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rushthatspeaksThis is because of Niki Segnit's The Flavor Thesaurus, which told me that parsnip cake used to be as common as carrot, and also suggested (separately) that parsnips go well with anise and with lemon.
The recipe is a mishmash of various carrot cake recipes I found online but primarily taken from a Cook's Illustrated carrot cake for which I seem to have lost the URL. I think I cut it in either a half or a quarter, so as not to be a layer cake, and I wanted molasses for the dark flavor notes so I readjusted for that. So mostly I suspect it is mine.
Parsnip Spice Cake
Ingredients:
1 lb. (4 or 5 medium) parsnips, peeled and ended
1/2 cup + 1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 lb. (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting cake pan
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3 points of star anise, pounded into fine powder
1 teaspoon ground cardamom, or the seeds of six cardamom pods scraped from the pods and pounded with the anise
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg or equivalent grated
1/4 cup light brown sugar
2 eggs
scant 1/4 cup blackstrap molasses
9-inch by 1 1/2-inch or 9-inch by 2-inch round cake pan
Grate the parsnips finely. If you have a Cuisinart which grates finely, I urge you to use it, because it turns out that parsnip is much harder to grate than, say, cheese, or carrots. It is woody and tough and I had to discard some fibrous bits which wouldn't grate at all. Also-- I always forget this-- if you put bandages on the at-risk knuckles pre-emptively, the bandages will act as finger protection.
Toss the grated parsnips with 1/2 cup granulated sugar. Put that in a colander over a large bowl and leave at least 20-30 minutes. The sugar will suck water out of the parsnips so that the cake does not become soggy when they cook.
After you set the parsnips to drain, put the oven rack in the center and preheat to 350 F. Generously grease and flour the cake pan, bottom and sides. Generously. I used twice as much as I thought I needed and therefore only had a small crack in the cake surface. Invert the cake pan over the sink and give it a couple of sharp whacks to get off excess flour.
Melt the stick of butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat, stirring often, and cook until golden brown, 8-10 minutes. Pour it into a large bowl and let it cool at least another 10 minutes, until cool enough not to melt sugar.
Whisk flour and salt together in a different bowl. Whisk in the baking powder, baking soda, and spices and set aside.
Squeeze the parsnips out. You don't have to be brutal about this, but you want to get at least half a cup of liquid out of them and should probably get more. The liquid will be very sweet and parsnip-y and I'm sure you could use it for something but I didn't this time.
When the butter has cooled, whisk in the 1/3 cup granulated sugar and the brown sugar, then whisk the eggs in one at a time, then the molasses, combining everything thoroughly before adding the next ingredient. Stir in the flour mixture, and when the batter has almost combined add the parsnips.
You cannot pour this batter. Scrape it into the pan and smooth it out with a spatula. Bake until it feels firm in the center when you press it lightly and a toothpick run into the center comes out perfectly clean, 40 to 50 minutes. Transfer the pan onto a wire rack, and let cool 10 minutes.
Then run a butter knife around the edge of the cake pan and invert the cake out of it onto the wire rack. It will stick. I recommend a spatula and banging on the bottom of the pan a lot. Let the cake cool entirely before you frost it, or the icing will melt.
You could double this easily for a layer cake-- it would make a good one.
Sour Cream-Lemon Icing
Ingredients:
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar, plus more in case
1 1/14 tablespoons sour cream
1 tablespoon lemon juice
pinch of salt
So there is this thing where we do not usually have sour cream in the house, because we don't use it for much and it always goes bad. So I used really high-quality thick Greek yogurt. Don't. It needed twice as much for the flavor balance to work, and that got the texture going wrong, and it was a delicate balancing act which I made work eventually but it was a pain and the texture never quite got there and I had to chill it and just don't. However, I really, really want to try this with labneh. It would probably be awesome.
Anyway, cream the butter until it's fluffy, add the sour cream and blend thoroughly. Beat in the sugar a little at a time until you've used most of the amount the recipe specifies, and then beat in the lemon juice and salt. Then finish adding the sugar-- more if you want it stiffer.
