Alisa's Summer Vegetable Bundt Cake

It's pretty fun to have two heaping cups of vegetables hiding in something sweet -- truly, this is a cake that's not as savory as you might expect it to be. Love this because we're very slyly planning to fit tons of summer vegetables into every meal this season, and we've been mulling over some new ideas for using all kinds of vegetables in desserts.

This cake was made using Alisa Huntsman's amazing recipe for Zucchini-Carrot Bundt Cake -- there are vegan and non-vegan versions of it on her site. We love the 'get excited for gardening -- 'cause there's cake!' bribery aspect in her story behind the recipe. Now I want to make some other things from her blogs, Easier than Pie and now Will Garden for Cake and get ahold of her cookbooks.

I think this cake just may become a bargaining chip for us as well…you know, if anyone wants to come help us weed some already embarrassingly overgrown flowerbeds this week around 6 a.m. before the June heat sets in…

Alisa's Summer Vegetable Bundt Cake

2 medium carrots (peeled)
1 small yellow squash
1 small zucchini squash
1 cup milk + 2 teaspoons white vinegar (let this sit for 5 minutes)
3 large eggs
2/3 cup coconut oil (melted)
2 cups light brown sugar
3 cups all-purpose flour (we use Bob's Red Mill gluten-free just due to preference; add 1/2 tsp. xanthan gum)
1 teaspoon iodized sea salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 1/2 tablespoons pumpkin pie spice
About a tablespoon each of butter and flour for bundt pan
Lemon-Vanilla Glaze (recipe follows)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grate carrots, yellow squash, and zucchini using a box grater or run them through the food processor with a grater blade. (You will need two cups total.) Set aside. Whisk together the milk, eggs, coconut oil, and sugar and set aside. Whisk together the flour, sea salt, baking powder, and pumpkin pie spice and set aside. Now add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and stir to combine. Add the vegetable mixture and gently fold it into the batter. Spread cold butter into bundt pan and dust it with flour. Pour in the cake batter and place pan into the oven. Bake for about an hour or until knife inserted into cake comes out clean. Let cake cool and shake pan a bit after 5 minutes to loosen cake. Wait another ten minutes after that and then place a wire rack on top of the bundt pan then flip the cake onto the rack. Place a plate or cutting board underneath it. Drizzle the cake with Lemon-Vanilla Glaze while it is still warm and let it cool completely before slicing it.

Lemon-Vanilla Glaze

Juice from 1 lemon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla powder
1 teaspoon milk (add more if needed for the proper consistency)
1/2 cup powdered sugar

Whisk until mixture is the consistency of honey and set aside for drizzling over warm cake.