Stinging Nettle Cake is a funny and super tasty way of using stinging nettles. The cake is sweet and moist and tastes amazing. The stinging nettle cake has a priceless natural bright green color and is topped with icing. I decorated the cake using fresh nettle leaves, but I took them off before eating them. Even though the early stinging nettles don’t sting as much as the more mature ones do, I did not want to take the risk. For this recipe, I am using marzipan but feel free to use almond paste, if you do not have marzipan available.
For many people, stinging nettle is the uncomfortable stinging herb that you want to avoid. This fact is a pity since nettles are so much more than that. Stinging nettles have a great taste and are filled with vitamin A, vitamin C, potassium, iron, calcium, and have a high content of protein. The best time to forage for stinging nettles is in spring when the herb is no more than 20 centimeters (8 inches) tall. It is at this time the leaves are delicate – later in the season, the leaves will become more bitter in taste.
Stinging Nettle Cake
Ingredients
Nettle Cake
- 3.5 oz (100 grams) Stinging nettles (including the stems)
- ¼ cup (60 ml) heavy cream
- ½ cup (100 grams) unsalted butter, soft
- ¼ cup (50 grams) sugar
- 5.3 oz (150 grams) marzipan or alternatively almond paste, shredded or cut into small pieces
- 3 medium-sized eggs
- ¾ cup (100 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
Frosting
- Powdered sugar and a bit of cold water
Instructions
Nettle Cake
- Preheat the oven at 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit)
- Rinse the stinging nettles thoroughly in a colander.
- In a large pot, bring water to a boil and add the nettles. Boil the nettles for about 2 minutes.
- Bring back the cooked nettles to the colander and pour cold water on them.
- Now you will easily be able to touch the nettles without being stung. Remove the stems and keep only the nettle leaves.
- Squeeze out the water from the nettle leaves and place them in a blender or food processor together with the heavy cream. Process until it becomes a purée.
- In a large bowl, mix butter and sugar.
- Add the shredded marzipan and the nettle purée and mix well.
- Add one egg at a time and mix well in between.
- Finally, add all-purpose flour, salt, and baking powder and mix until combined.
- Place the dough in a baking dish covered in parchment paper.
- Bake the stinging nettle cake for about 20-25 minutes.
Icing
- In a medium-sized bowl or soup plate, mix powdered sugar with a little bit of water and mix using a fork until it becomes a smooth consistency. Add more water, if it doesn't become liquid enough, or add more powdered sugar, if it is too watery. When the cake has cooled down, pour the icing on top of the cake and spread it out evenly.
- You can decorate the cake with fresh nettle leaves, but remember to remove them before eating it - they sting 😉
6 Comments
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Thanks for the recipe it looks interesting. I also harvest stinging nettle and saute it with olive oil and garlic and another use if making pesto with it.
I want to try it but what size is the cake pan?