Frost the sides of the cake first, and then do the edges by holding the spatula at a forty-five degree angle to the top of the cake and pulling in toward the center. Then smooth out the center.
How it turned out: I am really proud of myself. This is one of the most delicious things I have cooked. The way I can best describe it is that it has the homey, comforting familiarity of carrot cake or zucchini bread or pumpkin bread, except for how it tastes totally different. I don't know if a person could tell it is parsnips without being told, but they add this mellow sweet-but-not undertone. The spices play really well with each other-- I miiiight reduce the anise slightly next time, but I love anise, so I might not; it's definitely a strong impression but it blends. The icing is a light cold sharpness against it, a delicate contrast; it's a lighter cake than it seems and a heavier icing, and it works.
Serve with milk or white tea.
ETA: oh my god you know what is best on the third day? THIS CAKE. Also I am totally cutting the anise next time because it does a buildup as the leftovers sit and I wouldn't say it gets overwhelming but did I mention I really, really like anise? So yeah, less.
ETAA: updates and amendations to recipe.
The recipe is a mishmash of various carrot cake recipes I found online but primarily taken from a Cook's Illustrated carrot cake for which I seem to have lost the URL. I think I cut it in either a half or a quarter, so as not to be a layer cake, and I wanted molasses for the dark flavor notes so I readjusted for that. So mostly I suspect it is mine.
Parsnip Spice Cake
Ingredients:
1 lb. (4 or 5 medium) parsnips, peeled and ended
1/2 cup + 1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 lb. (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting cake pan
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3 points of star anise, pounded into fine powder
1 teaspoon ground cardamom, or the seeds of six cardamom pods scraped from the pods and pounded with the anise
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg or equivalent grated
1/4 cup light brown sugar
2 eggs
scant 1/4 cup blackstrap molasses
9-inch by 1 1/2-inch or 9-inch by 2-inch round cake pan
Grate the parsnips finely. If you have a Cuisinart which grates finely, I urge you to use it, because it turns out that parsnip is much harder to grate than, say, cheese, or carrots. It is woody and tough and I had to discard some fibrous bits which wouldn't grate at all. Also-- I always forget this-- if you put bandages on the at-risk knuckles pre-emptively, the bandages will act as finger protection.
Toss the grated parsnips with 1/2 cup granulated sugar. Put that in a colander over a large bowl and leave at least 20-30 minutes. The sugar will suck water out of the parsnips so that the cake does not become soggy when they cook.
After you set the parsnips to drain, put the oven rack in the center and preheat to 350 F. Generously grease and flour the cake pan, bottom and sides. Generously. I used twice as much as I thought I needed and therefore only had a small crack in the cake surface. Invert the cake pan over the sink and give it a couple of sharp whacks to get off excess flour.
Melt the stick of butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat, stirring often, and cook until golden brown, 8-10 minutes. Pour it into a large bowl and let it cool at least another 10 minutes, until cool enough not to melt sugar.
Whisk flour and salt together in a different bowl. Whisk in the baking powder, baking soda, and spices and set aside.
Squeeze the parsnips out. You don't have to be brutal about this, but you want to get at least half a cup of liquid out of them and should probably get more. The liquid will be very sweet and parsnip-y and I'm sure you could use it for something but I didn't this time.
When the butter has cooled, whisk in the 1/3 cup granulated sugar and the brown sugar, then whisk the eggs in one at a time, then the molasses, combining everything thoroughly before adding the next ingredient. Stir in the flour mixture, and when the batter has almost combined add the parsnips.
You cannot pour this batter. Scrape it into the pan and smooth it out with a spatula. Bake until it feels firm in the center when you press it lightly and a toothpick run into the center comes out perfectly clean, 40 to 50 minutes. Transfer the pan onto a wire rack, and let cool 10 minutes.
Then run a butter knife around the edge of the cake pan and invert the cake out of it onto the wire rack. It will stick. I recommend a spatula and banging on the bottom of the pan a lot. Let the cake cool entirely before you frost it, or the icing will melt.
You could double this easily for a layer cake-- it would make a good one.
