< malted wattle seed cake with honey cream cheese icing & salted white chocolate crumbs >
Q: What are wattle seeds?
This is a question I’ve had a few times after posting my October recipe.
A: Wattle seeds, come from the pod of the Acacia tree, also known as the wattle tree. The Acacia or wattle is a native Australian evergreen with beautiful fluffy golden blooms, as adorn my cake above. It is also the origin of our “green and gold” Aussie colours.
In the UK and Europe some people colloquially refer to Acacia or wattle tree flowers as Mimosa, whilst not “incorrect”, this can be confusing because Mimosa is also a genus of about 400 species in its own right.
ANYWAY…
There are about 120 species of Australian Acacias that produce wattle seed that can be eaten.
Indigenous Australians have been harvesting protein rich wattle seeds for over 40,000 years. Traditionally wattle seed was roasted and ground to make a flour that was then mixed with water and baked in embers as a type of hard cake or damper.
Wattle seeds have a hard husk, meaning that when they fall to the ground they can last for up to 20 years in their natural environment, remaining dormant, and often only germinating after a bushfire.
This hard outter casing also means they can be stored and have provided indigenous Australians with a rich source of protein and carbohydrate in times of drought for thousands of years.
Wattle seed has a strong, nutty, coffee-like aroma, with hints of warm spice and dark chocolate. It has a similar flavour to roast to coffee with a savoury, wheaten biscuit background.
It works fabulously in baking and is particularly great paired with chocolate.