From fellow member and food blogger Dante Mazzocco. Get more of his stories and recipes on his blog diningaldante.

From Dante: "Over the years I have served a carrot dessert, a Venetian Carrot Cake, that I have made many times, so I was seeking something new. Until a few years ago the only other carrot cake I was familiar with, before the Venetian came along, was the sweet, sometimes layered cake with a cream cheese filling and topping. That was definitely not what I was looking for as the final carrot dessert for this post. So, in looking through some of my cookbooks I found this recipe in Domencia Marchetti’s The Glorious Vegetables of Italy, which was a new recipe for me and just what I wanted.
It is the type of cake I like to prepare, using olive oil instead of butter, punctuated by the citrus zest, a light crunch from the polenta, moisture from the carrots, and a nutty essence from the addition of dry Marsala wine. Here is my interpretation of Domencia’s recipe:"

Ingredients
3 to 4 large to medium carrots, washed, trimmed, but not skinned
1⁄2 cup of olive oil
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1⁄2 cup dry Marsala wine
Finely grated zest of 1 orange and 1 lemon
11⁄4 cups all-purpose flour
1⁄2 cup of finely ground polenta
2 teaspoons of baking powder
1⁄2 teaspoon sea salt
1/8 teaspoon powdered nutmeg

Method
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Using a box grater, shred the carrots for 2 generous cups, set aside. Using olive oil, coat an 8-inch springform pan and lightly dust with flour.

In a large work bowl, whisk together the olive oil, sugar, eggs, wine, and zests until thoroughly combined.

In another large work bowl, whisk together the flour, polenta, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg.

Using a spatula, fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until completely combined and free of lumps. Then fold in the shredded carrots until a smooth batter is formed.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until a tester comes out clean.

Cool the cake on a rack, run a knife around the sides of the pan before releasing the ring, and allow the cake to cool completely. Transfer to a platter and dust with powdered sugar before serving.