back in ye olden days, i developed some recipes for edible maine magazine. i mentioned at the time how excited i was to share the recipes i was working on with you. but according to my contract, i had to wait a bit. and then by the time the bit was over, i wasn’t eating many of the things i had made (see: gluten) and i felt conflicted about whether i should be posting recipes with ingredients that i don’t eat anymore.
here’s the thing, though: most of *you* do eat gluten. sometimes even with gusto. so, let’s all enjoy this nice spiced parsnip cake with ginger maple cream cheese frosting, shall we? i’ll enjoy remembering how good it was and sharing it with you now, and you’ll enjoy looking at the pictures and one or two of you may even enjoy making and eating the cake, because isn’t that how recipes on the internet work? we like to look at them, and think about making them, and think about the people we would be if we made them, and then sometimes – sometimes! – we even actually make the recipe.
to help you decide if you’d like to be one of those people who h’actually makes the recipe, i will offer this helpful tidbit: it’s like carrot cake, but different. first, to get the unpleasantries out of the way, no, there are no raisins or nuts in this cake. i just don’t find bits of flotsam and jetsam in cake to be an enjoyable experience. even when sharing a recipe for a maple pecan chocolate chip snack cake, i was still telling you how i don’t like nuts in my baked goods (natural born marketer and salesperson, right here). so you definitely won’t find them in this spiced parsnip cake.
what you will find, however, is a richly spiced cake that leads with ginger and also includes cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves. i swear my house smells better just typing about this cake. and similar to other cakes and breads that incorporate vegetables (like carrot cake and zucchini bread), the parsnips contribute more moisture than flavor, keeping our cake from being dry.
and just so we’re clear that we’re eating cake, even though there are vegetables, there’s the ginger maple cream cheese frosting. yum. grated fresh ginger + maple syrup + cream cheese is always a good idea, if you ask me. i know not everyone loves cream cheese frosting, though, so yes, you could sub in a vanilla frosting that you like and add the fresh ginger or you could substitute mascarpone for the cream cheese in this cream cheese frosting recipe as mascarpone has a very similar texture but much milder flavor than cream cheese.
so, as always, there are variations and choices and i encourage you to make the cake and frosting you will most enjoy. if you end up making this spiced parsnip cake with ginger maple cream cheese frosting at all, this is.
spiced parsnip cake with ginger maple cream cheese frosting
if you like carrot cake, you’ll love spiced parsnip cake with ginger maple cream cheese frosting. it’s a sophisticated twist on the classic.
Save to BigOven 
Ingredients
spiced parsnip cake
- 180 g. (1 ½ cups / 6 3/8 oz.) all-purpose flour
- 149 g. (¾ cup / 5 ¼ oz.) granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 tablespoon ground ginger
- 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¾ teaspoon ground allspice
- ¾ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 large eggs
- ½ cup (4 fl. oz. / 120 ml) extra light olive oil
- ½ cup (4 fl. oz. / 120 ml) buttermilk or whole milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups packed shredded peeled parsnips from 3 medium – large parsnips (approximately 312 g. / 11 oz.)
ginger maple cream cheese frosting
- 454 g. / 16 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
- 12 tablespoons (170 g. / 6 oz.) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 4 packed teaspoons peeled grated fresh ginger
- 76 g. (2/3 cup / 2 5/8 oz.) confectioners’ sugar, sifted
- ¼ cup (78 g. / 2 ¾ oz.) pure maple syrup, ideally grade b/grade a: dark color and robust flavor
Instructions
spiced parsnip cake
- preheat the oven to 350° F. butter the sides and bottoms of two 8” round cake pans. line the bottoms of the pans with parchment paper circles, then butter the parchment paper and flour all of the insides of each pan.
- in a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, ground ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, cloves, and salt.
- in a medium mixing bowl, whisk the eggs. whisk in the oil, buttermilk, and vanilla. add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir gently with a wooden spoon just until combined. gently stir in the parsnips.
- divide the batter evenly between the 2 prepared pans and bake for about 22 minutes, until a tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out without any streaks of batter (moist crumbs are ok).
- once the cakes are done baking, remove from the oven and place the pans on wire cooling racks for 10 minutes. after the cakes have cooled in the pans for 10 minutes, run a thin spatula or butter knife gently around the edge of the pan to loosen any areas that may be stuck. place a wire rack over the top of the cake and turn the whole unit upside down to release the cake. repeat with the other cake pan. remove parchment from both cakes and let them cool completely.
ginger maple cream cheese frosting
- while the cakes are cooling, use an electric mixer to beat the cream cheese and butter together in a large bowl until smooth. add the vanilla and ginger; beat to mix in thoroughly. gradually add the sifted confectioners’ sugar in small batches, beating well after each addition, to avoid lumps. pour in the maple syrup and beat briefly until smooth. the frosting is easiest to spread at room temperature but should be covered and refrigerated if it won’t be used in the next hour or two. allow to come to room temperature before spreading.
- to assemble the cake, set one completely cooled layer on a serving plate. spread approximately one-third of the frosting evenly across the bottom layer. set the second cake layer over the frosted first layer and spread another one-third of the frosting across the top layer of cake. use the remaining one-third of the frosting to frost the sides of the cake. serve at room temperature. cake keeps best when stored covered in the refrigerator.
Notes
this recipe originally appeared in the spring 2018 issue of edible maine.
Nutrition Facts
spiced parsnip cake with ginger maple cream cheese frosting
Serves: 8
| Amount Per Serving: | ||
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 754.9 kcal | |
| % Daily Value* | ||
| Total Fat 52.59 g | 80.9% | |
| Saturated Fat 24.54 g | 122.7% | |
| Trans Fat 0.7 g | ||
| Cholesterol 178.47 mg | 59.5% | |
| Sodium 508.66 mg | 21.2% | |
| Total Carbohydrate 63.85 g | 21.3% | |
| Dietary Fiber 3.04 g | 12.2% | |
| Sugars 38.57 g | ||
| Protein 9.34 g | ||
| Vitamin A 42.82 % | Vitamin C 7.7 % | |
| Calcium 21.03 % | Iron 12.67 % | |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
tasty seasons