Can you really make a tasty cake out of KALE?

As we prepare to swap festive gluttony to kickstart a healthier New Year, food writer SARAH RAINEY asks . . .

TIERS of golden sponge, sandwiched together with whipped buttercream . . . topped with chunks of crispy roasted kale. That’s right, kale. Leafy, green, found-inthe-vegetable-aisle kale.

It’s not what I normally look for in a cake. But this unusual-sounding creation is a ‘kale gateau’, part of a new trend for vegetable-based cakes which is taking the baking world — and, soon, your kitchen — by storm. It may not look like the most appetising cake I’ve ever tucked into — there are flecks of green in the sponge as well as the pile of shrivelled leaves on top — but, according to fans, once you’ve tried a vegetable dessert, you’ll never go back.

As a lifelong cake addict, I may take some convincing. Of course, mixing veg and baking is not entirely new, with some ingredients more well-established than others: think carrot cake and pumpkin pie.

But there have always been certain greens — kale being a prime example — that simply don’t belong in sweet things. Until now.

Online searches for ‘vegetable cakes’ have soared by 50 per cent in the past six months, while the most recent Great British Bake Off even had a ‘vegan week’, for the first time in the series’ eight-year history. In tandem, veganism — the practice of avoiding animal-based produce such as meat, dairy and eggs and replacing it with fruit, veg and grains — is on the rise, with an estimated two per cent of Irish people — that’s nearly 100,000 of us — following a vegan diet, according to Bord Bia.

Still more are cutting down without totally renouncing animal-based produce

‘to I attribute my success this: I never gave or took any excuse FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE

by reducing the meat, fish, eggs and diary in their diets. The flexitarian diet is becoming more and more popular, with some healthconcious among us enjoying a vegan diet during the week, only indulging in animal protein at weekends.

While motivations vary — people cite their own health, concerns about the environment and worries about animal welfare — what was once seen as the preserve of hippies and health-food fanatics has become firmly entrenched in the mainstream.

Marks & Spencer and Tesco are among those to have launched vegan ranges, while earlier this year superstar Beyoncé invited her 117million Instagram followers to join her in going vegan as she prepared for a big festival performance.

So it seems that greens are the food of the moment. But in cakes..? Surely that’s a step too far?

‘Vegetables don’t need to be limited to the savoury course,’ insists Ysanne Spevack, the author of cookbook Vegetable Cakes.

‘They’re not as sweet as fruit, but they can all be sweetened, either by being marinated and mixed with something sweet, or by having their natural sugars caramelised.

Imagine some caramelised parsnips — the toffee-like ones from a really good Sunday roast.

‘Many vegetables offer other plus points, such as outrageous colours or surprising textures. And, of course, there are the health benefits. People struggle with ways to eat their recommended five-a-day, and parents often worry about getting vegetables into their children without a fight. This is a clever way of doing just that.’

Ysanne, a professional gardener, was inspired by her love of legumes to dream up concoctions such as radish pavlova and spinach macaroons.

She admits that some of her recipes sound ‘utterly ludicrous’, but says baking with vegetables is the perfect way to indulge your love of cakes while maintaining a healthy diet. But can a cake made from vegetables ever taste as good as a fluffy Victoria sponge or a gooey chocolate brownie? Or should we stick to eating greens the way nature intended: with meat and potatoes, not butter and sugar?

I tried out three radical recipes to find out if veggie cakes are worth the hype . . .

RECIPES adapted from Vegetable Cakes by Ysanne Spevack, published by Lorenz at €12.40. ©Ysanne Spevak 2018.