I have a ton of beans around here and need to be using them, so when Dylan Hollis had this recipe on TikTok, I knew I had to try it.

The Recipe

Two 27 ounce cans of pinto beans, drained

1 1/2 cups peanuts

3/4 cup honey

5 eggs

1/2 cup melted butter

2 tsp. baking powder

First grind the peanuts and beans together.

Keep at it until they are smooth. I had to stop a couple times to let the blender cool down. I also had to add a little of the bean liquid to get it to be smooth.

I added the eggs and butter to the blender to try to get some of the extra beans that I couldn’t scrape out.

Add the remaining ingredients and bake in a springform pan for 45 minutes at 375*. I used a loaf pan as I made a half recipe. The batter was pretty smooth. I did have to bake it for closer to an hour before a knife came out clean.

Obviously, I should have used a springform pan. The cake stuck to the bottom of the pan and looked like this:

But, torn up or not, it’s CAKE. So of course, I had to try it. The sacrifices I make for all y’all.

It was…. meh. You must have your puree very smooth: finding a bean in your cake is not a welcome surprise. The texture was good, but the flavor was…. beany. You can taste the peanuts and the honey, but the beans are kind of … too much.

I will say this for it: It is a gluten free option that is worth exploring. If I had the time and inclination (which I don’t right now – the garden just went in and I’m more than a little busy), I would play with the recipe more – add some cocoa, or spices, or vanilla – maybe use navy or great Northern beans that might be more mild in taste. Maybe later. I’m not pitching the recipe just yet.