Cake!I have been wondering lately about using vegetables in cakes and sweet things after the success of the beetroot chocolate brownies. Fruit loaf made with parsnips, carrot cake spiced with fennel and cinnamon, afternoon tea with hot golden pumpkin scones dripping butter - that sort of thing. Grated root vegetables subtly alter the character of these fabulous treats without the veg in question – carrots, beets, parsnips, even sweet potatoes and pumpkin – dominating the flavour. It is a cheap and healthy way to bulk out cakes and a simple cheat to get the vegetable averse to unwittingly enjoy consuming a few. Cake that is good for you!
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I'm not much of a cakey pig myself - an occasional slice is good but I can go for months without and never miss it. The man though has a definite penchant. Snowed in at home on Monday - well there were no buses, how good is our new mayor - so I decided to make cake to fill the flat with warmth and a lovely smell. The recipe I used is similar to one in Hugh F-W's Guardian column a little while back. It's quick and easy and a treat for my sweet.
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Sweet Parsnip Cake
180g self-raising flour
180g golden caster sugar, plus 1 tbsp extra for dredging
1 tsp baking powder
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
100g raisins
50g candied peel
3 eggs, lightly beaten
180g butter, melted and left to cool slightly
150g parsnips washed, peeled and grated
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Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/ gas mark 4.
Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/ gas mark 4.
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Grease and line a 900g loaf tin.
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Gently mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, lemon zest and dried fruit. Stir in the eggs and butter, then gently fold in the grated veg.
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Spoon the mixture into the loaf tin, smooth the top with a spatula and bake for about 55 minutes, until risen and golden, and a skewer comes out clean.
Spoon the mixture into the loaf tin, smooth the top with a spatula and bake for about 55 minutes, until risen and golden, and a skewer comes out clean.
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Sprinkle a tablespoon of caster sugar over the top. Leave to cool in its tin for 10 minutes, then turn out on to a cooling rack.
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The sugar on top melts a little in the heat and forms a lovely crispy edging on top of the cake.
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Make this for less than £2 - and have enough for at least a dozen generous slices to share.
2 comments:
You must have read my mind Bron! I was thinking only the other day of whether the lonely parsnips in my fridge could be turned into a cakey bread affair..think will definately have to make this now!
And now you know Anne - they can! The lemon rind gives it light citrussy tang - which is very afternoon tea in my book.
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