Sunday, April 29, 2012

Flourless Cake

Let's get back to the food, shall we?

I made this cake the weekend before we moved, to help clear out the pantry and celebrate Andy's graduation. It was pretty simple to put together, is a fantastic flavour combination, and is gluten free (if you use the right baking powder). It's moist and dense and a little bit crumbly, and the sort of cake that, if left in the middle of the table, people keep reaching for more. I found the recipe here. I made some minor adjustments to suit our pantry (adding coconut, which was a delicious addition) and to include okara instead of yogurt. I also stupidly added cream of tartar, instead of baking powder, and realised at the last minute and quickly stirring in some baking powder. This didn't really seem to make a difference, though I guess I won't know unless I make it again. In any case, here is the recipe. I highly recommend that you make this. Of course if you don't have okara, soy yogurt or even silken tofu would work. And I used egg replacer powder + water, but use your preferred substitute for 2 eggs.


Flourless Blueberry-Lemon Polenta Cake

3/4 c. raw sugar
1/4 c. vegan butter
2 tsp. egg replacer powder
4 Tbsp. water
1 c. almond meal
1/3 c. desiccated coconut
3/4 c. polenta (corn meal)
1 tsp. baking powder
zest and juice of 1 lemon
100 mL wet okara (sub with yogurt or blended silken tofu)
1 1/2 c. frozen blueberries

Heat oven to 180C (350F). Lightly grease a loaf pan. Cream together sugar and butter in a large bowl. In a small bowl or a jug, whisk egg replacer powder and water until foamy, then add 2 Tbsp. of the almond meal and whisk until creamy. Add this to the sugar/butter. Then mix in remaining almond meal, coconut, polenta, baking powder (NOT cream of tartar), lemon zest and juice, and okara. Stir until well combined, then add 1 c. of the blueberries and fold them through. Dump it into the pan and press it down, then sprinkle with the remaining blueberries and press them into the top. Bake for 45 minutes, or until it is set nearly all the way through. Cool in the pan for 20 minutes or so, then flip out and cool fully. Store in the fridge if you're keeping it for any more than a day.

6 comments:

Gina said...

Love the sound of this recipe. I will make this later today. Have all except the okara, so need to find a substitute (rehydrated fine TVP or crumbled pressed firm tofu...). Thanks!

Theresa said...

Oh Gina! I hope I've caught you in time, but for this recipe the okara is wet, more the consistency of yogurt. I've updated the recipe to reflect this!

Kari said...

This looks amazing! I also love that you used okara - what a novel idea. I suspect my version would use yoghurt but I certainly like the thought of okara in cake form :) The flavours sound beautiful and if it's a cake you can adapt to what's on hand - well, that's the sort of cake for me. (Although yours sounds so good that I may just try to follow the recipe for once!)

Hannah said...

Yay, you posted it! Looks just as amazing as I expected it to :)

Rose said...

What interesting ingredients for a cake! It looks delicious.

dreaminitvegan said...

Wow what a cake!