Date, Apricot and Chia seed cake

Things are about to get experimental in the kitchen once more as we are going to embark making a fat free, (refined) sugar free, eggless, gluten free cake. This cake would be suitable for coeliacs,  lactose intolerance, vegans, vegetarians and also everyone else who fancies trying something different (like me) however I would advise you to steer clear of this recipe if you have a nut allergy.

For this recipe (that I just made up this morning) you will need:

1 cup of pitted dates
1 cup of dried apricots
3tbsp chia seeds
12tbsp water
100g walnuts
150g ground almonds
150g sultanas
1tsp baking powder
2tbsp agave nectar

Place the dates and apricots in cups and soak in water for 30 minutes

I read somewhere (here actually) that hydrated chia seeds can used in recipes as a substitute for eggs. Using the ratio 1 part chia to 3 parts water this soluble fibre will form a thick gel.1/4 cup of hydrated chia seeds equals approximately 1 egg.

Ok so with all the scientificy bit out of the way let's carry on with our recipe. Place 3 tablespoons of chia seeds in a cup and add 9-12 tablespoons of cold water. Leave to stand for 15 minutes and you will notice a thick gel beginning to form.

Grind your walnuts and combine in a mixing bowl with the ground almonds. Add the ground apricots, (I left mine quite chunky to add texture) dates, sultanas,agave nectar and baking powder to help the cake to rise in the oven (my baking powder is gluten free)

Combine all the ingredients and transfer the mixture to a greased loaf tin or muffin cases if you prefer. Bake in the oven at 180 degrees Celsius. The muffins will take around 22-25 mins whereas the loaf will need about 40 mins. A good test to see if the cake is done is to insert a skewer into the centre and if it comes out clean the cake is done.

This cake (if I can even call it a cake I mean it contains no flour, butter,sugar or eggs so what even is it?) is not all together that sweet, add more agave or honey for more sweetness so would go well with some jam and tea. On another side note as there is very little raising agent in this cake it will not rise very much (if at all) so it will be quite dense instead of light and airy as can be expected from normal cakes.