Cochin Railway Station Carrot Cake I had to catch a train, one early morning in Cochin, to meet Thomas Thumpassery at his pepper plantation in Quilon and stumbling along in the half light, I was looking for something, anything, I could nibble on during the long train ride. A small bakeshop was already open and, looking at all the unfamiliar selections, I decided on the one thing I could recognize: carrot cake. (Normally, I have a very adventurous palate, but not at 5:30 in the morning!) But was I in for a surprise. Although the texture was what you would expect, the squares of moist dough just exploded with spicy intensity. This is my attempt to replicate that morning’s catch. Play with the spices if you want, using fresh ginger instead of dried, adding a little black pepper, increasing the turmeric for a really dayglow result. Just make sure they haven’t sat in your cupboard for the last 3 years! 2 cups all purpose flour 2 teaspoons baking soda 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon ½ teaspoon ground turmeric 1 teaspoon ground cardamom seed ½ teaspoon grated nutmeg ½ teaspoon ground ginger 1/4 teaspoon cloves ½ teaspoon salt 2 cups light brown sugar 1 cup coconut oil, almond oil or grapeseed oil 4 large eggs 1 pound finely grated peeled carrots, this makes about 3 cups 1 tablespoons minced peeled ginger 1 cup unsweetened flaked coconut ¼ cup chopped candied ginger Two 8-ounce cans crushed pineapple, well drained, you should have scant cup Heat up an oven to 350°F. Butter and flour a 9- by 13-inch pan. Sift together the flour, baking soda, salt and all the dry spices. Using electric mixer, beat sugar, oil and eggs in large bowl until well blended. Add the flour mixture then stir in the remaining ingredients. Bake until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, some 35 to 40 minutes. Cool cakes in pans and then cut into about a dozen pieces.