Parsnip and walnut cake with cream cheese icing

Ingredients

• 320-350g parsnips
• 2 eggs
• 125ml sunflower oil (or 250 g soft margarine) plus extra for greasing
• 250g caster sugar
• finely grated zest of 1 large lemon
• vanilla extract
• 375g self-raising flour
• ½ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp salt
• 60g walnut pieces, chopped

For the icing:

• 250g cream cheese
• 2 tsp fresh orange juice
• icing sugar

Method

Grease a square cake tin. Line it with greaseproof paper, then grease lightly again. Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas 4. Peel and trim the parsnips, then coarsely grate enough to give 250g of grated vegetable. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, whisk the eggs, then add the oil, sugar, lemon zest, vanilla extract and grated parsnips. Mix and set aside. Sift the self-raising flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt into a second large mixing bowl. Make a well in the centre, then pour in the parsnip mixture. Add the chopped walnut pieces and stir just enough to combine the ingredients and make a stiff batter. Pour the mixture into the prepared cake tin, spreading it out fairly evenly into the corners. Bake for 1 hour - 1 hour 20 minutes or until the cake is well risen, the top is firm and brown, and a metal skewer inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool for 5-10 minutes in the tin before lifting it out to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make cream cheese icing, mix cream cheese with a teaspoon or two of fresh orange juice, add icing sugar to taste and spread over cake when completely cool – chill and serve.