We were recently given a copy of the book, "Things Swedish," by Mari Hemming (Albert Bonniers Forlag, 2001) that had a few recipes that I wanted to try making for us. The first recipe I tried was Swedish meatballs and they turned out so well my family has been talking about them ever since. Then there were cookie, cinnamon bun and cake recipes that were tantalizing me, however it was the Kronans kaka ( The Crown's Reward) was enticing me into the kitchen.
Made with almonds, potatoes, sugar and butter, Kronans kaka sounded delightfully rich. However, I would need to change out a few problem ingredients for those that don't get our allergies going. I switched out the potatoes for Jersey sweet potatoes, halved the required butter with vegetable shortening and replaced the sugar with agave syrup. Next I added some psyllium (plantago) seed meal to hold the cake together.
Mild in flavor, the Jersey sweet potato is less sweet than orange fleshed sweet potatoes and their flesh is drier. They share the same nutrient profile as the orange fleshed varieties making then high in calcium, magnesium, phosphorous, potassium, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K and betaine. The yellow fleshed Jersey sweet potato worked beautifully in this recipe and kept the cake mild in flavor.
My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed this cake and had a slice for breakfast over the weekend. My children weren't fond of the dark crust that this cake developed while baking, but enjoyed it once I removed the crust for them. This cake tasted the best several days after I made it, when all the flavors had fully melded together. This recipe is a keeper and destined to be made again soon.
This recipe is being submitted to the Gluten Free Teatime Treats baking event hosted by Naomi of Straight Into Bed Cakefree and Dried.
Recipe
Cake
1 cup (150 g) ground almonds
1 cup (150 g) butter or 1/2 cup butter & 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
2/3 cup agave syrup or 3/4 cup cane sugar
4 eggs
2/3 cup Jersey sweet potatoes (yellow fleshed), baked & mashed
2 Tb psyllium (plantago) seed meal
Almond Glaze
1/8 tsp almond extract
1 cup (200 ml) powdered sugar
1 - 2 Tb almond milk
1. Line an 8 inch spring form pan with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. In a medium bowl, stir butter, vegetable shortening until creamed. Slowly add the agave syrup and stir together.
3. Plop in one egg yolk at a time and stir well. Then dump in the almond meal, psyllium seed meal and mashed potatoes.
4. Whisk the egg whites until they hold a firm peak and then gently fold them into the cake mixture.
5. Spread mixture in the springform pan. Bake in lower part of the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes. Note: The cake will be slightly sticky. Allow to cool before glazing the top.
6. In a small bowl, dump in the powdered sugar, almond extract and almond milk. Stir together and work out any clumps of powdered sugar with the back of the spoon. Then spread the glaze on the top of the cake and sprinkle with chopped almonds. Serves 8.
10 comments:
Wow, this sounds interesting and looks awesome! I love sweet potatoes, but have never heard of the Jersey version. Do they have those out here in the wild west? I'll definitely try this little treat. Thanks!
Melissa
This looks goregeous and sounds interesting! It's the interesting blog 'finds' that I end up trying out!
:)
Not sure I understand what the psyllium husks are for... I use flax seeds as egg replacement; it adds fiber and a subtle nuttiness, but you used eggs... so does psyllium somehow replace baking powder?
That sounds really fascinating! I'd be all over it if it didn't have the eggs. I should look into that book with my husband's Swedish ancestry.
Hi Melissa, Dianne, Veggie Paparazzo - Thanks for the wonderful words.
Sheltie Girl
Hi TadMack - The psyllium (plantago) seed meal is used as a binder to hold the cake together. It also provides a bit of fiber too. Psyllium seed meal has enough gelling ability to replace xanthan gum in a recipe.
Please note that psyllium seed meal is different than psyllium seed husks and will react a little differently in a recipe. You may need to add a little milk/nondairy milk to the recipe to keep a nice consistency.
I purchased my whole psyllium (plantago) seeds from Native Seeds/SEARCH (www.nativeseeds.org).
I hope this helps,
Sheltie Girl
what an intriguing cake!! I am constantly inspired by your food photography... stunning!
Yum! glad to have stumbled on your blog!
Hey Natalie!
As ever your GF creations and adaptations are amazing! Lovely cake and I was glad to see you on the roundup at Go ahead honey it's Gluten Free!
Take Care
x x x
Sound intriguing. I've never come across jersey sweet potatoes, we do sometimes get other varieties of related root veg in the market or ethnic shops here but I don't know enough about them to know if any are similar. As we don't have problems with normal potatoes was the original recipe a similar amount of them and would we need the psyllium then?
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