Keto spring cake for the return of Persephone
Keto spring cake gives us a great inspiration point! However, every year springtime brings something different. Last year in early spring we all dealt with the shocking lockdowns and other restrictions. On the other side, this year we all got used to it. Every country has different rules and even though we are located in a region with the mildest measures in Europe, I can’t help but wonder how my Greeks are dealing with it? In Greece, they have one of the most strict lockdowns when compared to other European countries. This made me think of Persephone myth and how she was locked in the underworld.
Staying positive
Spring has sprung and the planet keeps turning. Should we celebrate it with a Keto spring cake? We the humans will adjust to anything and everything with the right amount of stoicism. And while we explore and learn from the ancients, why don’t we go further and find inspiration in those mythical stories?
March on our planet
In the second part of March, the vernal equinox occurs. Well Ketonians, Happy Spring in the Northern Hemisphere! (or Happy autumn to those down under) The March equinox indicates the time when the sun is located in a straight line with the equator. This means that our planet is not tilted toward or away from the sun. As a result, day and night last approximately the same.
Persephone return celebration
Mediterranean people love the sun and warm weather. This is why it’s only natural they had a special celebration and a story for this change of seasons. You may know the myth of Persephone, maybe you have even seen a movie or read our pomegranate cocktail article? In any case, the story is way too beautiful not to repeat it one more time:
Mighty King of all Gods, Zeus and the kind goddess of crops, Demeter, conceived a daughter named Persephone. On a very beautiful spring day, while she was picking wildflowers she was kidnapped by Hades, the god of the underworld! Her mother Demeter, troubled by the accident, rambled all over the world, trying to find Persephone.
On her journey, Demeter encountered Hecate, the goddess of witchcraft. She told her to ask Hellos, the Sun who sees everything from the skies. Bright and mighty Helios told Demeter the truth. At that point, Demetre went to Zeus to seek for help. Zeus was Persephone’s father, however, he was also Hades’ brother. unfortunately, Zeus refused to mediate! so Demeter went into a deep depression and stop giving the power of Earth to grow crops. This created the threat to the humans and animals race because nothing could blossom or grow. Not grass, not leaves, not crops. Zeus, who adored humans, had to do something. He sent graceful Hermes to the Hades kingdom, the underworld, to bring Persephone back.
When she was rejoined with her beloved mother, Demeter questioned her if she had eaten anything from the underworld. Persephone revealed that she had only eaten a pomegranate seed. She also said that Hades insisted on this! This was a hidden trap by Hades. A legend says that if you eat the seeds of the underworld, you have to remain there. Because of this, Persephone was obliged to go back to the underworld during the winter! She would be the wife of Hades during the winter, and she would spend summers, springs and autumns with her mother. While Persephone is with Demeter and Zeus on Olympus the ground is fertile and the crops grow! When she returns to the underworld, the earth becomes cold, covered in ice or snow, and nothing grows on it.
Keto spring cake as a way to celebrate the return of warmth
Many times we covered the subject of Keto cake and how often we should prepare it. Same goes for this Keto spring cake! Ideally, we should not eat Keto cake as often as before. Remember, the Noumenia protocol? You can read more about this protocol in our snowflake cake article. But when we decide to bake a cake, we might as well make it into a true masterpiece of festive baking! Let all the aromas, flavours, textures and feelings interact in a creation that still offers a healthy Low-carb experience.
Let’s not forget, our Keto spring cake should not only be low in carbs, it should still contain nutritious and natural ingredients. This is exactly the philosophy we follow on Greek Goes Keto. Whatever we can, we make it the ancient way. This way modern industrial products, processed ingredients never find their way in our Keto Mediterranean creations. So, before we jump to the recipe, let me once again wish you a Happy and prosperous beginning of new season!
Keto spring cake for the return of Persephone
20
servings12
minutes40
minutes300
kcalIngredients
6 large eggs
100g (3,5 oz) grass-fed butter (we used goat butter)
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
4 tbsp nut based flour of your choice (we used macadamia, you can use blanched almond, hazelnuts or pecan flour)
2 tbsp coconut flour
1 tbsp psyllium powder
1 tbsp orange blossom water (you can use rose water as well)
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp lemon zest
2 tbsp cacao powder (organic)
12 drops liquid monk fruit extract (read the notes for other types of sweetener)
- Syrup
200 (6,7 fl oz) ml water
1 stick cinnamon
12 cloves
1 tbsp natural rum aroma
1 tbsp vanilla extract
100 ml (3,4 fl oz) lemon juice
12 drops liquid monk fruit extract (read the notes for other types of sweetener)
1/3 tsp sea salt
- Icing
400g (14 oz) mascarpone
100 ml (3,4 fl oz) organic unsweetened pomegranate juice
12 drops liquid monk fruit extract (read the notes for other types of sweetener)
a pinch or two of sea salt
Directions
- Beat the eggs with baking soda, sweetener, and sea salt using an electric mixer to get a fluffy emulsion. Melt the butter on low temperature. Slowly start adding butter to the egg mixture.
- Mix nut-based flour, coconut flour, psyllium and lemon zest in a separate bowl and start adding this mixture spoon by spoon to the eggs.
- Now add vanilla extract and orange blossom water. Keep mixing for another 2-3 minutes.
- Grease a bund pan with some coconut oil and sprinkle it with coconut flour. Pour 2-3 of the cake batter into the bundt pan.
- To the remaining batter, add 2 tbsp organic cacao powder and mix well to unify. Using a spoon add this mixture on top and then make swirls with a fork or toothpick.
- Bake the cake in the oven for 25 minutes at 160ºC then reduce the temperature to 120ºC and bake for another 15 minutes.
- while the cake is baking, prepare the syrup. Place all the ingredients in a saucepan and bring them to a boil. Remove from the heat and wait till the cake is baked. When you take the cake out of the oven, slowly pour warm syrup on hot cake: Ideally do it spoon by spoon. Make sure you pour more of the syrup around the edges so that you can easily remove the cake from the pan. Let it cool down totally.
- When the cake is cool, flip it and place it on a wide plate. Now prepare the icing.
- Using a whisk, mix all the icing ingredients and place the icing in a decorating bag and be creative with your cake decoration. If you don’t have a professional cake decorating bag, you can use standard plastic bags and cut a very small opening at the one of the lower corners.
- Additionally decorate cake with coconut shavings, berries or maybe almond flakes. Serve after it has been chilled in the refrigerator for 2 hours.
Notes
- If you are using liquid extract sweetener, based on stevia or monk fruit, try to find the ones with glycerol, not alcohol. Usually you need less of this concentrated sweetener. If you use a blend of monk fruit (or stevia) and erythritol in crystal form – use 3 tablespoons in the cake, 4 tablespoons in the syrup and 1 in the icing.
- When we are choosing nut-based flours, we should always make sure the nuts have been blanched before flour was created. You can make your own flour by carefully and gradually grinding roasted nuts of your choice in the food processor. Macadamia has least carbs and oxalates. You can use pecans, blanched hazelnuts, pine nuts or even sesame seeds. Almond flour should be your last option.
