Parsnip and Date Cake

Because my son has recently been diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes, I have been thinking how best to make him a special cake with no, or very low, sugar.

I remembered that during World War 2 my mother used carrots or parsnips to fill out our sugar ration.

I eventually found her recipe for this Date and Parsnip cake. We couldn’t get bananas during the war and her recipe used apple puree (from our tree in the garden) but I have used banana for extra flavour.

Parsnip and Date Cake Recipe

250g Parsnips - boiled and mashed
200g Unsweetened Dates - chopped
100g Margarine or Butter
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Essence
1 Teaspoon Bicarbonate of Soda
1 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
300g Self-Raising Flour
2 Ripe Bananas - mashed up
Little Water

Put dates in saucepan with just enough water to cover them. Simmer gently until dates begin to break up. Then add margarine, mashed banana, and vanilla essence. When margarine has melted take the saucepan off the heat.

Then add the mashed parsnips and mix together thoroughly.

Sift together the flour, cinnamon and Bicarbonate of Soda. Add to parsnip mixture gradually. It should be a dropping consistency. You can add a little water if it seems too stiff

Put into a greased cake tin and bake in a preheated oven for about 60 minutes. It’s a good idea to check it after 45 minutes because your oven might not be the same as mine.

Turn out on to a wire rack to cool.

I covered the top with an icing made from Cream Cheese and a little orange juice. My nutritionist daughter tells me a sugar-free alternative is to add a little apple concentrate or small amount of Agave syrup to the topping if wanted. Or add 2-3 Stevia drops (a natural sweetener made from Stevia leaves) to the orange juice, and mix it in extremely well, before adding it to the cream cheese.

I think this cake would keep well, though ours was all eaten straight away - even though it was sugar-free!