Sorghum, orange and ginger cake

 

Ingredients

Makes 1 large cake

180 g sorghum flour

180 g oat flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

3 tbsp ground ginger

1 tbsp ground cinnamon

1⁄2 tsp salt

zest of 3 oranges

250 ml boiling water

250 g chopped dates

160 ml sunflower oil

juice and pulp of 1 orange

360 ml extra boiling water

1 tbsp coconut oil

1 tbsp brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

3 oranges, peeled and sliced

Garnish

icing sugar

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 160 °C and line a cake tin with baking paper.


2. In a bowl, whisk together all the dry ingredients, including the orange rind and spices. Set the bowl aside.


3. In a separate bowl, mix together the dates and 250 ml of hot water. Allow them to sit for 5 minutes, then blend the mixture into a smooth paste and set aside.


4. Whisk all the wet ingredients together, including the date paste and 360 ml of boiling water.


5. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, stirring well to ensure there are no lumps in the batter. Set the batter aside.


6. In a pan, heat the coconut oil, brown sugar and cinnamon. Add the orange slices to the pan and cook them for approximately 3 minutes on one side until they are slightly browned. Arrange the cooked orange slices on the bottom of the lined cake tin.


7. Pour the prepared batter into the tin and bake the cake in the preheated oven for 50 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.


8. Once baked, leave the cake to cool in the tin for 30 minutes. Then, carefully remove the cake from the tin and peel off the baking paper.


9. Sprinkle the cake with icing sugar and serve with cream or custard. Enjoy this perfect wheat-free treat that uses winter fruits!

About the chef

Mokgadi Itsweng

South Africa

Mokgadi Itsweng is a renowned, award-winning South African chef and food activist. Passionate about sustainable food systems, she promotes plant-rich diets with her debut cookbook Veggielicious and her plant-based dining experience “The Plate with Chef Mokgadi”. As Creative Director and Head Chef of Lotsha Home Foods and Ujuspice brand, she develops African-inspired food products. Her former restaurant introduced Pan-African cuisine to South Africans and showcased African flavours in gourmet dishes. Mokgadi also collaborates with The Chef’s Manifesto, a global movement of chefs for sustainable development.