Authenticity.
I am nutritionist by profession, an aspiring herbalist, love the concept of cooking, and dream of being a baker. It makes me happy to have the Herbal Bake Shoppe as a platform to mix all of this together. The baker dream part means I don’t get it right most of the time, but will keep working on that. When I discussed with my herbalist mentor this venture, he suggested it was important to maintain processing the herbs in traditional ways, as teas or tinctures for examples, to get any effect at all. I understand his point and have been working on ways to incorporate herbal water, alcohol, or oil infusions into the recipes I create. This cake is not perfect, but it is timely and uses a widely available herbal tea. The texture is lovely, but the taste not as chocolaty as I imagined, also not as sweet or even enough cranberries. The tulsi flavor comes through making it more like a mild spice cake. I am going to make it again and attempt a better result, but I am posting to ask for your input. What do you think of a mild, not so sweet, touch of sour cranberry chocolate cake? Would you even make a cake using tulsi tea? Do you like the idea of using herbal preparations in baking or is that an extra step you would not take? And specific to this recipe, if you were to bake it, how much cocoa powder would you add; what measure of cranberries? Please leave a comment below and thank you so much for supporting my journey with your input!
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| Servings | Prep Time |
| 12-16slices | 20minutes plus 2 hours for rise |
| Cook Time |
| 40minutes |
|
|
- For tulsi tea *
- 3 teaspoons tulsi, dried and powdered 3 tea bags
- 12 oz hot water
- For glaze
- ¾ cup organic powdered sugar, sifted
- 1-2 tbsp organic whole milk
- 1 tbsp organic unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 1/2 tsp chocolate extract
- For bundt cake
- 3 1/2 cups organic all-purpose flour
- 6 tbsp cocoa powder (Dagoba)
- 3/4 cup organic granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup organic coconut sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 packages active dry yeast
- 1 1/2 cups organic unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup hot tulsi tea
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup organic fresh cranberries, cut in half
- 1/3 cup dried cranberries, chopped
- 1 tsp lemon zest, grated
- Tulsi is also known as holy basil. Brew strong tea using 3 tea bags to 12 ounces of hot water or 3 teaspoons dried, powdered tulsi with 12 ounces of water. Steep for 20 minutes. Strain, reserving liquid and pour into small saucepan to keep warm over lowest heat setting
- Tea can be prepared up to 48 hours in advance, kept refrigerated and then gently warmed prior to adding to batter.
- In bowl of electric mixer, combine 1 cup flour, cocoa powder, sugars and salt. Stir well until thoroughly mixed through. Add yeast and stir. Cut butter into large chunks and add to flour mixture with hot tulsi tea. Beat on low for 2 minutes.
- Add eggs and additional 1 cup flour, beat this time on high for two minutes more.
- Cover mixing bowl with plastic wrap and then damp kitchen towel and allow to rise for 1 hour.
- Stir in fresh and dried cranberries, lemon zest, and additional 1½ cups flour. Mix with wooden spoon to create a smooth cake batter.
- Recover mixing bowl with plastic wrap and damp kitchen towel and let rise an additional hour.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray bundt pan with olive oil cooking spray to thoroughly coat. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 40 minutes. Test with toothpick to assure it comes out clean.
- Cool on wire rack for 10 minutes then remove from pan and cool completely
- Prepare glaze by combining all ingredients, stirring until smooth. Drizzle glaze over cooled cake.
Tulsi is also known as Holy Basil or Sacred Basil so may be sold under these names as well.
Using organic ingredients whenever possible will make your baked goods more wholesome and nutritious. For this cake, use organic flour, sugars, butter, eggs, and cranberries if available.
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