White Bean Hazelnut Cake

The weather is rather abysmal, endless rain and cold, and so I did what I often do in bad weather: I baked a cake. Ever since I saw Joy’s luxurious white bean bundt cake I was intrigued. Cannellini beans in a cake? Sounds healthy and … interesting. I had chocolate fudge dessert in Korea that was made mostly with kidney beans, very little sugar, cacao and little much else, and it tasted just like chocolate fudge (without the sugar high). A cannellini bean cake must be like the blonde equivalent of it.

I added my own tweaks to the recipe, adding hazelnut flour and Justin maple almond butter.
I am not sure about the glaze yet. White would be good, but something not too sweet.
Here we go. 



Cannellini Bean Hazelnut Cake

• 1.5 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 cup hazelnut meal
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup cannellini beans, cooked or from a can, drained and rinsed
• 2 TB unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon pure almond extract (optional)
• 2 TB Justin’s maple almond butter
• 1/2 cup organic cane sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg white
• 1/2 cup buttermilk

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Spray a bundt pan with baking spray and set aside.



In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and hazelnut flour.  Set aside.

Add beans and butter to a food processor.  Puree until beans and butter are a smooth puree.  In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, add the bean/butter mix, the cane and brown sugar and beat on medium speed until all ingredients are well incorporated, about 3-5 minutes.  Add the egg and eggwhite and the almond butter.  Beat in vanilla and almond extract (if using).

Stop the mixer and add half of the dry ingredients; mix in with a spoon then restart stand mixer again.  Beat until incorporated.  Add the buttermilk and mix until incorporated.  Again stop the stand mixer, add the remaining dry ingredients, mix in with a spoon and then mix them until incorporated.  

Spoon batter into prepared pan. 



Bake for 45 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the cake come out clean.   Remove the cake from the oven.  Allow to rest in the pan for 10 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack to cool completely.



Think about a glaze while cake cools. 

This post needs a pretty cat photo. Unfortunately, my cats do not sit in bowls but Chanelle still will sit on anything that makes him look good.