The orange and almond base of this cake could happily exist all on its own, with its deep caramel flavors and moist crumb. But the layer of bright sour rhubarb and lick of coconut sugar to finish really makes you sit up and notice. Simple to throw together and moist enough to stay fresh for up to 3 days (if it lasts that long), this recipe is sure to become a family classic. What’s more, it’s packed full of healthful whole food ingredients – oat and coconut flour that are high in fibre (good for gut health and stabilizing blood sugar), healthy fats from the olive oil and almonds, and just a modest amount of unrefined sugars. An all-round winner!
Nourish notes: Coconut flour is a biproduct of making coconut milk, where the residual coconut flesh is dehydrated and then ground into flour. So why seek out alternative flours like oat and coconut when white flour is so cheap, easy to find and so commonly used in cake recipes? We don’t always consider the lifecycle of common food products like flour, but on closer inspection it turns out that the production, processing and transportation of refined wheat flour grown as a monoculture has a rather hefty carbon footprint. This is made worse by the heavy use of pesticides and herbicides needed to perpetuate monocrop culture which has been linked to the steep decline in biodiversity we are currently seeing. By diversifying our pantries to include alternative grains and flours means that we are supporting a more diverse food system that embraces all the varieties of plants and grains available to us.
Orange, Almond and Rhubarb Cake
8–12 servings | Equipment : An electric mixer fitted with a paddle or a hand-held mixer, an 8-inch (20-cm) nonstick springform cake tin, baking parchment
Ingredients
1/3 cup (80 ml) extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup (60 ml) maple syrup
2 eggs, free range and organic
Zest and juice of 1 organic orange, topped up with coconut milk or plant-based milk to make. 1/3 cup (80 ml)
1 cup (90 g) oat flour
1/3 cup (30 g) coconut flour
1/4 cup coconut sugar, plus 1 tablespoon (for the topping)
1/3 cup (30 g) ground almonds
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (150 g) rhubarb, cut crossways into thin slices
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line the spring form tin with baking parchment or rub the inside of the tin with olive oil.
2. In the bowl of the stand mixer, beat the olive oil, maple syrup and eggs on high until light and fluffy. Add the orange juice, zest and milk and beat again until well incorporated.
3. In a separate bowl combine the dry ingredients: oat flour, coconut flour, ¼ cup coconut sugar, ground almonds, baking soda and salt. Stir to combine and then add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and gently fold in until well combined.
4. Pour the mixture into the prepared cake tin. Place the rhubarb slices in a spiral covering the top of the mixture and sprinkle with the remaining tablespoon of coconut sugar. Bake for 45 minutes, or until a test skewer comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for at least 10 minutes, then remove the springform pan and place on a rack to cool.
This is a Nourish the Planet recipe, part of a collaborative series by Patricia Wells and Emily Buchanan.
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