Baked: Agbalumo-Carrot Cake

Today, I have three stories & recipes to share on and with Agbalumo – Success with an awesome chutney, A’yt and outright ‘Fail’. Here’s to delicious cake first.

Long dreamt of and easily made was this cake. See that orange nugget – top right hand of the wedge of cake below? That’s a piece of dried Agbalumo.

All the ingredients required are in season – Agbalumo, Carrots, Oranges. 

Agbalumo here is used in two forms – pureed and dried (chunks).

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Everything about this cake was great – the ease of making and baking, the texture and taste – carrots grated such that they didn’t completely give way when baking. A bit chewy.

The Agbalumo  was nice, but not very present. It appears that Agbalumo loses some of its flavour when cooked in small bits and combined in a mixture. The texture of the dried fruit was there – a touch chewy but not all of the flavour. 

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Large chunks worked in the Tarte Tatin – the integrity and flavour of the fruit were preserved. Here…they almost got lost. One thing that occurred to me was the fruit might not have been dry enough. 

I particularly enjoyed tossing the grated carrot, orange zest and Agbalumo chunks into the flour. 

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What a brilliant idea – this way, they are evenly distributed in the batter.

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This was a great recipe to try and much enjoyed. Some adjustments to make to get a stronger sense of Agbalumo but a worthy effort.

Agbalumo - Carrot Cake
A delicious carrot cake featuring cardamom and nuggets of flavour from Agbalumo. My version adds Agbalumo - a fruit indigenous to Nigeria and skips the vanilla essence, simply because I forgot. I also make everything by hand - though the original calls for a mixer.
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2779 calories
375 g
380 g
127 g
43 g
12 g
921 g
1517 g
164 g
1 g
107 g
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size
921g
Amount Per Serving
Calories 2779
Calories from Fat 1119
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 127g
195%
Saturated Fat 12g
61%
Trans Fat 1g
Polyunsaturated Fat 22g
Monounsaturated Fat 85g
Cholesterol 380mg
127%
Sodium 1517mg
63%
Total Carbohydrates 375g
125%
Dietary Fiber 15g
61%
Sugars 164g
Protein 43g
Vitamin A
748%
Vitamin C
50%
Calcium
71%
Iron
37%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your Daily Values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
Ingredients
  1. 3/4 cup sugar - white & brown
  2. 2 eggs
  3. 2 cups plain (white) flour
  4. 2 teaspoons baking powder
  5. 1/2 teaspoon crushed cardamom / powder
  6. 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon powder
  7. 1/2 teaspoon salt
  8. 2 cups carrots, shredded
  9. 1/2 cup Agbalumo chunks
  10. Zest of 1 orange
  11. 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  12. 1/4 cup yogurt, plain
  13. 1/2 cup Agbalumo puree
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 170 degrees C
  2. Grease and flour a 9" cake pan
  3. In a large bowl, whisk sugar and eggs until combined
  4. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, cardamom, cinnamon and salt. Add carrots, agbalumo chunks and orange zest - toss to coat
  5. Combine oil, yogurt and agbalumo puree
  6. You'll alternate the flour and yogurt-oil-puree mixture, beginning and ending with the flour. This gives the cake a good texture
  7. Begin with flour mixture - add a third to the egg mixture. Stir. Add 1/2 the yogurt and oil. Repeat with another 1/3 of flour, followed by the remaining yogurt mixture. Stir and finish with the flour, stirring till just combined
  8. Pour batter into the pan and bake until golden, about 45-50 minutes
  9. The edges should pull away from the sides and a skewer set in the centre should come out clean
  10. Allow cool and serve as you wish
Adapted from Food52.com
beta
calories
2779
fat
127g
protein
43g
carbs
375g
more
Adapted from Food52.com
Kitchen Butterfly https://www.kitchenbutterfly.com/
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So there you have it – Agbalumo Carrot Cake, best enjoyed by the wedge.

7 Comments

  1. I love this new ‘fixation’ you have with Agbalumo. 🙂 I wish I had an oven; this looks like a great recipe.. Well done, O! 🙂

  2. As I put my carrot cupcakes in the oven,the notification of this post came in and I smiled, I will stand sentinel at my balcony today looking out for trays of agbalumo, I have procrastinated on this agbalumo leather for too long. Nitori ife Jesu ( for the love of Christ) what is the native name of cardamom? Where can I buy it? I’ve not seen any in the spice section of the shops I go to. Keep the good work up, God bless you

    • Ha ha ha. It is worth experimenting with – Agbalumo is.

      Cardamom you will find in Indian type supermarkets for sure – Spar and the like. Probably shop rite too.

      I hope you find some – its my special thing. Heavenly scents

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