TOFFEE BEAN AND WALNUT CAKE
This is one of my favourite tea time bakes that I transformed into a double decker celebration cake complete with a generous buttercream-style icing and a topping of toasted or caramelised walnuts for crunch. The best bit about it? Its nutrient-dense secrets…
Deliciously rich and moist with a toffee taste (thanks to the flavoursome complexity of demerara and maple syrup), this crowd-pleaser is ideal for bank holiday gatherings. It’s vegan and dairy-free (if you opt for coconut oil, vegan butter or even extra virgin olive oil instead of the butter). It’s also gluten-free — held together with ground flax rather than eggs or gluten. And then last but not least, it’s made of protein-rich beans in both the cake and icing! I added half a cup of tea in there too. Don’t be put off by the long list of ingredients — it really is a case of dump, stir, bake, without having to worry about your guests’ dietary requirements, and it’s a brilliant centrepiece and conversation starter.
INGREDIENTS
Serves 12
For the cake
4 tbsp ground flax
12 tbsp (180ml) water
2 tins of cooked white beans, rinsed and drained well (cannellini or butter beans)
½ cup melted butter, coconut oil or extra virgin olive oil
200g dark demerara/muscovado sugar*
2 tsp vanilla extract
250g gluten-free self raising flour (I used Doves Farm self-raising)
3 tsp baking powder
½ tsp sea salt
70g walnuts, chopped into chunks
For the icing
2 tins drained cannellini beans or butter beans
1 tea bag Earl grey/Rooibos Earl grey tea
½ cup freshly boiled water
1 tsp vanilla extract
6 tbsp maple syrup, plus more to taste
4 tbsp (¼ cup) melted butter, coconut oil or extra virgin olive oil
¼ tsp sea salt
40g walnuts, chopped into chunks
METHOD
In a small bowl, mix the ground flax and water together to make a flax egg, and set aside.
Preheat oven to 180°C fan.
Line the base of two 9 or 10-inch cake tins with parchment paper if need be, and grease the base and sides.
In a food processor, add the beans, butter, vanilla extract and flax eggs (from the cake ingredients) and blend until smooth.
Add the flour, sugar, baking powder and sea salt, and blend again.
Stir in 70 grams of walnut pieces by hand.
Split the cake batter between both tins and bake for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool for 15 minutes before removing them from the tins.
Allow to completely cool before icing.
To make the icing, steep the tea bag for 5 minutes in the hot water and remove.
In a food processor, blend all of the icing ingredients (except the walnuts) until completely smooth. Taste and adjust sweetness if necessary.
Spread half the mixture over the top of one of the cakes and top with the other cake. Smooth the remainder of the icing over the top of that one.
Toast the walnuts in a dry pan until golden, then add a touch of butter to make them glossy. Alternatively, caramelise the walnuts in the pan by cooking them in 2 tablespoons of demerara sugar or maple syrup, one tablespoon of water and half a tablespoon of butter until all moisture evaporates, stirring constantly to prevent the mixture burning. Allow to cool.
Sprinkle the walnuts over the top of the cake to decorate and finish with a sprinkle of the demerara sugar if you like.
Store the final cake or any leftover pieces in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days and serve at room temperature.
East by West tips:
*You can use coconut sugar instead of demerara/muscovado sugar for the cake sponge but the flavour is less intense and less sweet so you will need to use more. Best to use maple syrup for the icing unless your sugar is moist rather than granular for a smooth consistency.
If you only have one cake tin and don’t want to bake the two layers one after the other I have baked the batter in just the one cake tin before for 40 minutes, which worked well but is a little more delicate to work with when removing and replacing the top during icing. The crust is also slightly thicker.
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