Butter less Chocolate Cake

                                             

  

My younger son's b'day was in December & my in laws were visiting us. They don't take butter so I wanted to bake a cake which is eggless & butter less, along with super soft texture. Saw this recipe on veganbaking.net & tried it. Cake came out really well. I baked it in a Bundt pan & so my kids named it Doughnut Cake :)

Ingredients 

For Cake

1 1/4 cup plane flour (maida or APF) 

1 cup sugar 

⅓ cup cocoa powder 

3/4 tsp baking soda 

Pinch of salt 

1 cup warm water (milk/soy milk/coffee) 

1 tsp vanilla extract 

⅓ cup vegetable oil (I used olive oil)

1 tsp white or apple cider vinegar 

For Glaze

2 tbsp dark chocolate 

1 tbsp heavy cream

For Cake

Preheat oven to 175 C. 

Mix the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda & salt. Keep aside.

Mix together sugar, vanilla extract & vegetable oil.

Gradually add water & flour alternately & keep folding. 

Just before ending with flour, add vinegar & fold well.

Pour in the greased & dusted Bundt Pan & bake for 30 minutes. 

Cool on a cooling rack. 

For Glaze

Melt the cream on slow flame, taking care not to burn it.

Put the flame off & add chocolate to it & let it melt.

Pour the glaze onto cake & decorate with sprinklers.

Let it cool for an hour.

Tips

* I reduced the amount of baking soda from 1 tsp to 3/4 tsp.

* Instead of water I used milk in cake.

* Even without butter the glaze was shiny.

* You can use any shape of pan to bake this cake.

Gond ki Panjeeri

                                                  

Gond or Dink or Tragacanth gum, is an “edible gum”, a resin that is extracted from the bark of the axle-wood tree. It is available in crystal form as pearly yellowish translucent pieces of varying sizes especially meant for eating after being cooked. Gond is normally prepared for pregnant ladies as it strengthens back bone & also for nursing mother as it is supposed to help in lactation. Gond Panjeeri is made on Janmashtami in north India. This recipe is high in calories but very yummy too, so you can have it in moderation. 

Ingredients
3 tbsp Gond/edible gum/dink (small pieces)
1 cup grated dry coconut
1/2 cup chopped Almonds
1/3 cup Water melon seeds

1 cup chopped Makhane/lotus seeds
2 cups Sugar
1 1/4 cups Water
1 tsp Green cardamom powder

2 tbsp desi ghee (clarified butter) for frying

Method

Grease the tray & keep aside.

Fry gond in ghee, in small batches.

It will fluff & become almost transparent when it is done. (these would swell 4-5 times their original size).

Fry makhanas till crisp on slow heat, keep aside.

Dry roast the seeds.

Chop the almonds & dry roast them.

Roast the dry coconut carefully as it burns easily.

Take a pan and add water, sugar & cardamom powder & cook till it reaches one string consistency.

Turn off the heat & mix all the dry fruits in it & transfer quickly to the greased tray.

Let it cool & cut into square or diamond shape pieces.

Ideally it should be 2" thick, leave it to set for about 3-4 hrs.

Store it in a airtight box.

Tips

* You can roast Gond in microwave - 

Take microwave safe plate & sprinkle the gond in it.

Keep the plate in microwave for approx 2 minutes.

After every 30 sec stir the Gond.

Take care as it burn fast.

* If you feel that after frying Gond pieces are big, you can grind it in mixer.

* Gond should be well fried & in small batches as it needs space to increase in size, under fried Gond will stick to your teeth.

* Other nuts & seeds can also be roasted in microwave.

* You can add dates, raisins, prunes etc also.

Note – It has both cooling and heat producing effects . In summer, after soaking in water it it becomes fluffy and soft . Consuming it in this form in summer helps to cool our body. In winter we use it after frying & grinding . It can be added to many sweets.  It generates heat in the body.

Chocolate Walnut & Cranberry Cake With Apple Roses

                              

Chocolate Walnut & Cranberry Cake With Apple Roses

This is the cake I baked for my Dad, who was visiting us for his 68th b'day, which was on 3rd dec '14. Cake is "Chocolate Walnut & Cranberry Cake", recipe of which is already given. Here I'm giving the simple recipe of apple roses to decorate the cake.

For Apple Roses

Ingredients

2 apples

3 tbsp granulated sugar

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Method

For Apple Roses

In a bowl mix granulated sugar & ground cinnamon.

Finely slice unpeeled apples.

In a large non-stick frying pan, spread sugar-cinnamon mixture. 

When the sugar starts to melt, arrange apple slices, cover & cook over medium heat for 1 minute without flipping.

When the apple slices are wilted down, transfer them into a large plate. The caramelised side should face upwards, otherwise the slice might stick to the plate. Keep aside to completely cool. 

Repeat with the remaining apple slices. 

For apple roses, start with a small slice. Roll the slices until the rose reach the size you want & secure with one or two cloves.

Then arrange in a greased cup cake mould & bake at 180ºC for 5 minutes.

Roses with little clove aroma are ready.

To Arrange On Cake

Sprinkle cooled cake with powdered sugar + cinnamon.

Arrange apple roses & serve.

Tips

* Handle slices of apple with care after caramelisation as they become very delicate.

* Colour of roses depends on colour of it's peel.

Christmas Fruit Cake

     

Traditional Christmas cakes have rum or brandy but I can't use them so used orange juice instead. This cake has spice powder too which gives nice aroma. Original recipe, from premascook.com, has little more sugar but I used less as we like it that way (you can reduce without thinking much as dates, prunes etc make up for sweetness).

Ingredients

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup unsalted Butter 

1/4 tsp Salt

1 cup Plain Flour 

1/4 tsp Baking soda

1 tbsp Vinegar

1/2 tsp Baking powder

1/4 tsp spice powder (1 clove , 1 small piece cinnamon & a small piece of nutmeg)

1/3 cup Fruit Juice ( I used fresh orange juice)

3/4 cup Mixed Nuts (cashew nuts,almonds, walnuts) 

3/4 cup dried Fruits (sultanas, raisins, cherries, prunes, dates, mixed peels), roughly chopped.

Method

Put the mixed fruits (not nuts) in a bowl & add the fruit juice, mix well. Leave soaked overnight in refrigerator.

Pre heat the oven. 

In a small bowl,mix baking soda & vinegar. Keep aside.

In  a mixing bowl, beat butter & sugar till it becomes light & fluffy.

Shift the baking powder, salt & plain flour.

Add nuts to flour to coat them so they don't sink while baking.

Add flour to butter & fold well.

Add the soaked fruits along with the juice, baking soda+ vinegar mix & spice powder. Fold well.

Pour the batter in baking pan & decorate with glazed cherries or nuts, whatever you prefer & bake for 35-40 minutes, at 180 degree Celsius .

When the cake is cooked, remove it from the oven & leave to cool.

Tips

* If using salted butter, then avoid using salt.

* You can use any other juice instead of orange, I like orange flavour more so used it.

* Refrigerate soaked dried fruits or they will get spoiled.

* If batter looks dry then you can use a tablespoon of milk.