As promised, here is my recipe for groaning cake, adapted from here. At the workshop I co-led on birth/death, we served this cake as our dessert, to great acclaim!
This recipe makes 2 or 3 dense, flavourful loaves, which can be easily frozen to enjoy later. This recipe is packed with whole food ingredients for long-lasting energy. Feel free to substitute and modify according to your tastes. I especially enjoy it with a slice of sharp cheese.
Groaning Cake
3 cups whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1 1/2 cups grated apple
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
1 large carrot, grated
1/2 cup chopped dates
4 eggs
1 cup pumpkin puree
3/4 cup oil
zest from two large oranges
juice and pulp from one large orange
1/3 cup blackstrap molasses
3/4 cup brown sugar or honey (reduce orange juice if using honey)
Sift dry ingredients into a large bowl.
Stir in apple, walnuts, carrot, and dates.
Beat eggs separately and mix in all remaining wet ingredients.
Gently stir wet ingredients into flour mixture. (Add juice from second orange if the batter is very stiff.)
Grease two 9″x5″ loaf pans, or line with parchment paper. Divide batter into these two pans.
Bake at 350* F for 40-50 minutes.
If you want smaller loaves, use three pans. This batter can also be baked in muffin pans for single-serving portions (bake for ~20 min).