 WSU executive pastry chef Jamie Donahoe: “You could
say our cakes are locally grown.”
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PULLMAN, Wash. – Imagine a mouthful of cake literally made from the Palouse.
German chocolate lentil anyone? How about lemon garbanzo bean?
Washington State University Catering offers to the public a regional spin on cakes; they’re packed with ingredients grown in our own backyard. Custom-made at WSU Catering’s on-campus bakery, one type is made with garbanzo beans, the other with lentils.
Just a few forks full and you’ll appreciate how the two legumes play a role beyond hummus, salad bars and soups.
More moist
These double-layered desserts not only look spectacular with their carefully mounded frostings, but they are extraordinarily moist and tender. It’s not that you taste the garbanzo beans and lentils; rather, you feel what they do to the cake.
 Brian Guthmiller of WSU Catering displays
lemon garbanzo bean cake with vanilla icing
and German chocolate lentil topped with
coconut-pecan frosting.
(Photos by Linda Weiford, WSU News)
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The secret lies in the puree made from the lentils and garbanzo beans, said executive pastry chef Jamie Donahoe of WSU Dining Services.
“First we cook them. Then we mash them into a soft puree that we fold into the batter,” she said. “We hear from our customers all the time that they can’t believe how moist the cakes are. Well, this is why.”
The deeper, scientific reason has to do with the two legumes’ natural sugars and gums, explained WSU food science professor Jeff Culbertson: “Being hydrophilic, they love water and bind it to the cake system.”
More nutritious
Additionally, Donahoe shares this tidbit: Because lentils and garbanzo beans are high in fiber and rich in protein, these WSU specialty cakes are more nutritious than the standard variety. They’re also made with flour from Shepherd’s Grain, a Washington-based cooperative of family grain growers.
“A lot of people like the idea of eating what’s grown on the hills around us,” she said.
And as massive combines churn those hills during the 2012 harvest, more and more orders are coming in for the cakes.
“Since the start of the school year, we’ve had lots of requests for birthday cakes. Now, we’re starting to see more orders for alumni and sports-related gatherings,” said Donahoe.
More flavor
Not only do the legumes contribute higher nutritional value and a delightful mouthfeel, they also bring out an extra wink of flavor. Coupled with garbanzo beans, the lemon tastes real fresh and tart. And the lentils amplify the chocolate, making the cake rich yet not over-the-top sweet.
Oh, and then there’s the frosting. Too often, bakeries sell cakes with frosting so thick that it looks applied by a garden spade. But the ones made at WSU are just the right blend of cake and topping. Donahoe credits her crew’s experienced cake decorator.
“She knows that cake shouldn’t play second fiddle to frosting. Not only that, but she has a knack for decorating,” said Donahoe.
That knack is displayed on cake tops in graceful salutations, piped curlicues and weaves and, often, the crimson Cougar head emblem and paw prints.
Taste reward of the Palouse
A few clicks on your keyboard will get you to an order form. There, you’ll see a palette of choices, ranging from cake sizes and costs to frosting and filling flavors. Chocolate or vanilla? How about Bavarian crème or raspberry? A round double-layer that feeds 12 people is about $15 and a coffee-table sized sheet cake that feeds 64 is less than $60 – and there are two sizes in between.
It’s often said that the Palouse hides its rewards in unexpected places. Now we can add WSU’s chocolate lentil and lemon garbanzo cakes to the list.
Bon appetit!
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