Blueberry, Lemon, Almond & Polenta Butter Bean Cake
Equipment
- 15cm spring form, loose bottomed cake tin, lined with baking paper
- food processor
Ingredients
dry
- 100 g ground almonds
- 100 g polenta
- 2 TBSP gram (chickpea) flour OR use 1 TBSP of cornflour see notes below
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp bicarb of soda
- 100 g coconut sugar
wet
- 100 g butter beans - pre-cooked rinsed, drained (roughly 1/2 tin)
- 1 medium lemon - zest
- 1/2 medium lemon - juice
- 1.5 TBSP pure Maple syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
- 30 mls olive oil
- 60 mls almond milk
Topping
- 50 g blueberries plus extra for serving
Instructions
- Place all of the wet ingredients into a food processor and process for about 30-45 seconds until the beans have completely broken down.
- Now add all of the dry ingredients to the wet and pulse several times until combined.
- Scrape the mixture into the prepared 15cm round baking tin, lined with baking paper. Smooth the mixture out until evenly spread.
- Scatter the blueberries over the top of the cake and use a clean finger to press each one down into the cake mixture. Ensure they are still visible but quite far down into the mixture, otherwise they might just burn and burst during cooking rather than stay in tact and infuse the cake.
- Bake the cake in a pre-heated oven at 180 degrees C for 15 mins. After 15mins (do not open the oven before 15 mins otherwise it will affect the rise), place a piece of foil over the cake tin and bake for another 15 mins. The foil will stop the top from browning any further while the middle of the cake still cooks. After a total of 30mins, remove the foil and bake for a further 5-10mins (that makes a grand total of 35-40mins) until it has cooked through.Checking with a skewer is probably not the best indicator of whether it is cooked through or not, check instead by apply a little pressure to the top of the cake and feeling if it feels firm or wobbly underneath. If firm, it will be ready, if a little wobbly, cook for another 5 mins and check again.
- Once cooked, remove the cake from the oven and allow to cool for 15 mins in the cake tin. After 15 mins, use a knife to gently go around the edges to ensure it is not sticking to the tin, un-do the spring clip and slide the cake out. Leave the cake to cool for another 30 mins before serving.
- Serve with extra fresh blueberries!
Notes
2TBSP - Gram (chickpea) flour:
Gives a smaller rise - almost 1" lower than using cornflour, but I prefer the taste as it was nuttier and more robust or 1 TBSP - Cornflour:
Gives a good rise but not as tasty as from using gram flour Both options will make good cakes.
Gives a smaller rise - almost 1" lower than using cornflour, but I prefer the taste as it was nuttier and more robust or 1 TBSP - Cornflour:
Gives a good rise but not as tasty as from using gram flour Both options will make good cakes.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!