Simple Spice Cake - Oil Free

I've been involved with theater for the past few years and I had the privilege to portray Mrs. Frank for a production of The Diary of Anne Frank earlier this year. Because of my interest in food, I volunteered to make the food that was part of our onstage scenes. There's a scene for New Year's Day 1944 celebrating with spice cake. Historically The Diary of Anne Frank is one of many stories of Jews hiding during the holocaust, and it takes place in Amsterdam, Holland.

I loved spice cake when I was young and hadn't had any for years until I was looking for a recipe for this play. I hope you enjoy this simple version. It isn't overly sweet and I like it that way.

Spice Cake - Oil Free

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (185 degrees Celsius). Prepare a large loaf pan or a square  (8"x 8") cake pan using parchment paper to line pan.

Mix and set aside:
1 Tablespoon ground flax seed (dark preferred)
1/4 cup water

Mix in separate bowl and whisk to mix (using a small sieve to sift any lumps):
1 1/2 cup whole grain flour (can be whole wheat pastry flour)
1/3 cup turbinado sugar or 3 Tablespoons honey
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 Tablespoon Chinese five spice OR pumpkin spice

Mix in a separate 2 cup liquid measuring cup the following:
1 cup applesauce (can be part pumpkin puree)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 Tablespoons dark molasses (not blackstrap, unless you prefer it)
ground flax seed & water as directed above - add here to liquids

Mix the wet into the dry ingredients. It should be a fairly stiff batter. Pour and spread into your prepared pan. Bake for 30 minutes (less for cupcakes*) or more until toothpick inserted comes out clean. After removing from the oven, let cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Then remove and cool.

You may add a bit of grated carrot, zucchini, etc before baking. If batter seems too moist and not stiff, add some more flour, a little at a time, before you bake. Some people like dried fruit or nuts (I added chopped dates to the one in the photo above).

Note on the spices: I really like to use Chinese five spice for this, as it tends to have star anise flavor and is like taking the cake up a notch from the pumpkin spice most people are used to. I also prefer Chinese five spice that does not include pepper, which might be hard to find, but you can use the pepper versions too. I plan to post my own spice blend recipe for Chinese five spice soon. Most people have a ready made pumpkin spice that can be used, otherwise you can follow my recipe for that here.

Optional sauce topping: I have used a simple strawberry sauce as a topping sometimes. You can make this by pureeing fresh or partly thawed frozen strawberries in a blender with a little water and your choice of sweetener if needed. It is a nice addition. I originally used strawberries because we also ate strawberries in the play in another scene. I never used it this way onstage, but it was a fun thing to have for the cast party! =) You could use another fruit for the same idea. You may frost instead if you like after it cools. I like it plain without any extra anything on top.

*Cupcake tip: You can use canning lid rings (no lid) on a cookie sheet if you don't have a muffin pan. It holds cupcake papers/liners nicely for cake batter. This is what I do, since I don't own a muffin pan. This was how I made spice cake cupcakes for our concession stand for snacks at intermission for the play.

Tiger Nut Milk

We first tried tiger nuts when we lived in Ghana, West Africa. I would say the taste is reminiscent of a cashew, but much more fibrous and yet sweet, like a mild apple sweet. In Africa, we ate them much fresher and just like a nut, popped them into our mouth. I found them at a store from this company and picked them up. I was not disappointed. Since they were dried, I needed to rehydrate them with water. They are not actually nuts, but tubers that grow in the ground. Full of fiber and nutrition, they are also gluten free and safe for those who cannot have dairy.

Tiger Nut Milk

2 cups of dried tiger nuts soaked in a quart jar (or equivalent), filled to the 3 cup mark with water

Soak for about 3 days, draining the water, rinsing, and adding fresh water each day. I soaked mine in the refrigerator. Make sure your water is completely covering the tiger nuts plus about 1 inch, each time.

In a strong blender, blend the rinsed and drained soaked tiger nuts with water and fill up to about the 5 cup mark in blender. Run for about 3 minutes. Use a nut milk bag to filter the fiber-filled pulp from the liquid milk (Obviously, this will remove much of the fiber - If you want to use the fiber in baked goods, by all means go ahead). Use less water for thicker, creamier milk and more water to thin it, whatever you like. This ratio worked well for me as it was creamy, but not too rich.

Taste. You can use as is, or add whatever add-ins you like (sweetener, vanilla, etc.). I don't add anything preferring it's natural sweetness. Use up within about 2 days as it is best fresh and will turn quickly after that. Otherwise, you can try and freeze it in freezer safe containers, but the fresh consistency may not be the same.

Today I used it with my soaked rolled oats for a muesli type breakfast. Other things I added to my rolled oats: sliced fresh banana, sunflower and sesame seeds, chia, flax, bee pollen, goji berries and pumpkin seeds. So good!