July 9, 2015 (Winnipeg) – A decadent, chocolate-coconut cake was crowned national champion in the eighth annual Mission:ImPULSEible food product development competition. The Celebration Coco Bean Cake, created by Samantha Smith and Danielle MacDonald of Mount Saint Vincent University in Halifax, is made from 100% pulse-based flour and topped with “frosting” made with coconut milk and pea fiber.
“The possibilities of creating new foods using pulses are endless,” said MacDonald, “and we wanted to play up their versatility by putting them in something most people wouldn’t think of – a sweet dessert.”
“When we entered the competition, we were really excited about the potential of pulses as a food category,” said Smith. “They are filled with important nutrients, and to incorporate them into something fun and celebratory like a chocolate cake and have it taste good is just a win-win.”
Mission: ImPULSEible challenges Canada’s culinary students to get creative in producing new food products featuring Canadian pulses (peas, lentils, beans and chickpeas). This year saw 35 student teams from across the country develop pulse-inspired dishes with the goal of creating awareness for the International Year of Pulses 2016 (IYP).
“The 2015 Mission:ImPULSEible competition featured some of the most creative products we have seen yet,” said Christine Farkas, Manager of Food Product & Culinary of Innovation with Pulse Canada, and organizer of the event. “With IYP on the horizon, I wanted to see the students get really innovative and create dishes you wouldn’t normally associate with pulses. This year’s competitors certainly rose to the challenge,” says Farkas.
Second place in the competition went to the University of Saskatchewan team’s Pulsiano Pizza, a frozen gluten-free pizza. The crust includes lentil flour, the pizza sauce is a combination of tomato sauce and pureed kidney beans, and the pizza is topped with vegetables and roasted chickpeas.
Third place went to team Alberta’s Peamon Tart with a lemon filling in a flaky crust made from a mixture of red kidney beans, chickpeas, Romano beans and great northern white beans. The product is gluten-free and the eggs are replaced with pea protein.
All provincial competitions as well as the 2015 national competition images and product information can be found on the Mission: ImPULSEible Facebook Page.
Pulse Canada is the national association representing growers, traders and processors of Canadian pulse crops (peas, beans, lentils and chickpeas).
For more information, contact: Christine Farkas, Manager of Food Product & Culinary Innovation, Pulse Canada, 204.807.6898, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.