Once you have a basic cookie dough down pat, the next bakery challenge is a perfect and adaptable cake batter.
For me, cake needs to be a meal. It needs to have all the components of a healthy and substantial feed. So my cakes are usually iced or chipped, have a fruit or vegetable base and I tend to call them ‘breads’ due to my mothers influence. For example: banana bread was my favorite ‘cake’ when I was a tot. Where other moms would make a sweet, iced banana cake, mine would make a raisin or dark chocolate chipped loaf of banana bread with half the sugar and fat her trusted old school recipe stated. We would eat it un-iced, but spread with butter or peanut butter.
So influenced by my lovely mom I cook healthy cakes as a daily treat. There being only two residents in my house, I slice and freeze ¾ of any cake I bake. Then take out slices as desired and pack them into tuppawares; spread with butter whilst still frozen, or unbuttered and intended to be had toasted and dipped into tea. It was the love of my life whom taught me to toast slices of cake!
Just a few more quick notes before we get all floury, I have based my ‘base’ recipe on the old school pound cake. However, I use a mix of flours which often contains or consists exclusively of nut flours. As they have more fat content than super-refined white wheat cake flour this skews the one pound of three components. So the fat has been halved. Additionally, good quality flour has a sweetness all of its own, so less sugar is needed. As for the eggs, they can be partially or even fully substituted with fruit puree.
One more note, this is a big cake. You will need big mixing bowls and a big cake tin. The cake batter can be separated out and baked as layers to be assembled with jam or icing later though.
So here it is, my version of a 3 pound cake.
1 pound/450 grams flour, chestnut, almond, hazel, macadamia, spelt, Egyptian gold, yellow corn/polenta, or other flours
7 eggs* separated (or aprox 1 pound/450g before cracking)
½ pound/225g dried cane juice/agave syrup/honey/maple
½ pound/225 mills nut/olive/coconut oil, cocoa/dairy butter
1 vanilla bean scraped/2tbs vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 325°F/160°C.
Cream the fat/oil with half the sugar and all the vanilla. Add the egg yolks one at a time and beating with each addition. Add the flour/s by sieving in and mix to combine.
Beat the whites with clean beaters, in a clean, oil free bowl**. Fold the whites, a third at a time, into the yolk and flour mix.
Pour the completed batter into a greased and floured cake pan and bake for 1 to 1½ hours. Check after the first hour and cover/turn down the heat, if necessary. The cake should be cracked on top and golden brown, a toothpick inserted into the middle should come out clean.
Cool on a rack, in the tin, for five minutes. Then loosen the sides with a fork and gently remove and allow to cool fully out of the rack.
*I get my eggs from farmers markets or small local shops whom get them straight from the farm, so the size is ‘approximately’ 70 eggs. This means they are about 70 grams each. The best way to measure eggs is to actually weigh them. Especially when mine vary so greatly.
To replace all the eggs, and make an egg-free or vegan version of the cake. Use an egg replacer, a tbsp of chickpea/corn flour mixed with 1tbsp warm water per egg, 50g of blended tofu per egg or half a mashed banana per egg. These will give a more neutral taste. For a flavor boost, use 50g pureed apricot, mango, peach, apple, pear, raspberry or another soft fruit per egg. Also add 1tbs of baking powder to the dry ingredients and try using up to one third fine corn flour as the flour component.
**The best way to clean a bowl for egg white beating is in hot soapy water, dry well and then rub a slice of lemon over the interior surface, the beaters and your hands, before you separate the whites into the bowl. The lemon ‘cuts’ through any residual oils which may inhibit fluffy, stiff peaks.
Notes: this recipe can be baked as a single cake, or as cupcakes/muffins/cakelets. My moms favorite trick is to half fill muffin tins and then push a chunk of fresh banana into each and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. They have to be eaten hot from the oven and all that day or the banana goes funny (or at least so I am told, they have never lasted long enough to disprove this wisdom).
Variations:
To make Banana Bread use 2 large bandanas mashed in with the egg yolks. But reduce the amount of eggs to three. I also add the zest of an orange, a teaspoon of cinnamon, a pinch of nutmeg and always keep the vanilla. I also like to add currants and/or small chocolate chips.
For a fabulous gâteau orange simply replace 3 of the eggs with two whole, large oranges, omit the fat and half the sugar. Boil the oranges in enough water to cover, for 5 minutes. Then puree whilst hot, skin and all. You will need to carefully cut them it into quarters before you put them into your blender. Add whilst blending: the halved sugar, vanilla and the 5 egg yolks. Mix in the flour then do the egg white step and proceed to bake as above. When fully cool use the fat and sugar you omitted to make a coconut butter and orange zest icing. Slice the cake into three, icing between each layer, and all over the outside too if desired. Note, this is a wet cake.
To make a chocolat noir delight add 50 grams cocoa to the flour and 50 grams grated dark chocolate to the wet ingredients.
For a Jaffa cake, either add orange zest to the chocolat noir or add the cocoa and grated dark chocolate to the gâteau orange. Or for true decadence, ice the gâteau orange with a chocolate icing or the chocolat noir with the orange icing. So many ways, best to try them all!
One of my favorites is the baci version, in which you use hazelnut flour and add 50 grams of cocoa. Then ice with a hazel cream filling and coat the cake in chocolate ganache. This is decedent, and rich and damn its good.
For a coconut lime cake use half coconut flour and half of a mild flour. You will need to add approximately 1 cup of liquid to the coconut flour as it is extremely absorbent. I like to use coconut milk, or you could use soy/almond milk or even a good quality lime cordial/drink. Also add the zest of 2 limes to the cake. Or if you want to reduce the eggs use the whole orange method and replace 3 of the eggs with 2 whole pureed limes.
For a ‘flourless’ chocolate mud cake, add 50grams Dutch cocoa powder, 1tsp of cinnamon and one of nutmeg to the flour. Add 30 mills espresso and 30 of tokay to the wet. When the cake comes out of the oven pour over another tot or two of tokay to moisten.
Icings: These are loose instructions, it all depends how stiff or soft you like yours. Also amounts of flavoring will vary with taste.
Chocolate Ganache: melt two parts dark organic chocolate (200g) with one part olive/coconut oil or coconut cream (100g/mills). Allow to cool slightly before spreading.
Chocolate Icing: Melt two parts coconut oil (200g) and beat over an ice bath with one part honey (100g) and 50g coco powder, or to taste.
Orange Icing: Melt two parts coconut oil (200g) and beat over an ice bath with one part honey (100g) and the zest of 2 oranges. Add the scraped beans of one vanilla pod if desired. If you wish to omit the honey, use 50g evaporated cane juice and 50 mills orange juice.
Lemon or Lime Icing: as for the orange, using the corresponding zest.
Caramel Icing: In a hot pan dust in 200g of evaporated cane juice sugar slowly, adding more as the last portion melts. Do not stir, simply swirl the pan to mix. Take of the heat and stir in 100g of butter or 50 mills brandy/orange juice and 70g coconut/coco butter. Allow to cool and then spread. Alternatively reduce honey/maple syrup by half and then proceed to butter step.
Hazelnut Cream: Melt three parts coconut oil (300 mills) and beat over an ice bath with a shot (or two) of Frangelico liquor and one part (100g) toasted and crushed hazelnuts and one part dried cane juice (100g).
For a chestnut version replace crushed hazelnuts and sugar with canned candied chestnut puree.
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Posted by: paydayloan | February 12, 2010 at 08:50 AM