Carrot And Parsnip Tray Bake Cake With Cream Cheese And Maple Frosting
This deliciously moist cake is quick and easy to make, yet ideal as an impressive crowd pleaser. While parsnip may seem like an unappealing vegetable to add to a cake, it will be relatively unnoticed, but like the carrot it adds a natural sweetness. This cake has no refined sugar, using maple syrup instead for additional sweetness.
12 people
35 minutes
20 minutes
Ingredients
- 2 tsp Baking Powder
- 1 tsp Butter for greasing
- 2 medium Carrots (about 250g)
- 4 large Eggs
- 200 ml Light-Coloured Olive Oil
- 280 g Low Fat Cream Cheese
- 225 ml Maple Syrup For the cake mixture
- 2 tbsp Maple Syrup For the frosting
- 4 tsp Mixed Spice
- 1 large Parsnips (about 250g)
- 75 g Sultanas
- 100 g SuperValu Goodness Walnuts roughly chopped
- 250 g SuperValu Wholemeal Flour
Frosting:
-
1
large
SuperValu Orange
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4. Grease the base of a 20cm x 25cm baking tray or roasting tin that is also at least 5cm high and line with non-stick baking paper.
- Reserve 25g of the walnuts for decorating and pop the rest into a large bowl. Add the flour, sultanas, mixed spice and baking powder. Toss together well, make a well in the centre and set aside.
- Measure the maple syrup into a large jug, followed by the olive oil. Beat in the eggs. Peel and roughly grate the carrots and parsnip and stir these through.
- Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients and mix until well blended. Pour into the prepared tin and spread with the back of a spoon.
- Bake in the oven for 35 minutes, until a skewer pierced into the centre of the tray bake comes out clean. Remove and leave to cool a little in the tin before lifting out and allowing to cool completely on a wire rack.
- Meanwhile, to make the frosting, finely grate the orange zest and reserve it for decorating. Squeeze the juice into a bowl and add the cream cheese and maple syrup. Mix until well blended. Cover and refrigerate until needed.
- Spread the frosting evenly all over the top of the cooled cake. Scatter the reserved walnuts and orange zest over. Cut into 12 portions and serve.
TIP - Use all parsnips without any carrot if preferred. Grated beetroot would work really well in this too.
