Maple syrup and parsnip cake

This cake could not be classified as healthy, even though if you eat enough of it you will have several of your five-a-day. Unfortunately, the benefits of the apple, parsnip, lime and orange are cancelled out by the devilish amounts of butter, sugar and syrup- but everyone needs to spoil themselves occasionally (regularly in my case). Thoroughly indulgent, this moist treat could tempt even the most stringent of carbophobes!

Maple syrup and parsnip cake

CAKE170g butter
240g soft brown sugar
90ml maple syrup
3 eggs
230g self-raising flour
half a teaspoon of cinnamon (optional)
half a teaspoon of nutmeg/ground ginger (optional)
one and a half teaspoons of baking powder (to give an extra lift)
one apple, grated
3 parsnips, grated (about 250g when prepared)
2 shots of whisky
zest of a large orange

TOPPINGmarscapone
ricotta
maple syrup
zest and juice of 2 limes (or to taste... you want the acidic lime to cut through the blandness of the cheeses)

Preheat the oven to 200C and grease two 23cm baking tins.
Over a low-to-medium heat, melt the sugar, butter, whisky and maple syrup together. Once thoroughly melted and combined, set aside to cool down slightly.
Beat the eggs and slowly add into the cooled mixture.
Whisk the dry ingredients into the mixture, then the rest if the ingredients.
Pour into the cases and put into the oven.
After 10 minutes in the oven, turn the heat down to 180C.
The cakes should be cooked after around 35 minutes, but check the cakes with a fork after 25 minutes.
When the cakes have cooked, leave them in their tins for 5 minutes (to keep their shape), and then turn out onto wire racks to cool down.

Maple syrup and parsnip cake

Beat the marscapone until the volume begins to increase.
Then beat in the maple syrup.
Add the ricotta and the lime juice, and whisk until you get a smooth, creamy and sweet mixture.
Once the cakes have cooled down, top them with the icing.

..Try to put your mixture in the oven as soon as you can once you've added the baking power, as it immediately reacts with the wet ingredients.

..You could decorate the cake with walnuts or pecans.

Maple syrup and parsnip cake

Adapted from Catherine Berwick's Parsnip and Maple Syrup Cake

Hollandaise sauce

Egg and hollandaise sauce



Egg and hollandaise sauce

Normally, hollandaise sauce is made with raw egg yolk, lemon juice, vinegar and (salted) butter, but I didn't have half of those ingredients, so I decided to improvise...

Serves 1

2 egg yolks
pepper, salt, herbs
50g butter,
2/3 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Beat the yolks with their seasoning, until they start to increase in size.
In a small saucepan, heat teh vinegar on a medium heat until it starts to bubble. As it soon as it starts to reduce, pour it into the egg mixture, beating whilst adding.
In the same pan used for the vinegar, melt the butter until it starts to foam, and add into the egg/vinegar mixture, once again whisking at the same time. Never add the egg mixture to the pan as the direct heat will cause the mixture to curdle, resulting in scrambled eggs.

Serve with eggs (poached or dry fried), smoked salmon, and tomatoes softened for 5 minutes in the pan.



When using the traditional hollandaise sauce recipe, you can substitute with lime to add more sharpness.

Courgette and Lime Cake

Ingredients

Cake

4 large eggs

200ml rapeseed oil - oil provides moistness and replaces butter

4 courgettes

280g caster sugar

450g self raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp sodium bicarbonate

zest and juice of 2 limes

Icing

500g icing sugar

zest and juice of 2 limes

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and grease 3 tins.

Grate the courgettes and add the lime juice and zest.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the rest of the ingredients, and then add the courgette-lime mixture. Even if the oil looks like too much, just keep stirring!

Cook for 30 minutes and then take out of the oven and leave to cool.

When the cake has cooled down, make the icing.

Zest and juice the limes, and then add the sugar. Beat until you have a strong consistency. If it looks like glacée icing, add more sugar... if it looks like fondant icing, add some more lime juice or water.

Spread the icing over the cakes, and leave to set.