Parsnip Cake with Rosemary and Olive Oil

Parsnips are sweet, earthy, and nutritious, the perfect food for the colder season. I love using vegetables in unexpected ways, like making sweet treats, so here is one of my favorite cakes ever: parsnip cake with rosemary and olive oil.

This cake is sugar-free, lectin-free, gluten-free, and dairy-free. It’s a treat that is not overly sweet, a beautiful and flavorful cross between savory and sweet, and so grounding during the colder and shorter days.

Why a parsnip cake?

Parsnips are everywhere for the most part of the year, and I’m always thinking of new ways of using them. I got inspired to make this cake from a recipe in the Six Seasons, A New Way with Vegetables cookbook, by Joshua McFaden.

The challenge is that conventional cakes always have sugar and wheat flour, but I learned my way around those little annoyances. In fact, parsnips are already so sweet this cake didn’t even need sweetener.

In a way, parsnips will work a little bit like carrots. While you can certainly grate them like carrots, I mince the parsnips in a food processor until resembling the texture of rice.

I buy organic parsnips and don’t peel them, as a lot of the flavor is in the peel. Before using, scrub them well with a vegetable brush and wash them.

Parsnips have a sweet, deep, and earthy flavor, and it’s quite a dominant flavor when cooked. The touch of sweetness and tartness brought in by the apple will counteract its earthiness and brighten up this cake.

Ingredients for the parsnip cake with rosemary and olive oil

For a cake, it can’t get healthier and more nutritious than this. Use the best extra virgin olive oil you can get and fresh rosemary for the best results. You have to chop the rosemary before adding it to the food processor.

Make sure the apple is cut in small pieces, or you can even grate it. I love to see the small cubes of apples in the cake.

For extra sweetness, I use 2-3 big Medjool dates. Since dates can vary in size, the weight is about 70 grams.

For the dry ingredients, I use cassava flour, psyllium husk flakes, coarsely ground hazelnuts or pecans, and some shredded coconut.

Use warming spices for this parsnip cake. I use my Holiday Warming Spice Blend and vanilla, but you can use a mix of cinnamon, allspice, and a touch of black pepper. A pumpkin pie spice mix will also work.

This is the complete ingredient list:

• 2/3 cup ground hazelnuts or pecans
• 2 cups riced parsnip
• 2 pasture-raised eggs
• 2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
• 70 grams chopped dates (about four small dates)
• 2 tablespoons psyllium husk
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• Warming spices: 1 tsp cinnamon + 1/2 tsp allspice + 1 tsp vanilla extract (or use the warming spice blend)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• zest of one organic lemon
• 1/3 cup shredded coconut
• 1/2 cup cassava flour
• 1 small organic apple (for baking), cut into small cubes

How to make parsnip cake with rosemary and olive oil

• Preheat the oven to 325F.
• Coarsely grind the hazelnuts or pecans in a food processor. You want a little texture, so don’t process them all the way to becoming flour. Take the hazelnuts out and measure 2/3 cup. Don’t clean the food processor, you will use it again.
• Add the chopped parsnip to the food processor and process until resembling the texture of rice. Take it out and measure two cups.
• Add the eggs, chopped dates, olive oil, rosemary, spices, salt and pepper, baking soda, lemon juice, lemon zest, and psyllium husk to the food processor and process until creamy.
• If your food processor is big enough, add the parsnip and the coconut to the wet ingredients and pulse a few times to combine. If not, just mix them in a bowl.
• Transfer the parsnip, coconut, and wet mix to a big mixing bowl, and add the cassava flour, bit by bit, and combine. Stop adding flour if the mixture is getting too dry or thick.

• Add the ground nuts and apples and gently combine them into the batter. The final batter is pretty thick and not pourable.
• Transfer the batter to a lined loaf pan, level and make sure there are no air pockets left, and bake for about 55 minutes.
• Take it out on a cooling rack and let it rest for about 30 minutes before slicing.
• Store in a glass container in the refrigerator, or slice and freeze.

How to serve the parsnip cake with rosemary and olive oil

This is a perfect slice for breakfast or a coffee break. You can dust it with inulin powder or drizzle with raw, local honey.

Enjoy!

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Print Recipe

Parsnip Cake with Rosemary and Olive Oil

(36 votes, average: 4.11 out of 5)

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By Claudia Curici, Health Coach – Serves: 6

Prep Time: 15 minutes – Cooking Time: 55 minutes

This cake is sugar-free, lectin-free, gluten-free, and dairy-free. It's a treat that is not overly sweet, a beautiful and flavorful cross between savory and sweet, and so grounding during the colder and shorter days.

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup ground hazelnuts or pecans
• 2 cups riced parsnip
• 2 pasture-raised eggs
• 2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
• 70 grams chopped dates (about four small dates)
• 2 tablespoons psyllium husk
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• Warming spices: 1 teaspoon cinnamon + 1/2 teaspoon allspice + 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or check post for alternatives)
• 2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• zest of one organic lemon
• 1/3 cup shredded coconut
• 1/2 cup cassava flour
• 1 small organic apple (for baking), cut into small cubes

Instructions

1

Preheat the oven to 325F.

2

Coarsely grind the hazelnuts or pecans in a food processor. You want a little texture, so don't process them all the way to becoming flour. Take the hazelnuts out and measure 2/3 cup. Don't clean the food processor, you will use it again.

3

Add the chopped parsnip to the food processor and process until resembling the texture of rice. Take it out and measure two cups.

4

Add the eggs, chopped dates, olive oil, rosemary, spices, salt and pepper, baking powder, lemon juice, lemon zest, and psyllium husk to the food processor and process until creamy.

5

If your food processor is big enough, add the parsnip and the coconut to the wet ingredients and pulse a few times to combine. If not, just mix them in a bowl.

6

Transfer the parsnip, coconut, and wet mix to a big mixing bowl, and add the cassava flour, bit by bit, and combine. Stop adding flour if the mixture is getting too dry or thick.

7

Add the ground nuts and apples, and gently combine them into the batter. The final batter is pretty thick, not one that you can pour.

8

Transfer the batter to a lined loaf pan, level and make sure there are no air pockets left, and bake for about 55 minutes.

9

Take it out on a cooling rack and let it rest for about 30 minutes before slicing.

10

Store in a glass container in the refrigerator, or slice and freeze.