Has anyone ever made a bean cake?

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In a book I'm reading, a family makes a birthday cake from beans, as flour was in short supply (Germany during WWI)

I'm making navy beans in a crock pot right now, so I reserved some, and am cooking them separately on the stove to try it.

I'll let you know how it turns out.

Here's the receipe I found online. I'm going to use regular oil instead of coconut oil, and only make a half batch.

Ingredients:

3 c. white beans, cooked and plain
9 tbsp. coconut oil
1 c. + 2 tbsp. raw honey
6 eggs
2 tbsp. vanilla
3/4 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. baking soda
Directions:

Add all ingredients to a blender and blend on medium, then high until smooth. Pour into two well-greased 9" pans and bake at 350 for 35 - 40 min. Once cooled, remove from the pans carefully and serve plain, with fresh jam (fruit blended with honey), fresh fruit, or however you like!

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[+3] - Irishk - 05/30/2011I've made black bean cake several times. Mr.Irish likes it a lot...he still doesn't believe it's made from beans....

I've made black bean cake several times. Mr.Irish likes it a lot...he still doesn't believe it's made from beans.

This is the recipe I used.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3318/3560012269_1890eb2daa.jpg

0 Replies

@chai2,

hmmm.

I think the coconut oil may be partly for taste.

thassa lotta honey there, sugar...

1 Reply

@Rockhead,

I'm gonna use agave syrup.

I just bought that for the first time yesterday, specifically for this (planning ahead while soaking the beans. the wheels are always turning I'll tell ya.)

I just tasted one of the beans for doneness, and I think I can see why so much sweetner. On its own, with no broth, salt, veggies or other stuff you would put into beans, it's very bland.

huh, I just looked up 2 cake receipes from scratch, and they both call for at least a cup of white sugar.

agave syrup has a lower glycemic load.

Irish, that cake looks wonderful!!

If this works out, I'm gonna try that one!

1 Reply

@chai2,

If you're not going to use coconut oil, use butter as the replacement, not cooking oil.

1 Reply

@chai2,

I gotta buncha beans.

mebbe hafta see if smoky will let me use his oven one of these days...

my chocolate jones has been killing me for two months.

0 Replies

@ehBeth,

ehBeth wrote:

If you're not going to use coconut oil, use butter as the replacement, not cooking oil.

Would I use it in equal amounts? 9 Tbs of butter sounds like a lot.

What's the deal with coconut oil BTW, isn't that hydrogenated?

1 Reply

@chai2,

A lot of people swear by coconut oil as a health food with lotsa lotsa benefits. Apparently great for weight loss/gorgeous skin and hair etc etc.

~~~

Bean cake is very rich - look at all those eggs/oil etc. It's not a "lite" snack.

The recipe IrishK posted (and others I've looked at) trade coconut oil and butter quantities equally.

4 Replies

@ehBeth,

I think I like coconut.

a friend sent me a book touting it as the next miracle food.

good fat they call it.

I don't like it as much as they do.

kinda pricey on the prairie...

0 Replies

@ehBeth,

Yeah, it's supposed to be good for Crohn's, IBS, and a bunch of other digestion issues. I was at a raw foods health institute recently and they used it daily for facials.

Those cakes both sound good. RICH!!! but good.

0 Replies

@ehBeth,

It's a rich tasting cake and moist. We don't notice any coconut flavor from the oil, but that might be because of the cocoa powder. I've only made the chocolate version.

1 Reply

@ehBeth,

hmmm....I just read a little bit about it.

I guess it's the old way of thinking, like when they do hydrogenate it.
Not so with virgin coconut oil.

I suppose I could run out to the store.

I'm making the cake mostly for Wally, and he sure doesn't have a weight problem. I keep egg beaters on hand, so I could substitute some of that for maybe half the eggs. Since I'm just going to make a half batch, maybe 2 eggs and some egg beaters.

What I like about this is no refined sugar, refined flour, and the beans are a more nutrition dense food.

ebeth, I'm not going to use regular oil, since you advised against it, but, just out of curiosity, what would that do?

1 Reply

@Irishk,

Irishk wrote:

It's a rich tasting cake and moist. We don't notice any coconut flavor from the oil, but that might be because of the cocoa powder. I've only made the chocolate version.

God, now you're making me wish for the chocolate version.

2 Replies

@chai2,

I know that sometimes people make cakes other than chocolate, but I've never really understood it...

hope wally enjoys his confection.

wonder if you should use some beano, too...?

1 Reply

@chai2,

The only recipes I've seen are with black beans but I always wondered if a 'vanilla' version could be made using a can of white beans.

The first time I made it I used no oil at all, but yogurt. Good, but not quite as moist as the one with coconut oil. Mr.Irish still asked me to make it again, though.

http://www.theatlantic.com/life/archive/2009/11/recipe-black-bean-chocolate-cake/30021/

The only trick is to blend, blend, blend until it's absolutely smooth (no beany lumps). (I also rinse my black beans, although I buy the unseasoned ones).

0 Replies

@chai2,

chai2 wrote:

ebeth, I'm not going to use regular oil, since you advised against it, but, just out of curiosity, what would that do?

have you ever baked something with butter and then the some thing with oil?

they have very different baking properties - taste of course, but the texture is changed (not in a very good way to my mouthfeel) by using oil

0 Replies

@Rockhead,

What are you alluding to rocky?

I don't think that'll be a prob. I soak my own, discarding the fart water after an hour or 2, then soaking overnight.

That seems to take care of that.

1 Reply

@chai2,

that should be sufficient. you'd hate to be the fart cake lady...

I wonder if canned beans are as good for this as boiling your own.

I try not to heat the kitchen any more than I have to in the summertime now.

trying to remember if I still have a blender. I think I do somewhere. prolly out in the shop with other rarely used stuff ain't been unpacked yet.

1 Reply

@Rockhead,

I've only ever used canned, but I don't think there'd be much of a difference in taste. You don't taste the beans at all.

Thought of another crucial tip, though. I line my cake pan with parchment paper and then use strips laid both ways (overhanging the pan) before pouring in the batter. You will never get this cake out of the pan in one piece otherwise.

Chai -- would love to know the title of the book that mentioned bean cakes. I've been reading a ton of WWII historical novels lately.

1 Reply

@Irishk,

flour stopped being my friend a while back.

this is very intriguing to my chocolate jones...

1 Reply

Has anyone ever made a bean cake?

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