I had a pear and a parsnip left and decided to bake them into a tiny cake for my wonderful friend Sabine. The pear adds some flavour, but mostly takes the place of some oil. The cake is vegan, but the icing is not, although feel free to use your favourite vegan icing. This recipe will fill a 6” springform cake pan or use the measurements in brackets for a 9×13 pan. The icing here is a whisky ermine frosting.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/8 cup (2 1/4 cup) flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons (3 teaspoons) baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon (1 teaspoon) baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon (1 teaspoon) cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon (1 teaspoon) nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon (1 teaspoon) salt
• 1/4 cup (1/2 cup) purée pear
• 1/2 cup (1 cup) plant based or regular milk
• 1 teaspoon (2 teaspoons) almond extract
• 1/2 cup (1 cup) white sugar
• 1/4 cup (1/2cup) canola oil
• 1 cup (2 cups) grated parsnips

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 175C/350F and grease a 6” springform cake tin (9×13 baking pan).
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the purée pear, whatever kind of milk you’re using, almond extract, sugar and oil.
4. Mix the dry ingredients into the bowl with the wet ingredients.
5. Fold in the parsnips and stir until just combined.
6. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cake cool completely before frosting.
7. Store frosted cake in the fridge.