Almond Acorn Cake

One afternoon on the way to yoga, I saw some acorns scattered across the sidewalk. 

I started thinking.

Who eats acorns, other than the squirrels?

I did a bit of research and discovered that the protein, carbohydrate, and fat-packed “nut” was actually quite popular during both WWI and WWII in Korea and Japan. It was consumed in times of hunger – because of its intense nutritional value.

However, the acorn (or oak tree seed) is extremely bitter. Much like a walnut. Thus, it needs to be boiled or roasted before consuming by us particular humans. (Squirrels aren’t so picky, apparently).

I thought, for sure, I’d be able to find some on Amazon, either roasted or soaked in syrup. I was desperate to bake with this unusual, nutty treat.

No luck, if you can believe it! Seriously, Amazon?
So, I resorted to the acorn squash + almond flour in order to capture all that I was imagining in this recipe.

It really worked. In fact, a friend commented, “Of all you’ve created [she’s witnessed A LOT of my treats], this is my favorite!”

Yay!

Almond Flour Acorn Squash Cake – it’s gluten-free and dairy-free. Oh, and it contains lots of fiber and veggies and nuts. It must be “healthy,” right?

Almond Acorn Cake

 

16 Tbs. vegan butter, melted (+ 1 Tbs. room temperature to prepare the pan)
3 cups almond flour
1 small acorn squash, baked
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
5 large eggs
1 tsp. almond extract
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1 Tbs. powdered sugar

 

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Thoroughly grease a bundt cake pan with 1 Tbs. plant-based butter.

Combine the melted vegan butter, almond flour, baked squash, sugar, and eggs in a large bowl. 

 

Beat until well combined, with just a few small chunks of winter squash left in the mix.

 

Add the almond extract and sea salt.

Pour into the prepared bundt cake pan.

Bake for 40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

 

Cool for several hours.

 

Invert and transfer to a serving dish and sprinkle with powdered sugar.