Ground cherry, chocolate and orange cake

A cake that’s light, delicious and super-nutritious? Yup, it exists! Ground cherries burst in your mouth, add freshness and blend deliciously with chocolate, orange and cardamom. A smaller cake is perfect for a picnic or a snack, but be sure to adjust the baking time to about 40 minutes.

Ingredients

1 ½ cups (375 ml) unbleached flour
¼ cup (60 ml) chia seeds
½ cup (125 ml) almond powder*
2 tbsps. (30 ml) baking powder
½ tsp. (2.5 ml) cardamom, ground
½ cup (125 ml) salted butter, softened
½ cup (125 ml) brown sugar, packed
4 eggs
½ cup (125 ml) almond milk
Zest and juice of an orange (about ¼ cup)
2 cups (500 ml) ground cherries, peeled (husks removed) and washed
1 cup (250 ml) 70% dark chocolate, in pieces

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 180 °C (350 °F).
Line a 23 x 13 cm (9 x 5") loaf pan with a strip of parchment paper. Butter or oil the other two sides. Set aside.
In a bowl, combine flour, chia seeds, almond powder, baking powder and cardamom. Set aside.
Using a hand or stand mixer, cream the butter with the brown sugar. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat on medium speed for about 2 minutes, until the mixture is smooth.
In a cup, mix the almond milk with the orange zest and juice. Set aside.
On low speed, add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture, alternating with the milk-orange mixture, until the batter is smooth. Add the ground cherries and chocolate, then gently stir with a spatula.
Pour into the baking pan and bake in the centre of the oven for about 1 hour and 10 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.
Let cool for about an hour. Remove from loaf pan and let cool completely on a rack.

Preparation

30 minutes

Cooking

1 hour and 10 minutes

Servings

10 to 12 portions