Good morning to all. This weekend we celebrated one year of Charlie. I made green pozole and this coconut cake and he napped for half of the party. He took his first steps the night before, and I must say, this overachieving Capricorn prince is his mother's son, making it just under the wire of an arbitrary deadline. I also unlocked a new level of baby food, wherein I eat a lot of the baby food because it tastes so very good. I might go so far as to say...I'm inspired! More on that later this week.
For today: this cake, which I have to say of all the loaf-style, one-bowl, barely sweetened cakes, is my favorite (I know I have several). I pushed the limits on how much fruit I could get inside without sacrificing the structural integrity of the finished product, which is how I ended up with a cake containing both chia and flax seeds (science!). While I included both for purely textural reasons (always in pursuit of a moister cake), I can't imagine there aren't some health benefits to be had (if there aren't, who cares, it's cake).
A cake with a lot of fruit in the batter can be a scary proposition because it can lead to a very wet cake that never quite seems baked through, causing distress and disappointment and, of course, soggy, gummy-textured, probably sunken cake. We’ve all been there! Tragic. But this cake "would simply never."
Adding both chia and (ground) flax seeds absorb quite a bit of liquid, plumping up and staying hydrated for a long time. These seeds behave this way both in your overnight yogurt situation or smoothie etc, and also, incidentally, this cake batter. Meaning, very moist, tender cake for a very long time, but also, providing additional support to the flour when it comes to absorbing the juiciness of the berries as they bake (it really does stay good for longer than usual, another charming little trait).
Other berries would work, but please note: if using frozen (which, this time of year...I would), keep them frozen, do not thaw. Thawing will give you a pool of berry juice in the bag or bowl, and you want all the juices in the fruit.
That's all! A lovely little cake! Bake it today and eat it all week long and think of me. Bye!