Mesquite Bean Cake & Coffee Break

Mesquite grows just as wild as bluebonnets in the spring at Cappadona Ranch in Linn, Texas where this indigenous tree is valued for more than just upgrading the flavor of a Texas barbecue. After the family roasts the mesquite beans, they mill them into a fragrant flour where the aroma likens that of a milky sweet cream. It brings a subtle earthiness to bread loaves and Mesquite Bean Coffee Cake.

While many Texans barely notice it now, the mesquite bean was once vital to indigenous peoples of Texas and Mexico who didn’t waste a single part of the Mesquite tree. They utilized the strong wood for their floors, bows and arrows while the flour was used to make bread and grits-like atole for breakfast. Dense with fiber and protein, the bean (whose name is rooted in an Aztec word, mizquitl) concentrates its sugar in the pulp between the pod's shell and the seeds. 

Rediscovering this sweetly complex Texas treat is something the Cappadona Ranch is now wanting to share with everyone who wishes to support a local business that offers something sustainable, delicious and unique to Texas. Pair Cappadona Ranch  Mesquite Bean Tea with the Mesquite Bean Coffee Cake below and send us your pictures on Cappadona Ranch Instagram or Facebook. We want to know what you think. If you have a recipe you would like to share on our website, please email us at info@cappadonaranch.com

Mesquite Bean Coffee Cake

Contributed by Marsha Alterman & Christine L. Winters

1/4 cup mesquite flour

1 cup all-purpose white flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1/3 cup safflower oil

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon 

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 cup milk

1 egg, well beaten 

Preaheat oven to 375 F. In large bowl, combine white flour, salt, sugar and 4 tablespoons of oil. Mix until crumbly. Set aside 1/4 cup of mixture. To the remaining mixture, add Mesquite flour, baking powder, baking soda, remaining oil and spices. Mix thoroughly. Add milk and egg. Mix well. Pour into greased 8 x 8 inch pan. Spread reserved 1/4 cup crumble mixture over top of cake.