Made with Hodmedod's Red Fox Carlin Peas, this moist, rich cake was served to great acclaim and devoured with much enthusiasm at our recent Open Day - another superb recipe from Lindsey Dickson of The Eating Tree. |
The guys at Hodmedod’s and I have been trying to think up a suitable name for this cake, one that would make it sound inviting if spotted on a dessert menu, despite the fact it is made of peas. Red fox Carlin Peas to be precise. (Though Black Badger Carlin Peas, cooked from dry or out of the can and drained, would work just as well.)
Being a lady of a certain age, I have made more chocolate cakes in my life than I can remember. Some recipes have become like old friends whose phone numbers are used so regularly they are indelibly written on my brain. Others only come to the fore for special occasions which will entail a degree of rifling through scribblings and notes to find the recipe and then there are the less memorable ones that have long been forgotten, consigned to the bookshelves never to be hunted out again.
The reader may be forgiven for having a mental image of a pea cake as something rather dry and worthy, and well, tasting of peas. Nothing could be further than the truth with this cake which has quickly become my new favourite in the heady world of chocolate cake.
Made with two of my favourite flavours which blend so well together, the ginger and chocolate combine with the peas to make a moist, rich cake which is not overtly sweet. Easy to make, beautiful to look at and an extremely good keeper, need I go on. It makes a large cake that will cut into 12 servings easily, making it an excellent cake for entertaining. Like most chocolate cakes it is even better the next day so for best results make the cake the day before, wrap in foil overnight and decorate the following day.
Serves: 12
Ingredients for the Cake
Ingredients for Decoration
|
MethodYou will need a 9” spring release cake tin, greased with butter, bottom lined with baking paper and the sides dusted with cocoa powder. Preheat the oven to 165C (fan) / 325F.
When cutting, wipe the knife blade between cuts to ensure a beautifully clean cut. |
I live in Canada and have never heard of red fox peas and wonder if chickpeas are a good substitute for the "red fox ginger " cake. Also have never seen, stem ginger in jars here. Any suggestions?
How much dried peas do I need to use to end up with 200g cooked peas?
I accidentally put all the eggs in at once rather than folding in the egg whites separately and so I suspect the end result was more dense than intended (and took about an extra 15 mins to cook, despite making half the recipe), but it was nonetheless delicious! I have made a black bean cake before but I prefer this one.
Good point Kirsten! I’ve changed the recipe…
you mention mixing the melted choc with the whipped egg whites but what do you do with the beans/butter/sugar mix? do you add the choc to that then the egg whites to the choc/bean combo?
Comments will be approved before showing up.
Lindsey Dickson
Author
Lindsey is a traditional cook who cares about the food she eats and shares with her family and friends in Suffolk. A great supporter of home cooking using fresh ingredients and local produce, she shares her recipes and stories about her life with food on her excellent blog The Eating Tree.