The unexpected ingredient in this seasonal cake brings moreish hint of savoriness to an otherwise sweet treat – spoiler alert, it's a vegetable

Parsnip cake with white frosting and nuts on top on a wire rack with a zester and pot of honey to the side.

Chef, television presenter and best-selling cookbook author, Clodagh McKenna has shared this beautiful fall bake with Homes & Gardens and you can see her assembling it in our exclusive video, How I Host with Clodagh McKenna (coming soon!). The savory parsnip is sweetened with an indulgent maple frosting, crunchy roasted hazelnuts, some refreshing orange zest and a drizzle of Clodagh's own farm honey.

Ingredients (makes 20 squares)

• For the cake
  • 2 cups (250 g) self-rising flour (or 2 cups all-purpose flour + 2 tsp baking powder + ½ tsp salt
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 2 teaspoons mixed spice (or substitute with 1 tsp cinnamon, ½ tsp nutmeg, ½ tsp allspice)
  • ¾ cup (1 ½ sticks / 175 g) unsalted butter
  • ⅓ cup + 1 tablespoon (100 ml) pure maple syrup
  • 3 large eggs
  • 2 ½ cups (250 g) parsnips, peeled and grated (about 2 medium parsnips)
  • ½ cup (50 g) hazelnuts, roughly chopped (this Norpro nut chopper will make light work of this).
  • Zest and juice of 1 orange
• For the maple frosting
  • 10 ½ ounces (300 g / about 1 ¼ cups) cream cheese, softened
  • 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
• For the topping
  • 1 tablespoon hazelnuts, finely chopped
  • Zest of 1 orange (this microplane zester from Amazon is our choice)

Clodagh McKenna's method

(Image credit: Clodagh's Happy Cooking Cookbook, photography by David Loftus)

• Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) convection or 375°F (190°C) conventional.
  Line a 13 x 9-inch (33 x 23 cm) rectangular baking pan with parchment paper.
• In a small saucepan, melt the butter and maple syrup together over low heat. Let it cool slightly.
• Whisk the eggs into the butter-maple mixture until smooth.
• In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and mixed spice. Stir in the grated parsnips, chopped hazelnuts, orange zest, and orange juice.
• Pour in the butter-maple-egg mixture and mix until fully combined.
• Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the surface evenly and bake for 35 minutes, or until a toothpick (like these bamboo toothpicks from Amazon) inserted in the center comes out clean.
• Remove from the oven and let the cake cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
• To make the frosting: Whisk together the cream cheese and maple syrup until smooth and creamy (this KitchenAid Go Cordless Hand Mixer is the perfect tool for the job)
• Spread the frosting over the cooled cake, then sprinkle with the chopped hazelnuts and orange zest.
• Cut into 20 squares and serve.

Like the idea of adding vegetables to your sweet treats? Expert baker, Samantha Seneviratne shared a wonderful recipe for carrot cake buns with us, which are a beautiful hybrid between carrot cake and cinnamon buns and delicious for breakfast.