Breakfast Cakes
Are you a savory or sweet breakfast person?
Me? I think I am mostly savory but I go through phases. When I was in school and college, I was definitely inclined to savory and not by choice. Usually someone else cooked, my mother or the canteen, and well I ate what I was given to eat. I used to eat full breakfasts then, Indian version. That could range from dishes like poha or vermicelli upma (my favorite) to rotis with a vegetable, a tall glass of mango milk (in season) and a bowl of yogurt. Yes, I ate all that and then lunch and dinner (and snacks in between)! :-)
When I worked in Tokyo, I would eat a scrambled egg sandwich with wilted spinach and mayo everyday! No change. The guy in the office cafe would start prepping as soon as he saw me walk in the door and then it became that he started dropping it off at my desk at the right time. Oh yes, my waistline stretched. My days started early and ended late and I decided I was just going to enjoy my food. The eggs were fantastic and food in Japan is simple above par any other country I had been to at that time!
Moving to US, changed things. For one, there was no nice cafe guy to bring me breakfast and the office cafe was dismal! So, I switched to two slices of toast and grape jelly. That was my routine, which, I would break with an occasional Friday breakfast of egg sandwich that always disappointed me. Then I discovered French Toast and it became my staple brunch order. For many years when I got here, I could not eat eggs as much because they just made me feel awful and too full for most of the day. Later, I realised that was because of the quality eggs. Over the last couple of years, since I have been getting fresh eggs straight from the farm, I eat an egg nearly every day, as evidenced by my
. :)
Nevertheless, I start my day with tea and biscuits (I have to dip them in my tea!) and then it's a question of breakfast. On some days, like today (yes! this is fresh off the oven!!), I decide to change things up and use that last egg into something else rather than a fry straight up. haha
I think cakes get a bad rapport for being breakfast items and history disagrees. Me too! Why is this incredibly joy inducing dish given the stern looked treatment for breakfast?!
The first cakes made in human history were more bread like, baked with yeast and sweetened with honey. Often times, nuts and dried fruits were mixed in. The Egyptians are credited as being the first culture to leap ahead in the world of baking. In the Roman times, eggs and butter were added to the basic bread dough to give it a more cake like consistency (and from there come challah, panettone, stollen etc.). Another interesting consequence of the cakes, bread origins is the popularity of round shapes. Since breads were typically hand molded, boules and rounds were the most popular shapes and that preference carried on with the evolution to lighter and sweeter cakes. Also, round shapes generally symbolize the cyclical nature of life. Since, cakes and breads were originally used in religious ceremonies, the shape acquired a special significance.
In Europe, cakes became popular in Medieval times when bakers made fruitcakes and gingerbreads that had very long shelf lives. Think Christmas cakes. According to historians, modern day renditions of round cakes baked with came about mid-17th century with progress in baking and sugar refining technologies. Even so, they were turned over during the baking process, causing then to be hard on both sides. And, it was not till the 19th century when baking powder was used instead of yeast.
So, now, based on that, I see no harm in eating cake for breakfast, especially if it is un-dessert like and more breakfast like. In making this
Mung Bean Breakfast Cake
, I took artistic liberty with history. Obviously, the lack of gluten is stark but very healthy. This cake is made with raw sugar instead of honey, mildly sweet, and has chocolate and sunflower seeds running through it. Mung flour is very rich in protein and also has a mild sweetness on its given its high percentage of sugars, good sugars; the ones that break down slowly and delay release of energy through the day.
That's it from me for today. I am going to have myself another slice and start packing for my trip.
I will be in India for the next two weeks. You can follow my travel through
as I spend 15 days across 5 cities with a wedding in between! I will be posting here while I am in India and I have
a giveaway coming up
too!
Mung Bean Breakfast Cake
1/2 cup green mung bean flour
1/2 cup raw sugar (substitute with honey if desired, adjust to taste)
1/4 cup coconut cream
4 T peanut butter
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
4 T butter
1/2 tsp + pinch baking soda
pinch of salt
handful of chopped dark chocolate
handful of sunflower seeds or other chopped nuts
Preheat oven to 350F.
Sift the flour, baking soda and salt together. Melt butter, peanut butter and sugar on a low flame until the sugar/honey has melted. Cool slightly and whisk in coconut cream, vanilla and egg. This will create a fudge like consistency.
Fold in the flour in three parts into the wet mixture. If you find the batter too thick, thin with a teaspoon or so of water. Sprinkle the nuts and chocolate and fold in evenly through the batter.
Transfer to a greased loaf pan and bake for about 17-20 minutes. Transfer to cool on rack for a 10 minutes before slicing. Enjoy!