Jam Cake with Okara
In my previous post I explained how I made (quickly and easily) okara (おから) at home. (As a reminder, okara is a very healthy by-product of the soy milk or tofu production.) This cake recipe is my first experience with okara use, but certainly not the last. The addition of okara made is taste lighter and softer, not to mention all the nutritious and healthy elements brought by okara. Last, but not least, a very important information: even those who hate soy milk, tofu etc. appreciate this cake and do not notice anything unusual.
Since the Spring is my “emptying last year’s jars” season, I made this cake with King of the Pippins sauce I had put into jars last year (King of the Pippins is an exceptional apple variety, read more about it + the sauce recipe here). However, this cake can be made with any fruit sauce, jam, marmalade or freshly made fruit purée. Excellent way to use up the leftover fruit (puréed and then sweetened) or the remains of a big jam jar. This cake was prepared with half of the okara I have recently made.
Preparation: 2 hours – 2 h 1/2
Ingredients (one small cake, serves 4):
125 g slightly moist okara
10 heaped tablesoons flour
pinch of salt
7 tablespoons sugar
50 g softened butter
(cinnamon)
a 200 ml jar of fruit jam, sauce of purée
Combine all the ingredients (except for the jam) mixing with your hands in a bowl or in a food processor.
You may add some cinnamon, but it’s not obligatory.
Divide the mixture in three parts and put one of those in a plastic bag in the freezer.
Leave it there to chill for one hour.
Preheat the oven to 180°C.
Line up a greased dish (mine was 10x20cm big) with the remaining 2/3 of the dough.
Spread the sauce or the jam over the top.
Take out the chilled 1/3 of the dough and grate it over the jam (on a grater with big holes).
Bake until slightly golden (about 1hour – 1h15min).
WOWWWWWWWWW! This is amazing!!!! I never know anyone who makes a cake out of Okara! I love it!!!! I totally didn’t expect to see this “sweets” form of Okara. It’s so cool Sissi! Now what’s the other half will turn into? 😉
Thank you Nami! I am happy this is a surprise for you. Actually I have already baked another cake, with the remaining half (only using different sauce…). For next time I’ll try to find a savoury dish to put okara into, for a change! I think I already have an idea… Now I’m wondering what to do with all this soy milk… I only used to drink it with coffee. Am I condemned to make my own tofu?????
LOL! That’s how you start exploring new world. I enjoy reading your experiment as I tend to stay in comfort zone all the time. =P
This looks delicious, crispy base and topping with soft sweet middle. Awesome. Interesting approach to freeze and grate the dough.
Thank you! Actually, in case you try it, I must warn you – because of okara, which softens the dough, the cake top is not very crunchy (I mean not as crunchy as a crumble would be). The grated top is an idea I took from my childhood, when a layered cake with a grated top (and one of the layers) was “in fashion”. By the way, I must make it one day!
I searched for okara recipes yesterday and forgot that I saw and commented on this. I will make this for sure. I saw many recipes for cakes etc and none of them use eggs. There must be a reason for this. BTW I made polenta/semolina crackers and used okara, it was great
Mr. Three-Cookies, I think often people using okara are vegans (I don’t remember the address, but I once saw a vegan’s blog only about okara and okara recipes! I will try to find it and will give you the address). Personally I loved this cake because it was somewhere between a soft cake, a crumble and had a slightly nutty taste… I hope you will post okara crackers! They sound excellent.
Oh, and due to the texture okara gives and the fact that it keeps things together, it is a good eggs substitute probably.
You got hooked too. I am glad. Try cabbage rolls with okara-meat mix.
I made okara thanks to yout! I’ll try next time in cabbage rolls or stuffed pepper, but maybe mixed with meat… I’m a big carnivore! And what do you think of the way my okara looks (in the previous post). I hope I have obtained the right texture!
Congratulations, sissi! I wondered who the “k” was in the previous post, and I know who it is. I hope to see your other uses of okara, and I want to know what you will do with your soy milk!
Thank you, Hiroyuki! You both helped me discover okara! I plan using one of your ideas soon! The only problem I have is the huge amount of soy milk I have never used apart from my morning coffee 🙁
I am not a big carnivore (living on fish and veggies while roasting a steak for my hubby) so okara is fine with me. Isn’t it wonderful that our earth provides so many different kinds of tastes and food? There is always something new to discover and Okara is a good choice trying something new. Geez, I would like to taste natto just once in my live. I am definitely going to visit japan next year (this year it has to be china again).
Kiki, the only meal I have without meat/fish/shellfish is the breakfast 😉 when I said ‘carnivore’ I meant ‘a creature’ (incuding fish). There arevery few exceptions such as cheese or mushrooms. I have only tasted natto bought in Switzerland, frozen. I was very disappointed by the bland taste, however the cheesy smell was very promising! Maybe unfrozen natto is not the real natto… I also would like so much to go to Japan this year.
You are completely right. Even discovering the variety of things, which can be done with soy beans is amazing! When I go to my Japanese shop I want to buy all the good quality misos they sell! Every miso is so different! Okara is another soy bean product I haven’t suspected existed. In the meantime I’m trying to find ways to use the huge batches of soy milk…
Natto freezes well, so I think the natto you had was quite similar to the natto I have. Bland?? I guess you are right (but I’ve never thought natto was bland). Natto is usually mixed with soy sauce or “tare” (a type of sauce made with soy sauce, dashi, etc.), as well as other condiments such as shredded naga negi. Then, it won’t be bland at all, it will be tasty!
Hiroyuki, thank you for the advice. Actually I had it with a bit of soy sauce only… It was not bad, but it didn’t have much taste in comparison with its strong smell. It smelled for me a bit like certain French maturing cheese varieties, so I suppose I had wrong expectations concerning the taste of nato, which has got nothing to do with cheese 🙂 Next time I’ll try with the tare sauce and maybe some other condiments. I must say that I like the smell, I like the funny gluey texture, and if the taste can be boosted by some condiments, I’ll enjoy it thoroughly! Thanks!