You Can Eat Your Veggies and Eat Cake Too!

I am always looking for ways to add vegetables to our diet so I visit several vegetarian/vegan blogs on a weekly basis.   Some have really good recipes but not great content, some great content but so-so recipes and the occasional blog has both. I read the blog The Chubby Vegetarian regularly.  He usually has something that interests me and when I saw this recipe for vegetable cake I knew I was going to try it.  I was intrigued but was a tad curious about how it would taste. I tweaked it a just a tad and this is how I made it.  If you want to see the original recipe go here but you will have to scroll a bit.

                                                                Vegetable Bunt Cake

2 medium peeled carrots, grated
1 small summer squash, grated
1 small zucchini, grated
1 cup buttermilk
3 large eggs
2/3 cup coconut oil, melted
2 cups light brown sugar
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 cup oven roasted chopped pecans ( would probably be delicious with walnuts too)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.   Grease and flour a bunt pan and set it aside
Measure out 2 cups of the grated vegetables. ( I used a box grater but will probably run the  grated veggies through the food processor blade next time. I think the veggies shredded and cross cut might have a better "mouth feel" See reactions below*) and set it aside

In a large mixing bowl mix the buttermilk, eggs, coconut oil and brown sugar until well blended.  Set aside.

Combine flour, salt, baking powder and pumpkin pie spice.  Mix it well to blend the ingredients then add it to the sugar mixture.  Stir well until all the dry ingredients are thoroughly blended and the batter is smooth.  Stir in the veggies and mix well to distribute them evenly throughout the batter.  Stir in the chopped nuts.  Pour batter into the prepared pan.  Pat the bottom to remove any air bubbles an put in the oven.  Bake for 1 hour until a knife inserted in the middle of the cake is clean. ( You are baking vegetables so it will not be totally clear, it will have vegetable juices on it, but no wet batter)  Remove from the oven to a cooling rack and let it cool enough to touch.  Shake the bunt pan a couple of times to loosen the cake, put a clean cooling rack on top of the pan and invert the cake.  If desired, place a plate beneath the cooling rack and drizzle the cake with lemon glaze. ( See below)  Let the cake cool completely and remove it from the rack and place it on a serving plate.


Lemon Glaze
Juice from 1 lemon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 box confectioners sugar

Whisk the mixture in a medium bowl until it reaches the consistency of honey.  Drizzle over the warm cake.

This cake had mixed reviews.  Son3 was the first to taste it and at first he declared it tasted good, but *then started gagging.  He is a tactile eater and hates the consistency of squash.  A strand of it found its way to his tongue and it was all over after that.  So I  guess you could call that a strong NO?  I sent a few slices to Mom and Dad.  Mom was indifferent to it especially since she does not like "spicy" food.  Dad loved it and ate both slices I sent him for a mid-morning snack.  My Beloved Sister was at Mom and Dad's later that day and Mom made her try the second piece I sent for Mother.  She thought it was very good.

I ate a piece that afternoon and another that evening.  I liked it so much I had to put the rest of it in the freezer so it would no longer tempt me.  It is in the freezer now yelling at me but I am trying to ignore its sirens call.  To be perfectly honest, it has what I consider an autumn flavor and I think it would love it best on a fall day with a mug of coffee or cup of hot tea.

One thing I might add is that this cake is a tad touchy, so don't do what I did and check on it and accidentally shut the oven door too hard.  It kind of (immediately) sunk a little in the center.  Be gentle with it and you will be fine.

You will also notice when you look at the picture that the glaze is conspicuously missing.  That would be because I completely forgot about using it.  It now lives in a container in the freezer waiting for a turn topping some other treat.  Trust me, my mouth did not notice it was not there. In fact, when I make it again this fall I'm tempted to use a maple glaze rather than lemon.

Since the summer squash and zucchini are in season right now I am grating it and freezing it, mixed together in 1 cup packages.  When the leaves turn colors and the air is crisp I will bake this again...several times.   Son3 will be back in school so I don't have to worry about his opinion and I won't share it with Mom.  Everybody else is welcome to drop by for conversation and cake!