Kale is back on the menu, just in time for St. Patrick’s Day.
For a healthier St. Patrick’s Day-inspired cake, this recipe for Bundt Cake uses chickpeas and silky smooth kale puree. A delicious green Bundt cake with no preservatives – no trans fat – no high fructose corn syrup and no artificial food color.
Food color:
I hate food coloring with a passion and you don’t need to do any research to know that food coloring is not good for you. Available data, like the website Colors to die for confirms the dangerous impact of food coloring. Green food coloring is banned in many European countries because of health concerns for a good reason, as far as I’m concerned they have no purpose whatsoever other than to sell junk food. Considering the negative impact of these chemicals and considering how easily they could be replaced with safe, natural ingredients; you have to wonder why they are still used in our days.
Bundt Cake with Chickpeas & Kale:
O’Leary’s Bundt cake is another great example of stealth health and wellness, all in a small package. You would never know these little goodies are made with chickpeas and kale. Years ago this recipe would have been considered too trendy. Rightfully so, in our day’s food like this is here to stay and won’t go away. The food scene changes quickly and there is a ton of healthy, great “good for you” food out there, and people are much more adventurous than ever. So baking with chickpeas and kale puree is here to stay. Like using a good basic pasta dough, which is good for many different shapes and flavors of pasta, my basic chickpea Bundt cake recipe is good for many different versions of Bundt Cakes, like lemon cranberry, blueberry, chocolate, etc.
Green is everywhere on St Patrick’s Day, food, green beer, they even dye the Chicago River green! I’m not suggesting dying the Chicago River green with Kale, that would be a total waste of good nutritional kale, however, adding kale and chickpeas to a Bundt cake makes total sense to me.
The alternative to this Bundt cake recipe involves the use of garbanzo beans, apple sauce, and fat-free buttermilk with the addition of fresh silk smooth kale puree. I use about 2 pounds of fresh kale to make the kale puree, however, only 12 ounces of kale puree is needed for the Bundt cake. Spoon the extra kale puree into ice cube trays and freeze into cubes. Once they are frozen, shake out from tray and store in freezer bags and use as needed for baking additional Bundt cakes or for smoothies, yogurt dips, sauces, etc.
Facts about Kale:
We all know that kale is good for you, however, here’s the dirty little secret: Kale, according to the Environmental Working Group, is on the list of the dirty dozen foods. Kale moved to #3 on the list in 2019. Nearly 60% of kale samples sold in the U.S. were contaminated with residues of the pesticide DCPA. The EWG is listing their dirty dozen foods as well as, the clean fifteen foods on their shopper’s guide pesticides.
The EWG is ranking pesticide contamination of 47 popular fruits and vegetables, a great eye-opening read that has been updated every year since 2004.
DIY vegetable wash:
To properly clean your produce, make a DIY vegetable wash.
It’s very simple to do: fill your kitchen sink with cold water, add 4 tablespoons of baking soda and wash the kale thoroughly and rinse.
Benefits:
The American Heart Association, the American Diabetes Association, and the American Cancer Society are recommending eating beans as part of a heart-healthy diet, as it may help decrease your chances of heart disease. Apple sauce and fat-free buttermilk are a great way to decrease the amount of fat in a recipe while maintaining moisture. Garbanzos beans not only add protein but also add fiber that is proven to lower cholesterol.
O’Leary’s Bundt Cake with Chickpeas & Kale
Recommended Equipment
Ingredients
- 11 oz chickpeas canned caned
- 1/2 cup buttermilk, fat-free
- 1/4 cup canola oil
- 1/2 cup apple sauce, unsweetened
- 5 each egg
- 2 lemon zeste
- 2 tbsp lemon extract
- 13 ounce sugar
- 12 ounce all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tbsp baking powder
- 2 lb kale fresh
Instructions
Wash kale
- Remove stems from the center of kale and wash with the DIY vegetable wash2 lb kale
Cook, drain, and puree the kale
- Fill the pot with water, cover and bring to a boil over high heat, add the kale, prodding to submerge it. Cook uncovered until the kale is tender and tears easily, approximately 2 to 3 minutes. Drain the kale and squeeze the kale to remove all excess water. The kales needs to be dry. Place the drained kale in Vitamix or speed blender to make a silky smooth kale purée.
- Use 12 ounces of kale puree for the Bundt cake and freeze the rest. Spoon the extra kale puree into ice cube trays and freeze into cubes. Once they are frozen, shake out from tray and store in freezer bags and use as needed for baking additional Bundt cakes or for smoothies, yogurt dips, sauces, etc.
Puree the beans
- Rinse Garbanzo Beans in cold water . Place beans, buttermilk, vanilla, canola oil, and applesauce in blender and mix at medium speed until smooth.11 oz chickpeas canned, 1/2 cup buttermilk, fat-free, 1/4 cup canola oil, 1/2 cup apple sauce, unsweetened
Separate egg yolks and whites. Set egg whites aside
- Pour bean puree into a mixer with the paddle attachment. Add the 5 egg yolks, kale puree, granulated sugar, lemon zest, flour, lemon extract, and baking powder and blend evenly at medium speed.5 each egg, 2 lemon, 2 tbsp lemon extract, 13 ounce sugar, 12 ounce all-purpose flour, 1 1/2 tbsp baking powder
- In a separate mixer, with a wire whip, add egg whites and beat slowly until foamy. Then increase speed and beat whites to stiff peak. Gently fold egg whites into batter.
- Spray mini Bundt cake pans with non-stick cooking spray. Portion batter evenly into pans, you want to fill Bundt cake molds no more than ¾.
- Bake in a pre-heated convection oven for about 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in Bundt cakes comes out clean. Invert the Bundt cakes onto a wire rack over a baking sheet. Bundt cakes will rise during baking, so with a serrated knife remove the raised top part.
- Garnish each Bundt cake with a little whipped cream, fresh mint and serve.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate