Sweet parsnips are used instead of carrots in this moist morning glory maple coffee cake. Enjoy warm with a cup of coffee or tea!

maple coffee cake with slice missing

Why We Love This Recipe For Parsnip Coffee Cake

This moist and fragrant Morning Glory Parsnip Maple Coffee Cake is perfect for a weekend brunch, Easter a holiday breakfast. I came up with the idea because I couldn’t stop obsessing about the idea of using parsnips instead of carrots in a morning glory recipe. I wondered if it would taste good, so I just had to make it happen.

I ended up making morning glory coffee cake instead of muffins; a celebration-worthy recipe, if you will. And I’ll just cut to the chase… it came out amazingly well. The maple syrup and naturally sweet parsnips and raisins make this ultra moist and fragrant. You can serve it for a special occasion or just for any reason really! It’s a delicious way to enjoy parsnips in baking!

In the spring when we get parsnips in our CSA, I’ll just simply roast parsnips or add them to stew. But I was recently thinking about the fact that they are so similar to carrots, that they seemed like a likely candidate to shred and add to a baking recipe, just as you would for carrot cake or… morning glory muffins. Then the idea of making a festive spring celebration worthy coffee cake came to mind and I was grabbing my whisk in the blink of an eye.

slice of maple coffee cake on a plate

Key Ingredients For This Recipe

Parsnips

The star of this recipe is fresh parsnips. With this recipe, I definitely confirmed that indeed you can bake with parsnips, and they are a great sub for carrots in this morning glory recipe! Peel them and grate them with a box grater. Parsnips have an aromatic earthy yet caramel/honey flavor that goes very well with the flavors typically used in a morning glory recipe.

Cane Sugar

To Sweeten the Streusel topping, I used cane sugar because it helped the texture of the topping stay crisp. You can find cane sugar in the bulk department in health food stores or in the natural baking section of large supermarkets. The streusel topping I used is the same as in these apple streusel muffins– which means I called for natural cane sugar. The contrasting crunch it adds is such a delight!

Maple Syrup

Parsnips are very sweet naturally, so the amount of added sugars needed to sweeten the cake was less than a typical coffee cake. I ended up dropping the maple syrup down to 3/4 cup. Partially because the cake was TOO MOIST (yes apparently there is such a thing) but also because I felt it was too sweet for a breakfast cake. Plus, the raisins really help to sweeten it up quite a bit. When I dropped the maple down, the flavor of the parsnips was more pronounced, which I really loved.

Applesauce

I used applesauce in place of butter in the cake, and also used avocado oil (only 1/2 cup for 12 servings!)

Spices

I added ground ginger to the spices because the flavor works well with the parsnips. Plus cinnamon in both the coffee cake batter and streusel topping. I didn’t use coconut in this recipe because I didn’t want to overpower the flavor of the parsnips or maple.

Other Ingredients For the Streusel Topping

  • ¼ cup old-fashioned oats
  • ¼ cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

Other Ingredients For The Cake

  • ½ cup organic canola or avocado oil
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 cup white whole-wheat flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ cup raisins
  • ½ cup chopped toasted walnuts
slice of maple coffee cake on a plate

Step By Step Instructions For This Recipe

Step 1: Prepare pan and preheat oven

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Grease a 10-inch spring-form pan or mist it with cooking spray.

Step 2: Make Streusel

Rub together the oats, flour, cane sugar, butter and ½ teaspoon cinnamon in a small bowl with clean fingertips until crumbly. Set the mixture aside for the topping.

Step 3: Make Wet Mix

Whisk maple syrup, applesauce, oil, eggs and vanilla in a large bowl.

Step 4: Make Dry Mix

Whisk flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger and salt in a small bowl.

Step 5: Stir Batter and Bake

Add the flour mixture to the wet mixture and stir to combine with a silicone spatula. Add the parsnip, raisins and walnuts and stir to combine.

Spread batter in the pan, top with streusel and transfer to the oven.

Bake until the cake is puffed and the top is golden, about 55 minutes.

Step 6: Cool and Serve

Let cake cool at least one hour. Cut into wedges and serve.

slice of maple coffee cake next to parsnips

FAQs and Expert Tips for Morning Glory Parsnip Maple Coffee Cake

Can this be made ahead?

We love this cake fresh from the oven, but because it is so moist it also can be made ahead. This can be made ahead up to two days. We recommend wrapping it loosely in foil, setting it on a baking sheet and warming at 325 degrees F for 20 minutes before serving.

Can this coffee cake be frozen?

This cake can be frozen u to one month. Wrap cooled cake in plastic wrap and a layer of foil before freezing. Remove any frosty plastic before thawing on the counter.

What is the difference between a coffee cake and a crumb cake?

Coffee cake is less sweet cake served for breakfast, whereas crumb cake is a sweeter dessert cake served after a meal.

More Recipes You May Like

Thanks so much for reading! If you are new here, you may want to sign up for my email newsletter to get a free weekly menu plan and the latest recipes right to your inbox. If you make this recipe, please come back and leave a star rating and review. I would love to hear what you thought!

Happy Cooking! ~Katie

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Maple Parsnip Morning Glory Coffee Cake #baking #healthy #parsnips #easter #brunch #coffeecake

Parsnip Maple Coffee Cake


5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

5 from 4 reviews

Description

Maple Parsnip Morning Glory Coffee Cake made with applesauce, whole-wheat flour avocado oil. Flavored with raisins, cinnamon, walnuts and crunchy sweet streusel topping.


Ingredients

Units Scale

Streusel Topping

  • 1/4 cup old-fashioned oats
  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoons granulated natural cane sugar (evaporated cane juice)
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Cake

  • 3/4 cup dark pure maple syrup
  • 3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
  • 1/2 cup organic canola or avocado oil
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 cup white whole-wheat flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups shredded peeled parsnips
  • 1/2 cup raisins
  • 1/2 cup chopped toasted walnuts

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease a 10-inch spring-form pan or mist with cooking spray.
  2. Make Streusel: Rub together oats, flour, cane sugar, butter and ½ teaspoon cinnamon in a small bowl with clean fingertips until crumbly. Set aside
  3. Make Coffee Cake: Whisk maple syrup, applesauce, oil, eggs and vanilla in a large bowl.
  4. Whisk flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger and salt in a small bowl.
  5. Add the flour mixture to the wet mixture and stir to combine with a silicone spatula. Add parsnip, raisins and walnuts and stir to combine. Spread batter in the pan, top with streusel and transfer to the oven. Bake until the cake is puffed and the top is golden, about 55 minutes.
  6. Let cake cool at least one hour. Cut into wedges and serve.

Notes

Freezing

This cake can be frozen u to one month. Wrap cooled cake in plastic wrap and a layer of foil before freezing. Remove any frosty plastic before thawing on the counter.

  • Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Cook Time: 55 minutes
  • Category: Breakfast
  • Method: Baked
  • Cuisine: American

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1/12 cake
  • Calories: 290
  • Fat: 16
  • Carbohydrates: 34
  • Fiber: 3
  • Protein: 4

More Baking Recipes You’ll Love:

Mini Gluten-free Sweet Potato Praline Bundt Cakes

Maple Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Sweet Potato Coffee Cake

Healthy Zucchini Oat Bread

Leek and Parmesan Savory Muffins

A plate of food with a slice of cake on a table, with Coffee cake and Maple Syrup