Vegan cake – O.K., not a stretch to imagine a cake without eggs, no biggie there..
A kale cake – Well.., its a little out there, I admit, but not as crazy as you may think. This was inspired from a successful British blogger who posted this Kale and apple cake recipe and lo and behold…people actually tried it and loved it…!!
No sugar icing – “That does it!!”…I know what you are thinking – “ok, Swetha, do you have to ruin icing too?”
Hahaha, you know I am a health nut…but give it a try, won’t you??
Recipe questions answered:
Is it ok to bake cakes without eggs?
As long as we understand why we need the eggs, and we substitute it’s function with other ingredients, it is going to be ok.
Eggs provide fat (from the yolk), moisture (they have water in them), structure (from protein) and fluffiness (from whipping air into eggs). So, if you are able to provide other ways to attain the same, you will be fine without the eggs.
To make up for the loss of eggs, I added a little bit more oil (fat), applesauce (moisture) structure (besan a.k.a. chickpea flour) and fluffiness (whip air into the flour) in order to replace eggs effectively.
Why did you whisk the dry flour?
I got the idea from the incredible Joy the baker. Read the link for her detailed explanation. But, the basic ideas is that if you whisk the flour well, you aerate it and you can avoid using a sifter and spilling flour all over the counter.
Why did you steam the kale?
The kale needs to be softened completely before adding to the batter. This will ensure that the kale seamlessly integrates into the batter.
Why did you make a no-sugar icing?
Icing is one of those really condensed calories you can ever imagine. Powdered sugar and butter, that’s it. Whenever there is a party at my kids’ class, I have seen kids lick the icing and throw the cake away. If I can ever think of a recipe that has 0 nutritional value, that is icing.
It got me thinking, why do people love icing so much??…apart from the sweetness, it is mostly the creaminess. If I can recreate that creaminess without the slap-in-your-face sugar, then I think that’s a useful recipe.
I am happy to note that my creamy almond-applesauce icing was a hit with all kids/adult who have a low tolerance/need for sweetness. For people who like a little more sharpness in their icing, add a couple of teaspoons of sugar and I am certain that you will love it.
Step by step pics
Steam 4 handfuls of kale
Rinse and drain
Puree with all liquid ingredients
Aerate the dry ingredients
Mix wet and dry just enough. Don’t overmix.
Add batter to cake pans
After baking time is done, out pop these beauties:
Make ‘worlds healthiest icing’!!
Frost and serve!!
Recipe
Eggless cake with healthy kale greens and almond icing. This cake has taste and nutrition all wrapped up in one delicious, healthy recipe.
- 4 Handfuls kale raw (200 g by weight)
- 3 tsp Besan
- 1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup applesauce
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1.75 cups whole wheat flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup soaked and peeled almonds
- 1 cup applesauce
- 1/4 cup thick coconut milk
-
Preheat oven to 350F. Line 2 - 9” round cake tins with baking paper.
-
Tear the kale leaves into bite-sized pieces and steam for 8 minutes. Run the cooked kale under cold water and drain. Remove any stalks that you see and add the kale to a high powered blender.
-
Add oil, applesauce, vanilla, sugar to the kale and puree thoroughly. It should be a nice smooth mixture.
-
In a stand mixer, add whole wheat flour, baking powder, besan and salt and set it to whisk for a couple of minutes. This aerates the flour thoroughly.
-
Add the liquid from the blender to the flour while continuing to whip at a slow speed. Once the batter comes together, stop. Do not overblend the batter.
-
Pour into the prepared tins and bake for 30 minutes or until an inserted skewer comes out clean. Cool for a few minutes and get ready for icing.
-
Soak almonds in water for a few hours. Peel the almonds while the cake is baking.
-
Add the peeled almonds, applesauce and coconut milk to a high speed blender until you get a smooth, creamy icing.
-
Frost the cake and enjoy!!
- Extra virgin olive oil has a beautiful green color that goes so well with the cake. Health wise, it is a wonderful oil too. But, it can be expensive and unavailable in some areas. Some kids may dislike the sharp notes of EVOO. Substitute coconut oil without any worry. The cake will turn out just as great.
- If the icing is not sweet enough, add a couple of teaspoons of sugar to the icing.
Conclusion
Here’s the thing with this cake. You have greens in this cake. You have fats – healthy fats in the cake. You have whole wheat flour in the cake. Yes, you also have sugar in the cake (couldn’t avoid that), but no added sugar in the icing. You have almonds (protein) in the icing.
So, all this will give you a very satisfying cake. So yes, there are calories in this cake, but these are not empty calories just adding to your waistline. This is a cake with lots of health benefits. 🙂
I hope you give this a try and do send me your comments down below. As always, I look forward to hearing from you.
Post your comments here....I look forward to reading them!!