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Category: Parsnips

  • Parsnip Cake with Whipped Maple Mascarpone Filling

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    Yum you guys. Carrot cake has met it’s match.

    I saw this recipe on a UK website and knew I had to make it. I had to change a couple things in the recipe for what we have available in the US. I’ve never had, or even heard of parsnip cake so I don’t know if this one is even close to the the UK version. I do know this one is really good.

    This cake is dense and moist somewhere between a carrot cake and banana bread. There isn’t a parsnip taste, but there is a vegetal spice smell that isn’t the actual spices. It’s very pleasant. The mascarpone filling is really creamy, not fluffy, and not too sweet. There isn’t any sugar, only maple syrup. I’m sure you could use a cream cheese frosting/filling for this too.

    I kept the recipe in weight measurements which I much prefer over volume.

    To make the cake I used;

    • 12 tablespoons of butter
    • 250gm turbinado sugar (can sub raw sugar or brown sugar)
    • 100gm maple syrup
    • 3 eggs
    • 250gm all purpose flour
    • 2 tsp baking powder
    • 1 tsp baking soda
    • 1 tsp salt
    • 2 tsp all spice
    • 250gm grated parsnips
    • 1 apple grated (I didn’t peel it)
    • 50gm chopped nuts
    • zest and juice of one small orange

    To make the filling I used;

    • 1 cup mascarpone, softened
    • ¾ cup heavy cream
    • 3 tablespoons maple syrup
    Instructions:
    • Preheat the oven to 350F and grease two 8 inch cake pans. I also put parchment in the bottom of the pans. I do this out of habit. I don’t know if you need to do this step or not. I always do so I mention it here.
    • Melt the butter, sugar and maple syrup in a pan, let it cool a little
    • I used a hand mixer to add the eggs to the butter and syrup mixture
    • Add the flour, baking powder/soda/salt to the above
    • Add parsnips, apple, pecans, orange zest and juice to the above and mix
    • Divide the batter between the two pans and bake for 45 minutes or so until they are firm to the touch and brown.
    • When the cakes are done cool them before removing from the pans. I had to run a knife around the sides of the pan to release the cakes.

    When the cakes are totally cool whip all ingredients for the filling until stiff and whack it on one of the cakes and top it with the other cake and smoosh it down a little to make it look even and pretty.  I dusted the cake with powdered sugar too.

    There you go.

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    You can see the parsnips and orange peel and nuts.

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    Taste like Fall. This would be a nice Thanksgiving dessert to compliment anything pumpkin at the table.

    Mo

     

     

     

  • Lovely Parsnips

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    Parsnips are one of the longest growing crops we have, maybe the longest. We plant them in April, early April and they grow all spring and summer long and we finally harvest them in the fall after a frost or two.

    Parsnips have a unique sweet and earthy flavor. They can be substituted for, or mixed with, any other root vegetable; potatoes, carrots, rutabagas, turnips, beets (what other root vegetables am I forgetting?). I love to mix any and all root vegetables in soups or  mashed together or roasted . These all are great with leeks and onions and shallots too. Oh, and winter squash! All of the fall vegetables are happy together in any dish or recipe. So, if you see a carrot recipe you like, feel free to sub parsnips or rutabagas if that is what you have.

    Use your imagination, or just clean out your refrigerator, and make a lovely soup, or mash-up, or roast up some vegetables to eat during the week.

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    Last pick-up this week. Thanks for a great season.

    Mo