Parsnip Cake with Cardamom Cream Cheese Frosting

Parsnips are the star in this warm spice cake, topped with a subtle cardamom flavoured cream cheese frosting.

Sometimes being a food blogger is difficult. There seems to be about a million food blogs out there on the world wide web. Which means, if you want to get noticed, you have to make something different. Something others have yet to make. Something that will catch peoples attention so they visit your blog.

A while back, I had bought a bag of parsnips, to use for dinner. Except I never got around to using them. Since I needed to use them and they are closely related to carrots, I decided to try making a parsnip cake. Similar to carrot cake, this cake uses parsnips and has deep warm flavours.

Carrot cake isn't really carrot cake without cream cheese frosting, which is why I topped this cake with a maple cardamom version. Cardamom, a seed pod from various ginger plants, has a sweet flavour and aroma, with hints of lemon and mint. I knew that it would add a great subtle flavour to my cream cheese frosting. I have to say that this cake is AWESOME! You can't even taste the parsnips, all you get is spice cake. And the frosting? It is SO good! Although you can't really taste the cardamom flavour until the end; there's a little something that makes you say "hmmm, that's different and delicious".

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Parsnip Cake with Cardamom Cream Cheese Frosting

1 C flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp cloves
1/8 tsp nutmeg
3 eggs
1/2 C butter, melted
1/2 C brown sugar, packed
1/2 C maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla
2/3 C finely grated parsnip
2 Tbs toffee bits, for garnish

Frosting
1/3 C maple syrup
6-8 cardamom pods
6oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 C butter, softened
2-3 C powdered sugar
1 Tbs milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter 2- 8 inch round pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper. (Place the pans on the parchment and trace around them using a pencil. The cut out the circles).

In a mixing bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, nutmeg and salt. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, beat together the eggs, cooled melted butter, brown sugar, maple syrup and vanilla; until smooth. Add in the flour mixture, beating until just combined. Add in the parsnips and beat until well combined and fluffy.

Equally divide the batter between the two prepared cake pans. Bake in preheated oven for 20-30 minutes; until cake springs back slightly when touched and edges are coming away from the pans. Let cool in pans for 5 minutes, before turning out onto wire racks. Carefully remove the parchment paper while the cake is still warm. Cool to room temperature.

Gently crush the cardamom pods and place in a small sauce pan, with the maple syrup. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature. Remove cardamom pods when ready to use.

For the frosting: In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter until fluffy. Beat in the cooled cardamom maple syrup, until smooth. Add the powdered sugar, 1/2 C at a time, beating well between each addition. If frosting is too thin after adding 2 C of powdered sugar, add 1 additional C. Add milk and beat frosting for 5 minutes.

Place one cake onto a cake plate, bottom side up. Spread 1/2 of the frosting over the cake. Place the second cake over the frosting (also bottom side up). Frost the top with the remaining frosting and sprinkle with toffee bits.