Vegan Parsnip and Apple Cake
This vegan parsnip cake is undeniably delicious, once tried we promise you'll never look at a parsnip the same way again. Softening the parsnips in apple juice before blizting them with maple syrup really enhances the their natural sweet taste, and once the mixture is combined with dates and pecans and spiced with cinnamon and vanilla the finished result is nothing short of scrumptious.
This isn't a sponge cake, but the apple juice ensures the texture is moist and deliciously dense. It's got all the feel of an indulgent cake with none of the unhealthy ingredients. Don't crush the pecans too much as some whole in the cake add a good crunch and, once cool, try piercing some very small holes in the top of the cake so some of the maple icing can drizzle down into it. Top with whole pecans and voila - you have a healthy, delicious cake no mum could say no to this Sunday!
Ingredients
300g parsnips, trimmed and cut into large chunks
100ml apple juice
2 tbsp maple syrup, plus 1 tbsp for the icing
275g self-raising flour
1 level tsp baking powder
1 level tsp cinnamon
175g Pure Dairy FreeSunflower Spread
150g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
125g dried dates, cut into raisin-sized pieces
100g pecans, chopped, plus a few whole pecans for decoration
125g icing sugar
Method
Put the parsnips in a pan with the apple juice. Cover, and cook until tender.
Drain well, reserving 1 tbsp of the juice. Leave the parsnips to cool, then mash with the reserved juice and tbsp maple syrup.
Pre-heat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/Gas 4. Grease and line a deep 24cm round tin. Sift the flour, baking powder and cinnamon together, and set aside.
Beat the sunflower spread, caster sugar and vanilla extract together until light and creamy.
Stir in the cold parsnip purée, flour mixture, dates and chopped pecans.
Transfer to the tin and bake for 35 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.
Mix the icing sugar with 1 tbsp maple syrup. Drizzle over the cake. Decorate with the whole pecans.
