I have also been trying to be a little healthier but then for me it does all comes down to balance and life is not worth living without a little of what you like and that should involve a little cake I think. I came across this cake in Jillian Michael's Master Your Metabolism Cookbook. It is full of tasty, satisfying and healthy recipes. It's not rocket science, it pretty much advocates exercise, eating a balanced diet and cutting out all the processed rubbish that our bodies were never designed to consume.
Enough of my ranting...balance, moderation sprinkled with a little indulgence works for me and I say let us all eat a little cake.
Walnut, Honey and Orange Blossom Cake, adapted from a Jillian Michael's recipe.
Serves 10-12
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts, toasted
1 cup white whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
Zest of 2 oranges
3/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup honey, I used a mixture of clover and J Friend's Beechwood Honey*
1/2 tsp orange blossom water, it is optional but it does lend a wonderfully exotic flavour to the cake
2 eggs
*the Beechwood Honey adds a lovely depth of flavour but use whatever honey that you like.
You'll also need a 9" springform cake tin and a little olive oil and flour to grease it.
Directions
Pre heat your oven to 180C / 350F
Take a 9" springform cake tin and spray it with a little oil and dust it lightly with a little flour. Just give it a gentle shake to coat the the base and sides and set it aside.
Place the toasted walnuts in a food processor and pulse until they are coarsely ground. Place the ground walnuts in a large bowl and add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and the orange zest. Mix everything together.
In another medium sized bowl place the orange juice, olive oil, honey and orange blossom water. Give the liquid ingredients a good whisk to combine well. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and gently fold everything together with a metal spoon until just combined, don't over mix the batter which will be quite loose.
Pour the batter in the prepared springform pan and pop in the oven for 40 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let the cake cool completely. Remove the cake from the cake tin and place on a serving plate. Dust lightly with icing sugar and a little sprinkle of orange zest.
On the side you can serve some yoghurt or cream mixed with a dollop of honey, some orange zest and just a drop of orange blossom water.
I love this cake, moist and light, toasty walnuts and bright orange zest bursting through. The honey adds a lovely deep rich, not overly sweet note making this more of a grown up cake and the orange blossom adds a little of the exotic. With a dollop of honey and orange infused yoghurt it is quite a treat.
This is my entry in to this month's Sweet New Zealand being hosted, this month by the lovely Shirleen over at Sugar and Spice and All Things Nice....thanks for hosting!
If you like this you might like this Plum and Lemon Cake
One Year Ago Roasted Beet Salad and Spicy Kumara Fries
Enjoy!