Toasted Walnut Cake

I'm looking forward to having a full sized oven again. When I was putting this cake together, I realized that not only did I not have a bundt pan (which sounded really cool at the time), but if I was going to bake it in two round cake pans, I was going to have to run these cakes over to C's house to bake them. Thankfully, C doesn't mind when I bake in her oven! I have to say it's a little bit of a downer sometimes though - kind of like realizing in the middle of the night that your house only has an outhouse!

Thankfully, they baked up beautifully. The hint of orange zest was perfect with the toasted walnuts and the sweet potato was subtle. The boy didn't even notice there were vegetables stuffed in there, but he did notice the zest. Still, it was solidly approved by the committee! When we ate most of it, we didn't even put glaze on top, just quick slices of cake. The glaze is simple and sweet, made of orange juice and powdered sugar, and dresses the cake up nicely for company.

This cake is actually a healthier version of the original, made with whole grain flours (since Bette doesn't use them in her book), and I cut out about 30% of the sugar. It was plenty sweet the way it turned out. Now that I've made it several times and smoothed out the recipe, it's on the staple list.

Toasted Walnut Cake (or This-Has-Vegetables-In-It-But-Tastes-Like-Toasty-Walnuts Cake, if you need a code name)

based on the recipe from The Gluten-free Gourmet Makes Dessert
[Printer Friendly]

1 cup sorghum flour
1 cup tapioca starch
1/2 cup millet flour
1 1/2 teaspoons xanthan gum

4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon fresh orange zest
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1 1/3 cups sugar
4 eggs, separated
1/3 cup orange juice
1 1/2 cups grated raw sweet potatoes
1 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a bundt pan, or two 8-9 inch round cake pans (I went with cake pans). In a medium bowl, whisk flours, xanthan gum, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, dried orange peel, and salt. Set aside.
In the bowl of your mixer, combine the oil and sugar and beat until smooth. Add the egg yolks and beat well. Beat in the orange juice. With the mixer on low, blend in the dry ingredients. Beat well for about 1 minute. Remove bowl from mixer and stir in the potatoes, nuts and vanilla.
Beat the egg whites until stiff in a small metal or glass bowl (don't use plastic) and fold into the batter. Spoon into the prepared pan and bake for 50-60 minutes in the bundt pan, or 30 minutes in the round pans. When cool, drizzle with a juice/powdered sugar glaze.

Toasting Walnuts. Chop the walnuts if needed and spread them on a sheet tray. Put them in the oven for no more than 5 minutes at 350. They go from "toasted" to "burnt" quickly!