Food52’s “Genius Dessert: 100 Recipes That Will Change The Way You Bake” is among our favorite new fall cookbooks. Peruse the beautifully-photographed volume by Kristen Miglore and you’ll see why: Miglore has brought together clever cakes, easy cookies and show-stopping tarts by some of the most important bakers and pastry chefs of our time, all in one place.

Looking for the perfect chocolate mousse? It’s in there. How about a whole orange cake that uses cut pieces of whole oranges instead of the time-honored yet time-consuming tradition of boiling citrus? It’s in there. This quirky cake gets its wonderful moistness and kick from parsnips and a creamy, pinkish buttercream you’ll want to slather on everything.

Lucky Peach’s Parsnip Cake with Blood Orange Buttercream

Serves 12 to 16

Ingredients:

3 large eggs

1 cup sugar

½ cup neutral oil (such as grapeseed)

½ cup milk

1 teaspoon kosher salt

½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1½ cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon each freshly grated nutmeg, ground allspice, ground cloves

1 pound parsnips, peeled and grated (about 2 cups)

1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger or ½ teaspoon ground ginger

Buttercream:

½ cup freshly-squeezed blood orange juice (from 5 small blood oranges)

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

3 to 4 cups powdered sugar

Directions:

  1. To make the cake, heat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9 by 13-inch
    cake pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.
  2. Whisk together the eggs, sugar, oil, milk, salt and vanilla until smooth. Add the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and cloves and whisk together until smooth and homogenous, about 2 minutes. Fold the parsnips and ginger into the batter.
  3. Pour the batter into the pan — the batter won’t rise much, so you can fill the pan to within ½ inch of the top. Bake until a toothpick stuck in the middle comes out with just crumbs clinging, about 24 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack and cool completely.
  4. To make the buttercream, pour the blood orange juice into a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over high heat. Reduce heat and continue to simmer until the juice is reduced to a syrup, about 10 minutes. Cool completely.
  5. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the blood orange syrup and beat until incorporated (the buttercream won’t come together at first, so start on low speed, and then turn the speed way up by the end). Drape a kitchen towel over the top of the mixer to contain any flying sugar, then add the powdered sugar to the mixture 1 cup at a time, blending well on low speed, until it’s a spreadable consistency (and sweetness level) you like. Slather the frosting on the cake and serve. Store any leftovers airtight at room temperature.

— From Food52’s “Genius Dessert: 100 Recipes That Will Change the Way You Bake” by Kristen Miglore (Ten Speed Press, 2018)