Beans in Baking
Posted by Heliamphora on Nov 11, 2011 · Member since Oct 2006 · 4798 posts
The thought popped into my head the other day: whether it would be possible to make cakes/muffins/loaves moist by using pureed beans in the recipe. After doing a bit of research (read: googling), I realised I had heard of pureed black beans in brownie recipes, to replace the fat I think. And evidently you can do the same with white beans in a yellow/white cake recipe. But I couldn't find a recipe! Apart from gluten-free recipes (which were certainly not vegan) that used beans INSTEAD of flour.
Help? :)
They certainly use besan (garbanzo flour) in gluten-free breads and stuff. But the actual cooked beans, I'd think you'd have to count in the moisture etc. and it could get complex.
I have only used black beans to make brownies once from a recipe on this site. It turned out ok but unfortunately (I am sure by coincidence) I became very ill with a stomach flu just days after that lasted seven days where I could eat very little and everything came up and out. To this day I am having trouble with eating black beans without it bringing back memories. :(
I do however LOVE white beans for sauces, dips, sandwiches etc. but have never thought to use it for baking. Your post peaked my curiosity so I did some searching.
http://www.egglesscooking.com/2008/12/15/fortified-poori/
Here is another that is vegan and uses beans for a cake
http://www.fitnessandfreebies.com/food/articles/beans.html
This one is not vegan due to all the eggs/yolk but if you could find a way to substitute that it could be (might be the one you were refering to):
http://www.healthyindulgences.net/2009/07/healthy-cake-with-secret-part-2-gluten.html
I also found this link that talks about substituting white beans for oils/fats in baking:
http://www.livestrong.com/article/264702-how-to-replace-fat-in-recipes-with-white-bean-puree/
Wish I had more time to find some more but I am off to work. Hope this helps.
ooo, what a fun idea!! I haven't seen/heard of any recipes (sorry!) but I think it would be really awesome... I think the key would be to use a bit of apple cider vinegar with the baking soda to make sure the cake rises, and to not use TOO much bean... otherwise it would be heavy and dense, like a brownie. But I love this idea, I might play with some attempts at it :)
Thanks for the advice, nb and vh :) I'm definitely gonna try this sometime. That last link was especially informative. Maybe replacing half of the fat would be good to try first time. :hrmm:
By far the best baking recipe using black beans is the brownie recipe in The Complete Idiots Guide to Plant-Based Nutrition by Julieanna Hever. They are a favorite of mine and my omnivorous coworkers love them.
http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Idiots-Guide-Plant-Based-Nutrition/product-reviews/1615641017/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1
Great, thanks Saskia :)
I haven't made them, so I can't vouch for them... but I certainly want to try these!!
http://mynewroots.blogspot.com/2011/11/black-bean-chocolate-chili-cherry.html
Ohhh... *drool* :hotforyou:
Definitely let me know if you try any of them! I hope to make those this weekend!
Here are some other ideas (some still use flour or oats):
http://deliciousvitality.com/blog/brown-rice-syrup-gluten-free-chocolate-chick-blondie-recipe/
http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/marathon-cookies-recipe.html
-sub a vegan egg (chia or flax)
http://www.purplebirdblog.com/2011/05/15/and-now-for-baked-dessert-hummus-balls/
http://happyherbivore.com/2010/06/happy-herbivore-butter-bean-cookies/
loving this thread. Saskia, once all of the thanksgiving desserts are gone I'm making those brownies!
I haven't made them, so I can't vouch for them... but I certainly want to try these!!
http://mynewroots.blogspot.com/2011/11/black-bean-chocolate-chili-cherry.html
Now I can vouch for these! Made a mint chocolate version instead but they were super delicious! :D
I haven't made them, so I can't vouch for them... but I certainly want to try these!!
http://mynewroots.blogspot.com/2011/11/black-bean-chocolate-chili-cherry.html
Now I can vouch for these! Made a mint chocolate version instead but they were super delicious! :D
What kind of mint substance didja use?
I haven't made them, so I can't vouch for them... but I certainly want to try these!!
http://mynewroots.blogspot.com/2011/11/black-bean-chocolate-chili-cherry.html
Now I can vouch for these! Made a mint chocolate version instead but they were super delicious! :D
What kind of mint substance didja use?
I used 2 tsp of peppermint extract.
I've made white bean blondies that turned out really well, i don't remember where the recipe came from though..
these are flour-less pb blondies but i haven't tried them
http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2011/05/18/chocolate-chip-blondies-and-theyre-good-for-you/
I posted a recipe on here some time ago that is a red bean muffin. It sort of reminds me of bean cakes from Chinese bakeries.