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Dandelion root cake is a fun twist on an old classic, and you use wild foraged dandelion roots instead of carrots in this delicious wild root cake.
Each year, we try out new dandelion recipes, but most of the time, those recipes involve sweet, honey-flavored dandelion flowers.
Occasionally we’ll make savory dandelion greens recipes like pesto, but for the most part, my little ones are all about dandelion flower recipes.
Specifically, dandelion flower desserts, and we’ve made half a dozen different treats over the years, including:
- Dandelion Ice Cream
- Dandelion Marshmallows
- Dandelion Honey
- Dandelion Shortbread Cookies
- Dandelion Gummy Bears
- Dandelion Cream Pie
This year, our raised beds got completely covered with dandelions, and while I’m content to leave them for the bees in most places, I can’t abide them in my strawberry beds.
All of that deep, soft soil meant thick, well-developed dandelion roots…so it was time to try our hand at dandelion root recipes.
For the most part, dandelion roots are usually roasted to make dandelion root coffee, which is a herbal caffeine-free coffee substitute. You can also just boil the dandelion roots and serve cooked dandelion roots with butter, like you would carrots.
But can dandelion roots stand in for carrots in other places too?
You know, like making a dandelion root cake instead of a carrot cake?
We already had making carrot cake on the agenda for my little’s birthday, so I made a bit of extra batter to test out a dandelion root cake too.
Believe it or not, it was darn delicious, and my kids actually prefered it to the carrot cake!
Provided that you wash the dandelion roots really well, and peel them, they taste really mild and they’re wonderful grated into cakes.
Who knew?
Ingredients for Dandelion Root Cake
This recipe is adapted from America’s Test Kitchen’s honey carrot cake recipe.
Their recipe makes two 9” cakes, but I made it in three 6” pans instead. (It converts just right.) If you just want to test it, cut the recipe in half for a single 9” pan, or into thirds for a single 6” cake pan.
Dandelion Root Cake
1¾ cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon, ground
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground cloves (just a pinch)
½ tsp salt
1/2 cup honey
¾ cup vegetable oil (or melted butter)
3 large eggs
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
3 cups peeled, shredded dandelion roots
Cream Cheese Frosting
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
8 Tbsp. Unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup to 1/2 cup honey
1 tsp vanilla
Pinch salt
Making Dandelion Root Cake
Making dandelion root cake starts with harvesting dandelion roots. You need about 4 large carrots in the original recipe, but dandelion roots are hardly standard.
You also lose quite a bit when you peel them, since they’re often irregularly shaped. You’re going to need quite a few dandelion roots to make a full batch, but if you make a 1/3rd batch for a single 6” cake, you only need 1 cup of grated roots, which you can get from about 6 good-sized dandelion roots.
Start by thoroughly washing the dandelion roots.
It can help to soak them in the sink to get as much dirt as possible out of the nooks and crannies.
When they’re as clean as you can get them, peel them with a sharp peeler. This removes the last bits of dirt, but it also removes the bitter outer layer.
The inside of dandelion roots is mild, while the peel is bitter. You can actually cook the peeled roots into a tasty mashed potatoes substitute too…provided you peel them well.
Once they’re peeled, grate the roots and soak the grated roots in water for at least an hour (or overnight). This isn’t strictly necessary, but it can pull out any remaining bitterness in the roots if you’ve harvested them late in the season.
They’re a good bit sweeter very early in the season if you harvest them before the dandelions go to flower.
(The same is also true of carrots, and if you harvest them after they go to flower, they’ll be bitter too, so it’s not all that different.)
After that, the process proceeds as it otherwise would for making any carrot cake. Mix the dry ingredients and then the wet ones in a separate bowl. Stir to combine, and then stir in the grated roots.
Pour into a prepared baking pan and bake until set.
Wait until it’s completely cool to frost the cake, or serve it as a snacking cake without frosting, either way.
Dandelion Root Recipes
Looking for more dandelion root recipes?
Dandelion Root Cake
Ingredients
Dandelion Root Cake
- 1¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp cinnamon, ground
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/8 tsp ground cloves, just a pinch
- ½ tsp salt
- 1/2 cup honey
- ¾ cup vegetable oil, or melted butter
- 3 large eggs
- 1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
- 3 cups peeled, shredded dandelion roots
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 8 Tbsp. Unsalted butter, softened
- 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup honey
- 1 tsp vanilla
- Pinch salt
Instructions
- Prepare your dandelion roots by first washing them thoroulgy, and then peeling them to completely remove the outside layer. Grate them with a coarse grater and then measure.
- Mix the dry ingredients together in a bowl, an then set aside.
- Mix all the wet ingredients (except dandelion roots) together and then add into the dry ingredients. Stir to just combine.
- Add the peeled, grated dandelion root and stir to incorporate.
- Butter and flour your cake pans, and then pour into prepared cake pans (two 9'' pans for a full recipe).
- Bake the cakes at 350 F for 28 to 35 minutes, until they're fully cooked and set in the center.
- Remove the cakes from the oven and allow them to cool for about 10 minutes in the pan before turning out onto a cooling rack. Cool completely before frosting.
- Make the frosting by beating all the frosting ingredients together until smooth and fluffy, about 3 to 5 minutes. Frost the cooled cake and serve.
Dandelion Recipes
The roots aren’t the only edible part of a dandelion! Bring the weeds into your kitchen with these dandelion recipes:
- Dandelion Wine
- Dandelion Tea (coming soon)
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