Root vegetable desserts aren’t exactly a new concept. Incorporating vegetables such as beets, asparagus, mushrooms and sweet potatoes can lend themselves to new creative dessert ideas if you start thinking ‘out of the box’.
Parsnips, traditionally used in savory dishes, can bring a subtle sweet tenderness to your baked goods. When roasted or sauteed, their sugars caramelize richly and are well complemented by a variety of seasonings such as orange or lemon zest, ginger and cardamom.
As the autumn weather turns cooler, root vegetables like carrots and parsnips convert their starch to sugar. After a few fall frosts, parsnips develop a higher sugar content than those harvested before the freeze.
My original idea was to make a loaf cake with shredded raw parsnips as you do with carrots when making a carrot cake. Knowing how sweet they become when roasted, I decided to do that first. If you have any roasted parsnips leftover from a previous meal they would work just great.
I realize parsnips are not for everyone. It probably seems a bit odd to make them the ‘star’ in dessert but I have to say we both loved this cake. The tart sticky lemon frosting was truly the ‘icing on the cake’.
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- 5-6 medium parsnips
- veg oil for roasting
- salt & pepper
- 1 1/3 cups flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1 cup roasted parsnip puree
- 1/2 cup oil
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp EACH nutmeg, cloves & ground anise seed
- 1/8 tsp EACH ginger, cardamom, & white pepper
- 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
- 20 grams dark chocolate, grated
- 100 grams cream cheese, softened
- 100 grams (7/8 cup) powdered sugar
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 1/2 tsp Pure lemon extract
Ingredients
Roasted Parsnips
Cake
Frosting
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- Preheat oven to 350 F. Peel parsnips & quarter lengthwise; remove core. Chop into medium size pieces & place in a plastic bag. Add a little veg oil & shake to distribute evenly. Line a baking sheet with foil; place parsnips on it & sprinkle with salt & pepper. Bake until soft, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven & allow to cool, then puree in food processor.
- Line a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan with parchment paper.
- In a bowl, combine flour, baking powder & salt. Using a mixer, beat eggs & sugar together. Add parsnip puree, oil, sour cream, vanilla & spices. Fold in flour mixture, combining gently until well incorporated. Fold in walnuts & chocolate, creating a marble appearance ONLY.
- Pour batter into loaf pan & bake for about 40 - 45 minutes or until it tests done. Remove from oven & cool slightly before topping with frosting.
- While cake is baking, combine cream cheese, powdered sugar, lemon zest & extract in a small bowl. With hand mixer, beat until smooth. Frosting will be thick & sticky. Top loaf cake while it is still slightly warm. Slice when cool & serve.
- I had personalized the spices in this cake but if my combination doesn't appeal to you, simply use 1/2 tsp each nutmeg & cloves with a teaspoon of cinnamon instead.
- When purchasing parsnips, look for the small to medium size. Large parsnips are often bitter & have an undesirable woody quality.