Surprise Cake

If I titled this cake what was really in it, not a soul would click on this blog post. (Except maybe a brave cook who cooks at an elderly nursing home or care facility.)  However, I did consider a few recipe titles…Delightful Date Dessert…Famous Fanciful Fig Cake…or Prettiest Prune Torte.

Does the following photo give you any clue what this recipe contains?

Stick with me as I reveal the answer to this question…

There are days when we crave a sweet dessert and that gets my brain a hoppin’ to forage the cupboards for random ingredients. I peruse some cookbooks, surf the Internet and pool my resources. These are the ingredients I gathered…unsweetened applesauce, coconut oil, kefir, egg whites, almond flour, coconut flour, spices, soda, baking powder, salt, walnuts, orange zest (not pictured) AND the mystery ingredients…prunes, dates and figs! I chose to make this dessert gluten free, but you could use whole wheat flour in place of the almond and coconut flour. You will notice that there is no sugar in this recipe, yet it is sufficiently sweet! 

Whisk dry ingredients…3/4 c. almond flour, 3/4 c. coconut flour, 1/2t. baking soda, 1/2 t. baking powder, 1/2 t. salt, 1 t. cinnamon, 1/2 t. nutmeg, 1/2 t. cardamom  and 1 T. orange zest. (not pictured)

Place 1/2 c. of prunes, dates and figs in food processor. Add 1/2 c. of flour mixture. (this keeps the fruit from clumping in one big ball) Pulse until chopped. (not real fine)

Add this mixture to dry ingredients along with 1/2 c. egg whites, 1 T. coconut oil, 2/3 c. kefir (or buttermilk) and 1/2 c. unsweetened applesauce. Stir together and fold in 1/2 c. chopped walnuts. Check out this blog post for instructions on making your own kefir.

Pour into oiled round cake pan and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Cool for 10-15 minutes then remove cake and finish cooling on a wire rack. When completely cool slice into wedges and serve.

OK…so this probably wouldn’t make the cover of Better Homes and Gardens, but it really is a tasty dessert. The chopped walnuts and the orange zest bring out a marriage of good flavor. You would not know that there is no sugar in this dessert. The only thing that I would improve on would be a dollop of real whipped cream!

Dried Figs, Prunes & Date Cake

3/4 c. bleached almond flour
3/4 c. coconut flour
1/2 t. soda
1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. nutmeg
1/2 t. cardamom
1/2 c. egg whites
1/2 c. unsweetened applesauce
1/2 c. each of dates, figs and prunes
1/2 c. chopped walnuts1 T. orange zest
1/2 c. kefir (or buttermilk)
1 T. coconut oil

Whisk dry ingredients. Place prunes, dates and figs in food processor. Add 1/2 c. of flour mixture. (this keeps the fruit from clumping in one big ball) Pulse until chopped. (not real fine) Add this mixture to dry ingredients along with 1/2 c. egg whites, 1 T. coconut oil, 1/2 c. kefir (or buttermilk) and 1/2 c. unsweetened applesauce. Stir together and fold in 1/2 c. chopped walnuts. Pour into oiled round cake pan and bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Cool for 10-15 minutes then remove cake and finish cooling on a wire rack. When completely cool slice into wedges and serve.