Creating a dense, moist chocolate cake with Einkorn flour

Einkorn flour? It's not a brand; it's flour milled from a type of wheat: einkorn wheat.

Do not be surprised if you have never heard of einkorn wheat. Einkorn is an ancient wheat. In fact, Einkorn is the oldest known wheat and, according to einkorn.com, is: " ... considered man's first wheat."

Einkorn.com also states: "Einkorn is the most primitive form of wheat on Earth. It contains only 14 chromosomes, whereas modern wheat contains 42."

Dr. William Davis, in his book "Wheat Belly," claims that today's wheat is not really wheat. Those extra chromosomes came from the hybridizing of ancient wheat, and today's wheat was created for its high gluten content (as well as easy harvesting) so that bread and other gluten-dependent baked goods can work best.

Being low in gluten is an issue with einkorn wheat.

A few years ago, I began experimenting with making bread with einkorn wheat flour with little success; my loaves did not rise much and were very dense. The company that produces and sells the einkorn flour I used is Jovial Foods at jovialfoods.com/.

Recently, turning to outside sources for einkorn bread (veganbakerymiami.com), I spent almost $18 a loaf (plus shipping) for bread made with organic einkorn wheat.

My "Four Chefs" group of friends was getting together and charged me with making dessert. Since I had einkorn flour, I thought it could produce a dense, moist cake (especially chocolate). The only way to know was to try.

I turned to my decades-old, easy-to-make Chocolate Sour Cream Bundt recipe created back in my low-fat days. Back then, I used drained, unsweetened applesauce for the cake's butter and a 50-50 blend of fat-free and low-fat sour cream. No one could tell my cake had been significantly reduced in fat.

Since fat is the transportation on which flavor rides, there was just enough fat in that cake recipe to deliver a big chocolate flavor.

I wondered if I used butter and full-fat sour cream to make that cake and used einkorn wheat flour if it would work well enough for my chef buddies to appreciate the results.

Since the einkorn flour was organic, I used as many organic ingredients as possible to make my cake. I also used a new-to-me organic sugar that supports regenerative farming.

According to regenerative farming websites, regenerative farming is a: " ... system that nurtures and restores soil health, protects the climate and water resources and biodiversity, and enhances farms' productivity and profitability." That organic sugar brought a satisfying smile to my face.

My cake recipe uses a stand mixer since beating as much air into the batter as possible produces good results. An electric hand mixer works, too.

Into my Bundt pan went the batter, and in a little over 40 minutes, my cake exited the oven, filling the air with the scent of chocolate and almonds.

My cake is so richly flavored I only dusted it with organic powdered sugar. The cake was a huge hit, and Nan and I barely had any to bring home.

Give it a try.

• Don Mauer welcomes questions, comments and recipe makeover requests. Write to him at 1leanwizard@gmail.com.

Full-Fat Dark Chocolate Bundt Cake

1¾ cups (210 grams) all-purpose einkorn flour

¾ cup (90 grams) Dutch-processed cocoa (sometimes called European-style)

1½ teaspoons baking soda

2/3 cup (150 grams) salted butter, at room temperature

1¾ cup (350 grams) organic granulated sugar

2 large eggs

½ teaspoon almond extract

1 teaspoon vanilla

1½ cups (345 grams) organic sour cream

Confectioners sugar, for dusting

Place the oven rack in the lower-middle position and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Using a vegetable and flour spray (such as Baker's Joy), lightly spray a 12-cup, nonstick Bundt pan. Set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk the flour together with the cocoa and baking soda. Set aside.

Add the butter to a large mixing bowl and with a mixer beat at medium-high speed for 4 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl twice. Scrape down the bowl, add the sugar, and beat for 3 minutes. Add the almond and vanilla extracts and beat for 15 seconds. One at a time add the eggs and beat each for 30 seconds. Scrape down the bowl, add the sour cream, and mix at medium speed until combined. Add the flour mixture and mix at medium speed until well combined, about 1 minute.

Transfer the batter to the prepared pan, smooth out the surface, and bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted into the cake's center comes out a touch damp. Cool the cake in the pan for 15 minutes. Invert the Bundt pan and release the cake onto a cooling rack. Cool completely. Dust the completely cooled cake with confectioners sugar just before serving.

Serves 12

Nutrition values per serving: 361 calories (45.7% from fat), 18.8 g fat (11 g saturated fat), 70.1 g carbohydrates (66.8 net carbs), 29.4 g sugars, 3.7 g fiber, 5.3 g protein, 77 mg cholesterol, 266 mg sodium.

Don Mauer