Parsnip, pear + star anise cake
The most wintry of cakes. This plant-based Bundt cake is moist, fragrant and flavourful, with grated parsnip, pear and ground star anise pairing for a symphony of delicious. If you're feeling extra, I recommend making the crunchy maple-roasted parsnip chips to decorate - stunning has never been so simple.
Top Tip - if you don’t own a 25cm Bundt tin, the cake can be baked in a 25cm round cake tin - baking times may vary.
hands-on time
25 minutes
1 hour 45 minutes
total time
one large 25cm Bundt cake
makes
Ingredients
Cake batter
150g soft brown sugar
100g caster sugar
250ml canola oil
200ml non-dairy milk (e.g. soy, oat or almond)
2 tsp vanilla extract
225g spelt flour
150g plain flour
1 tbsp ground star anise
2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp baking powder
1 ½ tsp baking soda
¾ tsp sea salt
250g grated parsnip, from 3 medium-large peeled parsnips
150g grated pear, from 1 medium ripe-yet-firm Beurre bosc pear
Parsnip chips
1 medium parsnip
2 tsp maple syrup
2 tsp olive oil
sea salt, to sprinkle
Glaze
1 medium Beurre bosc pear, grated
175 icing sugar, sifted
½ tsp ground star anise
Method
Preheat the oven to 160°C fan-forced (180°C conventional). Grease the base, sides and centre of a 25cm round Bundt tin with oil then dust lightly with flour (this helps to prevent the cake from sticking to the tin).
To make the cake batter, in a large bowl, whisk together the sugars, oil, milk and vanilla until well combined. In a separate bowl, whisk together the spelt flour, plain flour, star anise, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet to form a smooth, relatively thick batter. Add the grated parsnip and pear, and fold evenly into the batter. Spoon the batter evenly into the greased and floured Bundt tin, smoothing the top with the back of a spoon. Bake for about 55 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake ring comes out clean. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for 15 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack to cool completely.
As the cake cools, make the parsnip chips. Using a vegetable peeler, slice the parsnip lengthways into long thin ribbons. Place the parsnip ribbons in a bowl, add the maple syrup and oil and toss to coat. Arrange the parsnip ribbons on a large baking paper-lined oven tray in a single layer. Sprinkle with sea salt, then bake for 12-15 minutes until deliciously golden on the edges. Remove from the oven and using your hands, curl the parsnip ribbons a little into desired shapes for decoration, then leave to cool on the tray - they will crisp up beautifully.
For the glaze, place a sieve over a medium bowl. Using your hands, squeeze handfuls of the grated pear over the sieve, so that the pear juice strains into the bowl below. Continue until you have 30ml of pear juice. To the pear juice, add the sifted icing sugar and star anise, and mix with a spoon to form a smooth glossy glaze.
To decorate, place the cooled cake onto a large serving plate or cake stand. Spoon the glaze evenly around the top of the cake, so that some of it runs down the side to create delicious-looking drips. Arrange the parsnip chips evenly around the top of the cake. Slice and serve.