I enjoy baking (a good therapy) and I’m a firm believer in treating oneself. It is hard to say no to treats but there are smart ways to swap some goodness to the sweets. Of course the best way is to make it yourself which gives you, a better control, in adding the right ingredients. Adding seeds and nuts (chia seeds, sunflower seeds, almonds) brings extra power foods to the mixture. Swapping white sugar (nicknamed white death) with maple syrup, coconut sugar, or honey and then white flour with spelt, or buckwheat flour will help you make the most of your indulgence. Give it a try.
Orange and Chia Seed Cake
This cake is easy and quick to put together. Almond flour is pricey, so I did a little research and found you can use sunflower seeds instead. The only catch is, you will have to grind the sunflower seeds into a flour. A blender works the best.
1/4 cup chia seeds
1/2 cup milk or hemp, coconut, soy, or almond milk
125g unsalted butter, chopped
2 Tbsp finely grated orange rind
1 cup raw sugar or coconut sugar
4 eggs
2 cups almond meal (ground almonds)
1 cup Loon Song spelt flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
ORANGE SYRUP
1/ 2 cup maple syrup
3 Tbsp orange zest
1/ 2 cup orange juice
1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Lightly grease a 9-inch spring-form pan, line with parchment paper on the bottom and set aside.
2. Place the chia seeds and milk in a bowl and set aside to soak for 10 minutes.
3. Place the butter, orange rind and sugar in a bowl and beat with an electric mixer until light and creamy. Add the eggs and beat until well combined. Add the chia mixture, almond meal, flour and baking powder and fold to combine.
4. Spoon the mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 1 hour or until cooked when tested with a skewer.
5. To make the syrup place the maple syrup, orange rind and orange juice in a small saucepan over medium heat. Simmer for 10 minutes until the syrup has thickened.
6. Invert the cake onto a plate and while still hot, top with the syrup.
7. Serve with yogurt or whipped cream and maple syrup.
