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brown butter parsnip loaf cake

brown butter parsnip loaf cake

Megan
this brown butter parsnip loaf cake is filled with shredded parsnips, brown butter, yogurt, lots of spice and notes of caramel running through. top this lovely loaf with a brown butter honey cream cheese buttercream.
4.89 from 9 votes
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 55 minutes
Cooling Time 15 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 35 minutes
Course Breakfast, brunch, Dessert
Cuisine American

Equipment

  • 9X5 loaf pan, preferrably metal
  • stand mixer with ballon whisk attachment and paddle attachment or electric hand mixer with beaters
  • parchment paper
  • medium sauce pan
  • 2 c capacity measuring cup

Ingredients
  

brown butter parnsip cake

  • 1 c (120g) cake flour sub with all purpose or see notes
  • ¾ c (90g) all purpose flour
  • c (30g) almond flour sub with ¼ c all purpose
  • 1 ½ tsp (2.5g) ground ginger
  • 1 ½ tsp (4g) ground cinnamon
  • ¼ tsp ground all spice
  • ¼ tsp ground cardamom
  • 1 tsp (6g) baking soda
  • ½ tsp (2g) baking powder
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • 12 tbsp (170g) unsalted butter, browned and reduced to ½ c (113g), softened to room temperature sub ½ c (113g) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • ½ c (100g) light brown sugar
  • ½ c (100g) granulated sugar
  • zest from one medium orange
  • 2 (114g) large eggs, room temperature
  • 2 tsp (10ml) vanilla extract
  • ½ tsp (2.5ml) almond extract
  • c (79ml) whole milk greek yogurt, room temperature
  • 1 ½ c (354ml) shredded parnsips (about 2-3 medium parnsips)

brown butter honey cream cheese buttercream

  • 6 tbsp (85 g) unsalted butter, browned, reduced to 4 tablespoon (56g) and cooled to room temperautre/softened sub with 4 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
  • 4 oz. (112g) full fat cream cheese, room temperature
  • 2-3 tsp (10-15ml) honey
  • 1 teaspoon (10ml) vanilla extract
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1 ½ c (180g) powdered sugar, sifted
  • 1-2 tbsp (15-30ml) milk or heavy cream as needed
  • addtional honey for topping

Instructions
 

brown butter parsnip loaf cake

  • Make brown butter the day before or about an hour before you plan to bake the loaf.
    It will need 45-60 minutes to cool enough to become the texture of softened butter. To make the brown butter, melt butter in a clear heavy bottom sauce pan. Once the butter starts to foam, whisk continuously until brown bits start to form. Remove from heat, pour into clean bowl and cool 30 minutes to room temperature and transfer to the fridge for an additonal 30 minutes.
    Line 9×5 loaf pan with parchment paper, leaving 1-2 in. overhang on the sides. Preheat oven to 350F. Convection ovens should reduce temperature to 325F. Regular oven baking is recommended for cakes.
  • Whisk together all flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices in a seperate bowl. Set aside.
    Clean, peel and grate the parnsips. Make sure to measure the final amount in a measuring cup.
  • In a stand mixer with whisk attachment (or by hand with a whisk), whisk sugars and zest toegther until a wet sand like texture forms. Add in the softened brown butter and beat until well combined, about 2-3 minutes on low-medium speed.
    Add eggs, beating well after each one until well combined. Add vanilla and almond extracts, beating until well combined.
  • In this order (dry ingredients, yogurt, dry, yogurt, dry), add dry ingredients to the wet alternating with the yogurt. Slowly beat each time until JUST combined. A few flour streaks is okay! Fold in the shredded parsnips.
    Evenly scoop ½ the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Evenly smooth into the corners and along the sides. Scoop the remaining ½ batter into the pan and repeat.
  • Bake at 350F for 45 minutes. Return to the oven for 10-20 minutes, checking for doneness every 5 minutes (55-65 minutes total). When a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs, its done.
    Cool in pan for 20 minutes. Carefully remove from pan, using the excess parchment. Continue cooling on cooling rack for an addtional 20-30 minutes. Loaf needs to be completely cooled before frosting. Once frosted, drizzle honey on top if you like.

brown butter honey cream cheese buttercream

  • It will need 45-60 minutes to cool enough to become the texture of softened butter. To make the brown butter, melt butter in a clear heavy bottom sauce pan. Once the butter starts to foam, whisk continuously until brown bits start to form. Remove from heat, pour into clean bowl and cool 30 minutes to room temperature and transfer to the fridge for an additonal 30 minutes.
  • Cream together cooled and softened brown butter, room temperature cream cheese, honey, vanilla and salt until creamy and well combined, about 4-5 minutes.
    Stop and scrape down sides of bowl as needed. Add sifted powdered sugar ½ c at a time, beating each addition of powdered sugar until incorporated. Scrape down sides of mixing bowl as needed. Beat on high until the buttercream is fully incorpated and desired consistency. If the buttercream is too thick, add 1-2 tablespoon milk or heavy cream, beating until well incorporated. Using an offset spatula or frosting knife to spread on top of completely cooled parsnip loaf cake. Top with drizzle of honey.

Notes

diy cake flour: measure out 120g all purpose flour. scoop out 2 tablespoon (30g) flour. replace this 2 tablespoon flour with 2 tablespoon cornstarch. sift this new flour blend 4-5 times. you now have an approximate cup of cake flour. follow the recipe as written for the remaining ingredients. 
brown butter: I prefer to make this the day before I plan to make the cake. to do this, simply brown the butter, cool to room temperature in a heat proof bowl. once the brown butter has cooled, pour the butter into an airtight container and store in the fridge. bring to room temperature the same way you would regular unsalted butter. if using a food scale, you can make a big batch of brown butter and slice off/measure the amount chilled and reformed butter you need for the recipe. 
Keyword brown butter, brown butter cream cheese buttercream, brown butter parnsip, spiced loaf cake
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