Most of the time when I try a recipe it’s either because it contains an ingredients (or combination of ingredients) that I love or because the photo is so enticing I can’t resist. This recipe, however, I made purely out of curiosity. I’ve never had a parsnip before and I’ve certainly never tried parsnip bread but I was intrigued. I discovered quick breads and cakes/cupcakes incorporating zucchini this summer so I figured why not try parsnips!
This is a simple quick bread recipe: combine the dry ingredients, combine the wet ingredients and then fold the wet into the dry. The amount of oil in the recipe did give me cause for concern: 1/4 cup of oil for the whole loaf? It didn’t seem like enough (the batter was quite thick) and I definitely didn’t want a super dense bread. Since I’ve never baked with parsnips, I didn’t know how much moisture they’d add. I decided to play it safe and added another 2 tablespoons or so of oil to the batter. I made 2 mini loaves and baked them for about 45 minutes. The verdict? Overall – good! Much better flavor and moistness after a day on the counter wrapped tightly. The allspice and cloves are quite prominent and the parsnips do lend a bit of sweetness to the bread. I omitted the nuts the recipe called for because I don’t like walnuts but next time I’d probably add something for a bit of contrast and texture (maybe chocolate chips). Even though I didn’t completely fall in love with this recipe, I like knowing that I can swap parsnips for carrots or zucchini in some of my other favorite recipes!
Spiced Parsnip Bread
from Relish Magazine
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
1/2 pound parsnips (about 2 medium), peeled and finely shredded (about 1 1/2 cups for me)
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons walnut or canola oil
1 egg, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (I omitted)
Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly butter a 9 x 5-inch or 8 x 4-inch loaf pan (I used 2 mini loaf pans).
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, allspice, cloves and salt; set aside. In a medium bowl, stir together sugar, parsnips, oil, egg and vanilla. Fold the parsnip mixture into the flour mixture, stirring just until combined. Fold in walnuts, if using. Spoon batter into prepared pan(s).
Bake 55 to 65 minutes, until a knife inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from oven; cool in pan on wire rack.
(Visited 241 times, 1 visits today)
Lemon Bars
Glazed Grapefruit Cake
Orange Sherbet
Meyer Lemon Pound Cake
Interesting! I ve never made bread with parsnips. looks good though 🙂
I’m intrigued by this recipe. I’ve never had parsnip bread before. Will be bookmarking this one for the future.
Glad to see it turned out well! I had never heard of parsnip in baked goods until you mentioned it, but thinking about it, it does make sense – they are rather similar in texture to carrots. I feel I may have to go buy some parsnips, I’m rather curious as well! Although I might look for a different carrot or zucchini bread recipe and sub in the parsnips, since this one didn’t wow you.
I have to be honest, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a parsnip! I’ll have to keep my eye out next time I’m in ther store.
Ohhh parsnip bread! What an interesting idea! And a great sub for zucchini!!!
I don’t think I’ve ever eaten a parsnip. The bread sounds interesting though.
you are a DeLight to read. I love the open-mind about trying things just because and the honesty about whether or not you liked the recipe. Thank You!