SEED CAKE
In her lusty soliloquy in "Ulysses," Molly Bloom recalls "the day I got him to propose to me yes first I gave him the bit of seedcake out of my mouth." Seed cake recipe reprinted with permission from my book,"Feeding the Hungry Ghost: Life, Faith and What to Eat for Dinner."
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsweetened soy or hemp milk
- 2 tablespoons ground flax seeds also known as flax meal
- 2 tablespoons ground chia seeds
- 2 teaspoons whole anise seeds
- 1-½ cup whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ cup evaporated cane sugar *
- ⅓ cup hemp flax or canola oil
- ½ cup apple sauce
- ⅓ cup raisins
- zest and juice of 1 lemon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350
- Lightly grease an 8" round cake pan or a 9"x5" loaf pan.
- In a small bowl, combine soy milk with flax, chia and anise seeds. Stir lightly to combine and let sit while you assemble the other ingredients.
- In a large bowl sift together whole wheat flour, baking soda and baking powder. Grate in lemon zest.
- In another bowl, mix together evaporated cane sugar, hemp or canola oil , apple sauce and lemon juice. Add to dry mixture, along with the soy milk, which, thanks to the seeds, will have thickened madly. Stir together, then fold in the raisins.
- Pour into prepared baking pan and bake for 45 minutes or until the cake is golden, puffed and a tester inserted in the center comes away crumb-free and clean. You can also give it a gentle poke with a finger. It springs back perfectly when baked through.
- Remove from oven and let cool. Wrapped well and refrigerated, it keeps for several days.