This sweet offering is the result of some tinkering with a cake recipe that I found once in a Leon cookbook. Coconut, cashew and parsnip - What an intriguing combination? And a delicious one too, it turns out. Admittedly its a bit beige, beige and beige but who cares? This magnificent beastie more than makes up for it with its full, warm, caramelly flavours and satisfying texture.
My version includes a generous dollop of vanilla - it so beautifully compliments the natural sweetness of the parsnips, coconut and nuts. To lower the cake's sugar content and make it lower carb, I've replaced wheat flour for almond flour. I've also used quite a lot less butter than suggested – (the original recipe uses a whole block - which seems a bit scary!) . I've made 2 fillings as opposed to one. Namely a gorgeous toffee gloop alongside a caramelly cream icing. If you find you have neither the time nor the inclination to fool around with cake fillings, you could use just the one, or let this wonderful little cake stand up for itself unadorned. It's certainly flavoursome enough.
The quantities of ingredients here are sufficient for either a 1 x 23 cm square cake tin - or for 2 x 18cm round cake tins (to make as a sandwich cake).
For the cake: 2 medium sized parsnips grated (about 250g) 100g dessicated coconut 100g almond flour 200g finely chopped/ground cashews 2 tsp baking powder 5 eggs 5 tbsp sweetener* 130g melted butter 2 tsp vanilla paste 2 tsp caramel essence Pinch of salt
For the cream topping: 100g full fat cream cheese 75g butter 5 tsp milled sweetener* 6 drops of caramel flavouring (optional)
For the toffee topping: 2 tbsp oil 3 tbsp yacon syrup 2 tbsp smooth nut butter 6 drops of caramel flavouring (optional)
*Natural sweetener options could include xylitol, erythritol, allulose. See Alternative Sweeteners page for more info. Each will have slightly different levels of sweetness. Adjust to taste.
Line the cake tin with baking paper. (If you are using 2 x 18cm cake tins, butter the sides of the tin first to help the paper to adhere). Either grate the parsnips or whizz them in a food processor. Set to one side. Whizz the cashew nuts very briefly - just enough to create some flour but to ensure that some of the nuts remain in small pieces. Put the nuts in a bowl with the coconut, almond flour, salt and baking powder. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, sweetener, vanilla paste and caramel essence until the mix is light and bubbly. Slowly add the melted butter continuing to blend with the whisk. Add the coconut, nut and flour mix to the cake batter. Stir in thoroughly. Finally stir in the grated parsnip. Pour the mixture into the cake tin(s). Smooth the top of the cake batter. Bake in a preheated oven. Gas Mark 4. 180C/350F for 25 minutes. Keep cooking until a knife comes out of the centre of the cake clean.(If the top of the cake is starting to cook too much cover with foil). Let the cakes cool completely on a wire rack. Put a layer of toffee topping over the cake. Cover the toffee layer with the cream topping. Store in a sealed cake tin in the fridge.
