Chocolate Maya Nut Cake
(you might also like this recipe for Mayan Banana Bread)
“With one tree able to produce as much as 400 pounds of food a year, using the Maya nut prevents rain forest clear-cutting to harvest other foods and increases populations’ food supplies. Dried, the Maya nut can be stored for up to five years — a lifeline for regions with frequent drought.
The Maya nut has high levels of nutrients including protein, calcium, fiber, iron and vitamins A, E, C and B…
It is also less susceptible to climate changes than the crops that had been brought in to replace it.” -CNN
Chocolate Maya Nut Cake
Adapted from a recipe by The Equilibrium Fund
1 1/2 cups sprouted wheat flour
1/2 cups Maya nut, ground
1/4 cup raw cacao powder
1 teaspoon aluminum-feee baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon true cinnamon
1/3 cup panela or other non-refined sweetener
1 cup strong coffee (use decaf if you prefer)
1/2 cup virgin coconut oil
2 teaspoons coumarin-free Mexican vanilla
2 tablespoons organic cider vinegar
Grease an 8″ deep-dish pie pan (or two 4-inch ramekins) with coconut oil. Sift together the dry ingredients. Combine the wet ingredients in a separate bowl, then slowly stir back into the dry ingredients. Pour the batter into the pie pan and bake at 350 degrees for about 25-30 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Take care to not over-bake. Allow to cool 15 minutes before inverting onto a large plate and glazing.
1 cup grain-sweetened chocolate chips
1 teaspoon coumarin-free Mexican vanilla
2 tablespoons warm, filtered water
Melt the chocolate in a pan set over steaming water. Whisk in vanilla and water, then spoon over cooled cake. Garnish with coconut flakes, cinnamon and ground, toasted Maya nut.
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- Chocolate Maya Nut Cake
The Equilibrium Fund in partnership with Alimentos Nutri-Naturales, BanRural, Rainforest Alliance, the Guatemalan Ministry of Education and the Guatemalan Ministry of Agriculture started the Healthy Kids, Healthy Forests Program in September, 2008..
Please visit The Equilibrium Fund to learn more
Dink said,
September 12, 2009 at 7:36 pm
That looks fabulous. The cake looks higher than a deep dish pie pan.
Ren said,
September 12, 2009 at 7:42 pm
Good eye! The picture is of a half recipe, made in a 4″ x 2″ deep ramekin.
Colleen said,
December 28, 2009 at 9:40 pm
We purchased some ramon nuts, dark brown/black. Do the nuts in this cake recipe require roasting prior to grinding or are they used raw? And generally speaking, are they used in most baking dishes raw?
Ren said,
December 29, 2009 at 8:36 am
For things like cookies and cake, you’d usually use them roasted and ground (tastes like mocha). Cooked fresh seeds taste something like mashed potatoes..
lynn byrd said,
September 12, 2009 at 8:42 pm
thanks for the equilibrium fund link – what great work!
emily said,
September 12, 2009 at 11:20 pm
this looks sooooo amazing. now i won’t be satisfied until someone gives me a bite!
Ren said,
September 12, 2009 at 11:31 pm
I don’t do dessert often, but this was pretty good. Not too sweet, flavors just complex enough to make it interesting.
Jenny @ Nourished Kitchen said,
September 13, 2009 at 8:14 am
The Equilibrium Fund was started by a woman in my town. Maya Nut has a great flavor – like a combination of coffee and cacao. I’m hesitant to use it though, because I have a hunch that it’s like rich in enzyme inhibitors like other nuts.
Ren said,
September 13, 2009 at 11:11 am
Excellent point!
I don’t know if Maya nuts are high in enzyme inhibitors like most nuts, or if they are like pine nuts, pistachios and Brazil nuts with almost none. To be safe, the nuts could be soaked in salt water for 8 hours or overnight.
Thanks, Jenny!
Craving: Chocolate Maya Nut Cake | FOODBEAST - ONLINE FOOD PUBLICATION :: BEEN HUNGRY SINCE '88 said,
September 15, 2009 at 2:52 pm
[...] This cake no only looks amazing, and most likely tastes amazing. It also prevents rain forest clear-cutting. Why you might ask? Because it is made with the Maya nut, which has the ability to produce 400 pounds of food per tree per year. Thus decreasing the need for more harvesting and food supply. (Thx Ediblearia) [...]
Wardeh @ GNOWFGLINS said,
September 16, 2009 at 1:05 pm
Whoa. This looks fabulous. Where could I find Maya nuts? I would probably soak them and then dehydrate them, just to be on the safe side.
Ren said,
September 16, 2009 at 1:10 pm
Thanks! I got them from Mountain Rose Herbs http://www.mountainroseherbs.com/learn/ramonnut.php
Wardeh @ GNOWFGLINS™ said,
September 16, 2009 at 1:21 pm
Thanks, Ren. Can you or Jenny point me to information that talks about the relative amounts of enzyme inhibitors in nuts? I wasn’t aware that certain nuts have more than others (though that makes sense).
Ren said,
September 16, 2009 at 2:00 pm
My understanding is that virtually all raw seeds and nuts have enzyme inhibitors, with peanuts and chestnuts having high concentrations and Brazil, macadamia and pine nuts with the least. I don’t know where Maya nuts are relative to other nuts, but I do know that the Aztec (and Maya, presumably) commonly soaked and dried their seeds and nuts in the sun before using them.
Early primary research by Dr Edward Howell (a “raw foodist”) is cited by Fallon/Enig at http://www.westonaprice.org/nutritiongreats/howell.html
Also see http://www.living-foods.com/articles/enzymes.html
Jenny may have more info..
Hope that helps!
Wardeh @ GNOWFGLINS™ said,
September 16, 2009 at 2:07 pm
Yes, it does – and now I remember that I have a book by Dr. Howell, so I’m going to look more at that chapter.
Mayan Banana Bread « Edible Aria said,
September 20, 2009 at 11:03 pm
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