If you like carrot cake, you'll love this recipe!

Ingredients:

For the sponge:

1 and ¼ cups of sunflower or olive oil

1 and ½ cups of chopped walnuts divided into 3 parts

4 large eggs

3 cups of peeled and grated parsnips

1 teaspoon of good quality vanilla

2 cups of castor sugar

2 cups of Self Raising flour

2 teaspoons of baking powder

1 teaspoon of salt

1 teaspoon of cinnamon

1 teaspoon of nutmeg

For the icing:

1 and ½ cups of unsalted butter

3 cups of icing sugar

1 teaspoon of good quality vanilla

1 teaspoon of salted caramel essence

Method:

Grease and line two 20.5cm sandwich tins and pre-heat the oven to 160C / gas mark 4 (if using a fan oven heat to 180C)

Sponge:

Beat the eggs well and add to oil and vanilla then add sugar. Beat hard until all combined.

Sift flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and add parsnips and 1/3 of the walnuts.

Add egg mixture and stir mixture until all ingredients combined.

Bake for 30 – 35 mins until sponge springs back when touched.

Leave cakes in tins for 5 minutes then turn onto a wire rack and peel of lining paper. Allow to cool.

Icing:

In a bowl beat the butter with a wooden spoon until soft. Add vanilla and salted caramel and beat until combined.