The 2014 edition of Wellington On A Plate’s Bake Club (‘like a book club, but tastier’) is underway and next week’s challenge is to make a cake that includes vegetables as a star ingredient. I was shocked when one of my fellow bakers remarked she’d never heard of a vegetable cake before – if you’re in the same boat, here are my own top five fab vegetable cake recipes.
1. Chocolate Potato Cake: To be sure, this is not some kind of Irish joke, but a moist, dense cake slathered in a Baileys-laced cream cheese icing. It’s addictive (and it doesn’t use much Baileys so there’s plenty for the cook to knock back afterwards).
2. Kumara and Cardamom Cake: For something a little more refined and subtle, with complex flavours and a great texture, this cake can’t be beat. It’s also gluten-free (but don’t let that put you off if you’re a gluten fan).
3. Pumpkin Praline Cheesecake: Does cheesecake count? I think so – and this one will convert the most reluctant pumpkin eater. My idea of a good night in is one of these cheesecakes, a sofa and a spoon.
4. The Ultimate Carrot Cake: I know carrot cake is a bit ubiquitous, but this is one of my all-time favourites, with lots of carrot, fruit and nuts in a dense, spicy batter.
5. The Best-Ever Beetroot Cake: This is another winner, not least because the beetroot turns it pink. I’m not normally a fan of pink food, but somehow it works with cake. Anyway, this scores highly on the unusual-ness score (I’m sure that’s one of the judging criteria).
Do you have a favourite vegetable-based cake? Let me know in the comments below – now that I’ve shared my favourite recipes I’m going to have to dig out something pretty special to win!
Have a great weekend everyone x
i've been hankering after a good carrot cake recipe and that ones looks deliciously moist. i'll have to give it a try!
Carrot cake is my all-time favourite – so you can be sure that this one is a good 'un!
ooh I love vegies in cake – yours all look fab – I have an avocado pound cake on my blog but wonder if that is technically fruit. I quite fancy two recipes I have never tried – parsnip cake and tomato soup cake (there is a recipe for sylvia' plath's tomato soup cake online.
I can't imagine Sylvia Plath as much of a baker… but I have heard of that recipe before and am sort of morbidly fascinated by it (appropriate, given the SP link!). I can definitely recommend parsnip cakes, the parsnip caramelises and tastes very unlike what you would think. I'll check out your avocado cake too…
Potato cake! Wow, that's one I never would have dreamed up. But when I think about it I'm sure that I once made a strudel recipe that had mashed potato in the pastry. The icing sounds amazing. What a great alternative cake for anyone on a gluten free diet. These all look so good. They will make great autumn baking. I can't share anything more adventurous than these they do all sound like winners. If I think of anythink I'll let you know. Good luck with the competition.
debx
ps I can't believe this but I also have a plate like the last one in your image above. Seems that we have vintage plate duplication going on…
have a cool weekend
Sadly, that plate is no more – I'd forgotten all about it until I pulled this photo out of my archives. Still, it had had a long and happy life before it came to me.
Veges rule in baking as far as I am concerned. But that may be something to do with the fact I have just made kumara bread :o) Happy WOAP baking.
Kumara bread? I need the recipe for that too!
I am also always shocked when I learn people have never had a vegetable cake, even a Carrot Cake. I love vegetables and cakes and have been making them a while, to use up homegrown veg mostly. My favourite is perhaps Parsnip and Beetroot Variations, but I recently made a Spinach Cake bookmarked from a book actually called Vegetarian Desserts: Beyond Carrot Cake and Pumpkin Pie by Elizabeth Schafter see this link about the book, not the recipe http://allotment2kitchen.blogspot.com/2014/06/soft-centred-celery-cookies.html
Good luck with the competition.
I'm intrigued by those celery cookies! Thanks for the book recommendation, it sounds fantastic.
What a tantalizing use of veggies in cake – and the photos make me want to try them all. The only veggie cake I have ever tried to date is carrot cake – which I happen to love.
Thanks Liz – the kumara and potato cakes will convert people who don't like vege cakes, so I recommend giving them a try. If you like carrot cake then I think you'll love the beetroot one. Thanks for stopping by.
Looks tempting..Cake is something that I can eat anytime. Just loved the pictures you posted. Thanks.
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Hi Lucy
Thank you for this post.
Your all cakes are looks awesome specially The Ultimate Carrot Cake are delicious.
week's challenge is to make a cake that includes vegetables as a star ingredient. I was shocked when one of my fellow bakers remarked she'd never heard of a vegetable cake before – if you're in the same boat, here are my own top five fab vegetable cake recipes. – See more at: http://kitchen-maid.blogspot.com/2014/08/five-fab-vegetable-cake-recipes.html#sthash.NDHPwRsl.dpuf x rated cakes
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