Home » Luscious Mawuyu, Umkhomo, Baobab Fruit Cake

Luscious Mawuyu, Umkhomo, Baobab Fruit Cake

Written by Published on in Baking, Cakes, Traditional
makes 12 Servings ~ 40-45 minutes
  • 180g butter/margarine
  • 180g white granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs, beaten
  • 360g self-raising flour, sifted
  • 3 tbsp baobab fruit pulp
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 450ml buttermilk

In my quest to create Zimbabwean desserts I decided to play around with what is  known as the African super fruit, our humble baobab fruit/ umkhomo/mawuyu. This fruit is a power pack of nutrition.  According to research, it has more vitamin C than you would find in an orange (three times more to be precise). It also contains 50% more calcium than spinach  and is loaded with anti-oxidants which help our bodies fight off free radicals (free radicals cause premature ageing and cancer amongst other things). If you wanted to take it further you could also make pancakes or Bundt cake using baobab powder.

Okay, so back to our recipe… 😀 The family absolutely loved this cake. It’s quite simple and if you want an even more pronounced/sharp taste of the mawuyu, you can add a bit more of the pulp/powder. Let’s get started then.

Resources/Equipment You Will Need

  • 10 inch baking tin or 2x 9 inch baking tins
  • Electric Hand mixer
  • Wooden spoon
  • Tablespoon
  • Measuring Jug
Also see  Oven grilled Chibage (mealies)

Quick Instructions

  1. Gather your ingredients together. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius/ 350 degrees Fahrenheit/ Gas Mark 5.  What you’ll need includes 180g butter/margarine; 180g white granulated sugar; 2 large eggs, beaten; 360g self-raising flour, sifted; 3 tbsp baobab fruit pulp; 1 tsp baking powder and 450ml buttermilk
  2. Using the electric hand mixer or wooden spoon, beat the butter/margarine and sugar until light and fluffy.Add eggs one at a time and beat well after each addition.
  3. Put the baobab fruit pulp/powder into a measuring jug. Add lacto/buttermilk and mix well.
  4. Add a  third of the sifted flour and mix.
  5. Add half of the lacto/buttermilk infused with the baobab fruit pulp. Mix until just combined. Do not over mix as this will result in a dry and hard textured cake.
  6. Add another third of the flour and mix until just combined. Add the remaining half of the lacto/buttermilk and again mix. Finally, add the last third of the flour and combine gently. Give a final mix with  a wooden spoon.
  7. Get your baking tin and prepare your cake tin, this is when you grease it with margarine/butter and dust it lightly with flour. We’re doing this to ensure that your cake does not stick to the tin when you want to take it out.
  8. Pour the cake batter into the prepared cake tin. Bake in oven for about 40-50 minutes or until the skewer comes out clean.
  9. When cake is done, allow it to cool on the cooling rack. And your cake is ready!
Also see  Vegetarian mushroom pizza (with olives)

Pictorial Detailed Instructions

The real thing
This is the the real thing found in the African wild. In this recipe we are using a commercially extracted powder from this fruit to make the process easier and quicker. Mawuyu powder is found locally in supermarkets. 
Step-1
Gather your ingredients together. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius/ 350 degrees Fahrenheit/ Gas Mark 5.
Step-2
Using the electric hand mixer or wooden spoon, beat the butter/margarine and sugar until light and fluffy.Add eggs one at a time and beat well after each addition.
Step-3
Put the baobab fruit pulp/powder into a measuring jug. Add lacto/buttermilk and mix well to create what I would call your Mawuyu infusion. Set-aside the mixture.
Step-4
Turning back to your mixing bowel were everything is being combined, add a third of the sifted flour (from your list of ingredients) and mix.
Step-5
Get your set-aside Mawuyu infusion and add to the bowl. Mix everything until just combined. Do not over mix as this will result in a dry and hard textured cake.
Step-6
Add another third of the flour and mix until just combined. Add the remaining half of the Mawuyu infusion from step 2 and again mix. Finally, add the last third of the flour and combine gently. Give a final mix with a wooden spoon. The wooden spoon will help you ascertain the consistency of your cake batter. You want it to easily drop off your spoon. If it seems too thick you may add a bit of milk/buttermilk (not the Mawuyu infusion) until you’re happy with the consistency.
Step-7
Get your baking tin and prepare it. This is when you grease it with margarine/butter and dust it lightly with flour. We’re doing this to ensure that your cake does not stick to the tin when you want to take it out.
Step-8
Pour the cake batter into the prepared cake tin. Bake in oven for about 40-50 minutes or until the skewer comes out clean.
Step-9
When cake is done, allow it to cool on the cooling rack.Don’t worry to much if your cake has a slight dome shape or is slightly cracked. As long as you got it right on the taste you’re good to go. Even the most seasoned bakers sometimes have cakes that come out with a dome shape. If you have too high a dome you may slice the top part to make your cake flat before icing.
ummmm!
When your cake has cooled, should you wish, you can ice it using fresh cream frosting. Follow this link to learn how to do so. When you prepare your icing, add 2 more teaspoons of the baobab fruit pulp. This will give your icing a lovely flavour, adding to the Mawuyu (baobab fruit) flavour of the cake.
Luscious
Luscious…

 That’s all there is to it. Let me know how you find it when you try it.