Sour Cream-Lemon Icing
Ingredients:
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar, plus more in case
1 1/14 tablespoons sour cream
1 tablespoon lemon juice
pinch of salt
So there is this thing where we do not usually have sour cream in the house, because we don't use it for much and it always goes bad. So I used really high-quality thick Greek yogurt. Don't. It needed twice as much for the flavor balance to work, and that got the texture going wrong, and it was a delicate balancing act which I made work eventually but it was a pain and the texture never quite got there and I had to chill it and just don't. However, I really, really want to try this with labneh. It would probably be awesome.
Anyway, cream the butter until it's fluffy, add the sour cream and blend thoroughly. Beat in the sugar a little at a time until you've used most of the amount the recipe specifies, and then beat in the lemon juice and salt. Then finish adding the sugar-- more if you want it stiffer.
Frost the sides of the cake first, and then do the edges by holding the spatula at a forty-five degree angle to the top of the cake and pulling in toward the center. Then smooth out the center.
How it turned out: I am really proud of myself. This is one of the most delicious things I have cooked. The way I can best describe it is that it has the homey, comforting familiarity of carrot cake or zucchini bread or pumpkin bread, except for how it tastes totally different. I don't know if a person could tell it is parsnips without being told, but they add this mellow sweet-but-not undertone. The spices play really well with each other-- I miiiight reduce the anise slightly next time, but I love anise, so I might not; it's definitely a strong impression but it blends. The icing is a light cold sharpness against it, a delicate contrast; it's a lighter cake than it seems and a heavier icing, and it works.
Serve with milk or white tea.
ETA: oh my god you know what is best on the third day? THIS CAKE. Also I am totally cutting the anise next time because it does a buildup as the leftovers sit and I wouldn't say it gets overwhelming but did I mention I really, really like anise? So yeah, less.
ETAA: updates and amendations to recipe.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2011-03-01 05:16 am (UTC)Nine
no subject
Date: 2011-03-01 05:49 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-03-01 07:42 am (UTC)I once made a parsnip mousse/soufflé sort of thing from a medieval cookbook (probably "To the King's Taste", by Lorna Sass). Several people asked me what it was and made frowny-faces when I told them, but the whole thing was gone within about 1 minute after I put it on the table. I'm not sure what it is about parsnips, but they certainly are pleasant. (Also somewhat toxic, but we don't eat large quantities of them, so it probably isn't an issue.)
I must thank
no subject
Date: 2011-03-01 08:11 am (UTC)I will have to make one with you sometime.
I'll grate.
no subject
Date: 2011-03-01 11:45 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-03-01 02:35 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-03-01 02:59 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-03-01 03:09 pm (UTC)---L.
no subject
Date: 2011-03-01 03:13 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-03-01 06:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-03-05 03:39 am (UTC)Possibly the solution is parchment paper? I always feel guilty about parchment paper.
no subject
Date: 2011-03-16 02:21 am (UTC)I think that cutting down on the anise has curtailed the wonderfulness just a little, however. (I'll see how it is on day 3.) Using cheap bottled lemon juice was definitely a mistake.
I used a nonstick springform pan, which made getting it out very easy.
Having eaten two pieces and then licked the frosting bowl, I now crave walnuts. Next time.
no subject
Date: 2011-03-17 09:08 am (UTC)Walnuts are a definite thought. I have a person in my house who can't eat them, so I can't do them in the cake, but they'd go well pressed into the icing...
no subject
Date: 2011-04-25 02:35 pm (UTC)The thing I want to do next time is reduce the amount of molasses - you definitely want that note in there, but it was too strong for me. Maybe my molasses is stronger than yours? Not that it tasted at all bad, but I think less molasses might let the spices and the browned butter come through more clearly. And the parsnips. I wouldn't want the cake to really taste of parsnips, but eating this I wasn't sure that I'd have been able to tell the difference if I'd used carrots.
Oh, and I did use a food processor to grate the parsnips. It was more difficult than I expected. The teeth of the grater would cut grooves in the parsnip, and then no more was cut and it wouldn't go through just by the action of gravity or manual pressure. I solved that by sticking a fork in the top and rotating it. This problem is probably specific to my model of Magimix, and I'm sure it was easier than grating by hand anyway.