desserts, recipes, Uncategorized

Spiced Okra Cake

Posted by Ashley Rella on

Chefs are some of the wildest imaginations we have on this planet. And tinkering is what we do.

I got a bestie who grows food. It’s the perfect friendship; she grows it, I cook it. Food was how we connected but we stay friends for much much more. A couple years ago she was growing out a bunch of okra for seed. She not only grows food but more importantly grows food for seed so the future of our food is an option. It is incredibly important work but as chef, walking through a garden and not being able to use stuff is hard. But our curiosity will always have us in the middle of the garden dissecting, inspecting, tasting, and dreaming up all kinds of food things. This okra work was inspired by one of her seed saving buddies Chris Smith, author of OKRA, Sitting in the garden one day amongst the okra plant with striking red okra pods (name?) on it she tells me there is a recipe for okra candy. Like any food nerd this book immediately became my new reading material. As bizarre as it seemed I learned early on in my career to never say never.

Chefs are some of the wildest imaginations we have on this planet. And tinkering is what we do. I will always encourage people to get comfortable with playing in the kitchen again and not be afraid to try things. It doesn’t have to be a chore, it’s a time one can tap into their intuition and their ancestry. It’s a ritual for me. A way to connect and ground myself. I want that for others too. I also have learned to let go of a lot of rules and ideas that are indoctrinated in the culinary world. The standards in culinary mastery are euro-centric and based on French cookery being the crux of all things culinary. But cultures around the world have perfected cookery of their locally grown, foraged, and hunted food that rarely makes entries into cookbooks. Twenty five years in this industry and I still probably only know 15% whats outs there. Chances are it’s probably even much less.

After reading how this okra candy was made i just knew we were not using okra to fullest advantage. The mucilage in this fruit pod is beneficial to consume even though its texture is such a turn off for many. But this candy recipe take advantage of this gel like gooey substance by drying a mixture mixed with sugar that forms a taffy like texture. I immediately thought it surely would work to keep a cake moist, but could it taste good? So I did what any chef would do and put it in a cake. I have tinkered with this recipe a few times and landed on this variation which is a moist spiced okra cake. Like almost everything I do, this too will be a work in progress and this recipe will adapt over time.

Spice Okra Cake

Ingredients:
  • 4 oz butter
  • 6 oz sugar
  • Cream.
  • 2 cups okra purée
  • 2 eggs
  • 1teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3 tablespoons dark rum (optional)
  • Blend.
  • 1 t baking powder
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon cardamom
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
  • zest one orange
  • mix
Instructions:
  • Cream together butter and sugar for about 3 minutes or until it starts to lighten up.
  • Add eggs, okra, extract and rum and mix on medium low
  • In a bowl, mix all of the dry ingredients, spices and zest together. Add to the batter in two or three parts. Do not over mix.
  • Fill greased muffin pans or mini bundt pans 3/4 of the way up.
  • Bake for 350 degrees for about 18 minutes.
  • The cake should be firm and springy.
  • Flip out onto a rack to cool.
  • Dust with powdered sugar and top with fresh fruit

Note:

  • Other variations I have tried with icings, fruit puree and caramel. Go wild, experiment with me and let me know what you come up with.

Leave a comment