Pollinators LOVE Buckwheat! You can too!

WOW! Who knew you could transform simple buckwheat flour into a fabulous gluten-free treat full of chocolaty goodness in the form of a light, airy cake? I took a break from packing orders recently and made use of a burst of late night energy to give a recipe that caught my attention a try. Its next day's unveiling as our mid-morning coffee snack got rave reviews, and I am happy to report the recipe is a keeper!

Don't let the seemingly complicated recipe fool you - it really is remarkably straightforward and makes use of standard pantry staples.

First follow these easy steps to transform your homegrown buckwheat into flour.

Buckwheat Flour Chocolate Cake Recipe

This is baked in a 9” spring-form pan – I line the pan with parchment paper but you can also use non-stick vegetable spray.

Dry ingredients

1 tsp yeast

½ cup buckwheat flour

¾ cup chocolate chips – I use bittersweet chocolate

¼ cup cocoa powder, sifted – I use unsweetened

pinch of salt – I use a zesty salt blend

½ cup granulated sugar divided into (2) ¼ cup portions

powdered sugar for dusting

Wet Ingredients

1 Tbsp honey

4 large eggs

½ cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces

1 Tbsp vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 °F, move rack to center position and prepare your spring-form pan.

Part 1 – Create the Buckwheat Flour Sponge:

1. Bowl A: combine the flour, honey and yeast with ¾ cup lukewarm water in a large bowl. You will add the chocolate mix below and whipped egg whites to this so make sure it is large enough.

2. Allow the yeast to activate – let the mix sit loosely covered at room temperature for about an hour or until the surface of the sponge is bubbly.

Part 2 – Do the Eggs:

1. Separate the yolks from the eggs into a small bowl, reserving the whites.

2. Combine ¼ cup granulated sugar with the egg whites and whip to soft peak stage with an electric mixer on medium-high speed, approximately 3-4 minutes. Set aside, keeping cool until needed in Part 4.

Part 3 – Create the Chocolaty Goodness:

1. Bowl B: Combine the cocoa powder, the remaining ¼ cup granulated sugar, and the vanilla extract in a small bowl.

2. Bowl C: Combine the butter and chocolate chips by melting until smooth over a hot water bath. (My water bath is a metal bowl that rests in a saucepan of boiling water without touching the bottom of the saucepan.)

3. Once the chocolate / butter mix is melted smooth, remove from heat and stir in the contents of Bowl B.

4. Once the mix is smooth again, add in the egg yolks one at a time, combining until smooth between each addition.

Part 4 – Make the Cake!

1. Add the Buckwheat Flour Sponge (Bowl A) to the Chocolaty Goodness (Bowl C), stirring until well combined.

2. Add half of the whipped egg whites to the cake batter (Bowl C), stirring until smooth.

3. Add the remaining half of the egg whites to the batter (Bowl C) and mix until just combined.

4. Evenly transfer the cake batter to the spring-form pan, smoothing the surface.

5. Bake 20 minutes, rotate the pan and bake 20-25 additional minutes or until a tester stuck in the center comes out clean.

6. Let cake cool.

Part 5 – Enjoy!

• For serving, remove pan ring and transfer cake to a serving dish. Dust cake with powdered sugar.

• Enjoy with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

• If needed, make the cake a day ahead of time, storing it at room temperature in a tightly sealed container.

Adapted from Bon Appétit's February 2021 Issue – Roxana Jullapat's Chocolate Buckwheat Cake.