Pine Nut and Anise Cake With Blood Orange Compote
By: Helen Pitlick
Published: Friday, December 10, 2010 - 1:02am

Ingredients




2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon sea salt
3/4 cup pure maple syrup
1 cup soy milk
1/2 cup canola oil
2 1/2 ounces silken tofu
1 tablespoon anise extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted
8 blood oranges
1/2 cup unrefined sugar or Sucanat
1 tablespoon arrowroot, dissolved in 3/4 cup cold water

Preparation

1 CAKE: Preheat the oven to 350F degrees. Lightly oil an 8" round springform pan. In a large bowl, sift the flour, baking powder and baking soda. Add the salt and stir until well combined. In a blender, combine the maple syrup, soy milk, oil, tofu, anise and vanilla extracts, and lemon juice. Puree until smooth. Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture, and mix well. Fold in the pine nuts. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 55-65 minutes, or until the cake is golde 2 Let the cake cool completely in the pan on a rack, then remove it from the pan. 3 COMPOTE: Juice 4 of the oranges. Peel the remaining 4 oranges and cut them into segments. In a small saucepan, combine the orange juice and sugar. Bring the mixture to a simmer and stir in the arrowroot mixture. Stir until the sauce becomes translucent. Remove from heat and let cool. Stir in the orange segments. 4 TO SERVE, cut the cake into 10 slices. Heat the orange compote until warm. For each serving, pool orange compote in the center of a plate, place a slice of cake on top of the compote.