The cake for today’s challenge is supposed to be a tangerine-carrot cake but after a quick check in the fridge, I could only find lemons. Then I spied the last lonely parsnip and decided that I should keep going in this direction and change it all up. We have been trying to cut back on snacking and it has been a while since I made a cake. The fresh eggs from our hens are stacking up on the counter and it was a chance to use a couple.
The change from tangerine to lemon meant that the acid level was increased and I am pretty sure that it changed the texture of the cake and made it a little denser than the description in the recipe. Even so, it was still pleasingly moist and a little firm. The parsnip mellowed during the baking and honestly, you wouldn’t know it was there unless I told you.
The only other observation I made was that the batter amount baked up just fine in my 8 inch tart pan. After greasing the ring and bottom and dusting it with flour, I set it onto a sheet pan to prevent leakage in the oven. It came out of the pan and off the bottom beautifully. This was such an easy cake to make and honestly, the potential combinations are numerous so I can see myself pulling this recipe out again when I need a quick and foolproof cake!
Please consider picking up a copy of Baking Chez Moi by Dorie Greenspan and baking along with us. To join in on the fun, visit the website and see how the other bakers made out with this recipe!
What a FABULOUS idea 🙂
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Thanks Mardi-it worked out pretty nicely and I would like to try it with some other vegetables.
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Ooh lemon and parsnip sounds intriguing, I liked this cake a lot so I’ll keep my eyes peeled for other combinations too.
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You should try parsnips, they taste a lot like carrots but mellow during baking.
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Lemon Parship cake? What a clever idea! I totally want to try a lemon-vegetable cake now! And I think the cake is just a super-dense cake, regardless of lemon or not. Mmm…so craving lemon cake right now!
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Lemon worked well but I still might reduce the amount of juice by a tablespoon or two, although the parsnip I used was a little large and may have added to the dense texture. You should give it a try, I plan to keep this one on tap and try it again with other veggies/citrus.
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I love that you mixed it up with the citrus and root vegetables. I bet this tasted great!
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The parsnip flavor mellowed greatly during baking and gave the cake a subtle flavor but I honestly prefer lemon to orange. The cake turned out nicely, I recommend trying it out!
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Clever substitutions! I also like how you dusted your cake with confectioner’s sugar!
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Thanks-it was an act of laziness; I didn’t have the time to make the glaze!
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Such a fantastic combination, and the cake looks so dense and delicious.
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Thanks-it was pretty tasty, I highly recommend baking with parsnips, you won’t be disappointed!
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Wow! Your cake looks amazing!
Love that you were able to make this your own 🙂
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Thanks-it was easy; I only had lemons and it was a choice between grating tiny carrots or a fat parsnip!
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What a great idea. I like lemons way better than oranges so I will try next time with lemons.
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You won’t regret it!
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What a wonderful sub with the parsnip! I would never have thought to use it in a cake. Your cake looks great!
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Thanks Joyce, you should try it too-it works really nicely!
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You made some lovely substitutions. I am looking forward to making this cake. The lemon squares have more than a pound of butter in them.
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thanks Diane! You will enjoy this cake but I am not sure I want to make the lemon bars with that much butter-can hardly fit into my pants now!!!
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That looks wonderful– and so pretty with the large fluting of your pan. I’ve made a parsnip cake in the “traditional” carrot cake form before, so I’m sure that was a good sub here as well!
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Thanks Steph! It was a good sub and I will have to try making my traditional carrot cake recipe with parsnips-all in the name of research…
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Color me jealous that you ego laying hens! Those eggs certainly add to the flavor. Nice job!
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Thanks Nicole! We love our hens-how can you not love pets that feed you???
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I love your variation on this cake! And I so miss having fresh eggs from my parents’ farm. They make baked goods extra-special.
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It was definitely a hit and at the moment, we have many more eggs than we can eat!
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