Dr. Nadia’s Acorn Sweet Bread Recipe

This is not my recipe. I got it from Dr. Nadia Navarrete-Tindall. Nadia took my wild syrups class at the Midwest Wild Harvest Festival, in Prairie du Chien, WI. She is a native plant educator and consultant living in Columbia, Missouri, and last November I read an article she wrote about acorns. At the end of the article, Nadia referred to a recipe for a Salvadoran quesadilla made with acorn flour. She said that unlike the Mexican quesadilla, a Salvadoran quesadilla is actually a sweet bread or cake. She added that if anyone were interested in the recipe, she’d send it to them.

I couldn’t imagine how something that combined cheese, sugar, and acorn flour would taste. I was intrigued, but skeptical. The recipe sat on my countertop for more than a month. It wasn’t until I had a gluten-free friend coming over for dinner that I dug out the acorn flour and gave it a try.

Oh my god it is SO delicious!

I’ve never tasted anything like it. It has the perfect amount of sweetness, it’s moist, and it has excellent texture. Nadia suggests serving it with ice cream and maple syrup, but I tried it with non-fat Greek yogurt and honey, and I literally yelped with pleasure at the combination.

What You’ll Need to Make Dr. Nadia’s Acorn Sweet Bread

• 1/2 cup brown rice flour
• 1/2 cup cold leached acorn flour
• 1 cup grated queso fresco
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 3 large eggs
• 1 stick of butter (1/2 cup) melted
• 1/4 cup buttermilk
• sesame and flax seeds to garnish

What You’ll Do to Make Dr. Nadia’s Acorn Sweet Bread

Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease an eight or nine inch cake pan and set it aside.

In a large bowl, combine the flours, cheese, sugar, and baking powder and stir the ingredients together well.

In a small bowl, combine the buttermilk and melted butter, then gradually incorporate these wet ingredients with the dry. Mix (by hand or with an electric mixer), until the batter is uniformly wet. Next, add the eggs, one at a time, and mix until creamy.

Pour the batter into the greased cake pan, and sprinkle on the seeds, if desired.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

This cake can be eaten warm or cold; it’s delicious both ways. And while it’s plenty tasty on its own, yogurt or ice cream with a drizzle of something sweet, like honey or maple syrup, takes this dish over the top. You could serve it for breakfast, dessert, or for a snack anytime.