I’m not going to lie to you, this cake is not the healthiest option out there, but it is delicious. Plus, you can pretend it is healthy because it is full of carrots, parsnips, zucchini and apple. My son loved helping me grate the vegetables and apple. A fun afternoon spent cooking that ended with eating Fall Harvest Cake with Cinnamon Cider Frosting. Sounds good to me.
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- 2 large carrots, finely shredded or grated
- 1 large parsnip, finely shredded or grated
- 1 medium zucchini, finely shredded or grated
- 1 granny smith apple, peeled, cored and finely shredded or grated
- 1¼ C flour
- ½ C whole wheat flour
- 1½ tsp baking soda
- ¾ tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp ground ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- 3 large eggs
- 1 C sugar
- ¼ C firmly packed light brown sugar
- ½ C vegetable oil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¾ C chopped walnuts
- Frosting
- 2 T unsalted butter, room temperature
- ¾ C cream cheese, room temperature
- 2 tsp apple cider
- 1 C powdered sugar
- Pinch of ground cinnamon, and ¼ tsp for garnish
- Preheat oven 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9 inch baking pan.
- Mix together eggs, sugar, and brown sugar until light and frothy (hate that word).
- Add oil and vanilla, mix until blended.
- Add flour, whole wheat flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and ginger.
- Add carrots, parsnip, zucchini, apple and walnuts. Mix until combined.
- Spread batter evenly into pan.
- Bake on middle rack in oven until cake is uniformly brown, firm to touch and toothpick/knife comes out clean when inserted into middle of cake (about 45-55 minutes).
- Let cool for 15 minutes, then take out of cake pan and place on a cooling rack until completely cool (at least 1 hour).
- Make frosting:
- Whip together butter, cream cheese and cider for about 3 minutes (note: make sure your butter and cream cheese are soft first or your frosting will be lumpy- gross!).
- Slowly add powdered sugar and cinnamon, beat until blended.
- Add more powdered sugar and cinnamon as needed.
- Frost cooled cake.
FALL HARVEST CAKE WITH CINNAMON CIDER FROSTING
Ingredients
2 large carrots, finely shredded or grated
1 large parsnip, finely shredded or grated
1 medium zucchini, finely shredded or grated
1 granny smith apple, peeled, cored and finely shredded or grated
1 1/4 C flour
1/2 C whole wheat flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp ground ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
3 large eggs
1 C sugar
1/4 C firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 C vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 C chopped walnuts
Cider-Cinnamon Frosting
2 T unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 C cream cheese, room temperature
2 tsp apple cider (honestly not sure how much it added, feel free to omit)
1 C powdered sugar
Pinch of ground cinnamon, and 1/4 tsp for garnish
HOW TO MAKE THE FALL HARVEST CAKE WITH CINNAMON CIDER FROSTING
Preheat oven 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9 inch baking pan.
Mix together eggs, sugar, and brown sugar until light and frothy (hate that word).
Add oil and vanilla, mix until blended.
Add flour, whole wheat flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and ginger.
Add carrots, parsnip, zucchini, apple and walnuts. Mix until combined.
Spread batter evenly into pan.
Bake on middle rack in oven until cake is uniformly brown, firm to touch and toothpick/knife comes out clean when inserted into middle of cake (about 45-55 minutes). Let cool for 15 minutes, then take out of cake pan and place on a cooling rack until completely cool (at least 1 hour).
Make frosting:
Whip together butter, cream cheese and cider for about 3 minutes (note: make sure your butter and cream cheese are soft first or your frosting will be lumpy- gross!). Slowly add powdered sugar and cinnamon, beat until blended. Add more powdered sugar and cinnamon as needed.
Take a few licks (come on, you know you want to! how else will you know if it is good?)
Spread frosting evenly on top of cake and on sides. Sprinkle lightly with cinnamon.
ENJOY!
