of likes, the rest is social media history.

We at Divorce in Good Company made the cake and it’s pretty damn good. But that’s not the point.

As Elizabeth told the Today Show, "Some folks seem to think the name implies that the cake will make you get divorced or some other sort of bad juju from naming it as such. I believe the opposite! I find it incredibly touching that my dad remembers something positive about his relationship with my mom."

This got us thinking. Is it possible to end a marriage but still savor parts of it?

And how does one do that, exactly?

We can’t say for sure - that part is up to you. But what we do know is this: there’ll come a day, maybe next week, maybe in 25 years, when you can look back at your marriage through a different lens than you see it today. What will be your “divorce carrot cake” story? It might be too hard to see it from where you’re standing today. But at one point you likely saw favorable traits in your spouse, and no matter how it ended, it’s healthiest for you if you can still remember some of the positive.

Whether it’s as big as “he helped me through grad school” or as small as “he made a mean spaghetti sauce.” The way it ended – or the fact that it ended – doesn’t have to color the entire story. And until that day comes, at least you can have some really good cake….

Divorce carrot cake recipe

Cake:

• 1 cup oil

• ½ - ¾ cup honey

• 3 eggs

  • 560g crushed pineapple (drained)

• 2 cups carrots, grated

• 2 cups flour

• 2 tsp cinnamon

• 2 tsp baking soda

• 1 cup unsweetened desiccated coconut

• ½ cup walnuts

• Raisins

Cream cheese frosting:

• Two packages softened cream cheese, cut into cubes

• ½ cup softened butter, cut into cubes

  • 1-2 tsp vanilla extract

• 1 cup sifted powdered sugar

• Lemon juice to your taste

Method:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350°

2. Grease and flour two cake pans.

3. Combine dry ingredients (flour, cinnamon and baking soda) in a medium bowl.

4. Combine oil, honey, eggs, pineapple in a large bowl.

5. Mix dry ingredients and any remaining items into the "wet" bowl.

6. Pour into cake pans. Bake at 350°for 45 minutes.

7. Meanwhile, in a bowl, beat cream cheese and butter until smooth, about 1 minute.

8. Add vanilla, then slowly incorporate powdered sugar. Scrape down the sides of the bowl frequently to prevent lumps.

9. Once smooth, taste and adjust as needed with lemon juice.

10. Once cake is cooked, remove from oven and allow to rest and cool completely. Then decorate with tangy cream cheese frosting.