Eggless & Butterless Chocolate Cake

This has been my craziest mini-bake in a long time. I was recovering from a cold one day, and lazing on the couch when I suddenly came to know that it was my neighbour’s birthday the next day. Now, we’ve been neighbours for less than a year but have gotten along so well that whoever said this generation does not care to know who lives next door, would be put to utter shame!

I had less than 6 hours to come up with something. I had no formal equipment, not even measuring cups! Duh! And I direly missed having a proper oven to bake a cake in. And the hot weather was a torture to the cream that was refusing to get whipped. But my determination when it comes to baking put all odds to an end. J I am so happy with the result!

This is my go to recipe for a soft and moist vegetarian chocolate cake.

It is vegetarian.

It is low-cal.

And it is quick!

I got this recipe from my friend T when we were in engineering college, and it has been with me since then – been more than a decade! My husband got tired of searching for the piece of paper every time I made this cake, so he made me a digital copy :P. See footnotes for the photo of the ancient piece of paper smeared in cocoa* (Don't go by the measurements in the photo as there are some errors in there).

Here’s the recipe for No butter, no egg chocolate cake!

Makes one 6 inch cake, about 3 inches in height.

For the cake

Ingredients

1 and 1/2 cups flour minus 3 tbsp

1 cup thick curd

3/4 cup sugar

3 tbsp cocoa powder

1/2 cup refined oil (I use a little less)

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp vanilla essence

Steps

1. Sieve flour and keep aside
2. Mix sugar and curd until the sugar dissolves
3. Add baking powder, baking soda and mix. Let it stand for 2-3 minutes. You will see bubbles appearing.
4. Add oil and vanilla essence and mix well.
5. Add the flour and mix. The mixture should be of dropping consistency.
6. Pour into an oiled cake tin and bake at 180 degree celsius for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. 

For the whipped cream

This was a big challenge. I could not get hold of 40% fat cream. So I had to make do with 25% fat Amul cream. What I did was – I bought two packs of 200ml Amul cream and carefully scooped out the solidified part (the part that settles down in the tetrapack).

I chilled the cream

I put all my utensils and tools in the freezer for a good 2-3 hours. (This includes the whipping bowl and the whisk blades)

I used an ice and water bath with some salt while whipping the cream with a hand blender.

Ingredients

2 packs 200ml Amul cream (ideally you should use 40% fat cream)

About 1 cup icing sugar (I usually go by taste and add as I whip)

Steps

This will vary for 25% fat Amul cream vs. 40% fat cream. I am documenting my process for the 25% fat cream that I used.

1.   Take a big bowl and fill with ice and some water. Add a good pinch of salt in.

2.   Take another chilled bowl to whip the cream in (smaller than the first bowl and which can sit in the above created ice+water bath)

3.   Pour the solidified contents of the cream in the chilled whipping bowl.

4.   Whip with a hand whisk at medium speed till the cream is homogenized (2 minutes).

5.   Add half of the icing sugar in and whip until the cream is soft and aerated (took about 8-10 minutes for me)

6.   Taste and add more sugar as desired.

7.   Now whip until you get soft peaks and the final test is – if you invert your bowl, the whipped cream should stay set and not fall. (Be careful with this one and don’t invert the entire bowl at once else you’ll end up with your entire cream on the floor if it’s not set!)

NOTE: I made this cake during early summers in India, about 28-30 degrees Celsius. If you live in a colder region, it will take less time for you to reach the whipped stage. Keep an eye out every couple of minutes and go by your instinct.

Stacking the cake for the final look!

Ingredients (for decoration)

1 cup chocolate shavings
8 tbsps of flavoured syrup (cherry/raspberry/strawberry or any other of your choice)
Handful of cherries (fresh or canned)

Steps

1.   Slice your cake into two halves horizontally with a long serrated knife so you end up with 2 layers of cake, each 1.5 inches in height.

2.   Sprinkle some sugar syrup or a flavored juice of your choice on the bottom layer– strawberry, raspberry, cherry would be ideal for this cake. You can even use fruit preserves (thin them a little with some water).

3.   Generously layer the bottom slice with whipped cream.

4.   Now stack the second cake on top and follow steps 2 and 3 again for this layer.

5.  I have given it a slightly naked look to make the rich chocolate color stand out in contrast to the whipped cream, but if you'd like, you can cover the sides in whipped cream as well.

6. Sprinkle some chocolate shavings on top and decorate with cherries. I did not have fresh cherries handy so I have used these pseudo ones made from Papaya (they are easily available in Indian grocery stores!)

I know this post is missing step-by-step photos of the cake in making. But I promise to click some the next time I bake this cake J

On a side note, I have convinced my husband for a Dorabjee outing this weekend! Dorabjee is this three (or four?) storied departmental store – a grocery heaven for exotic ingredients! Similar to Target in the US or Coles in Australia or Cold Storage in Singapore. So excited! Will post pics of my visit soon!

Hope you enjoy the cake! J

* The time-tested cake and the doubly time-tested paper it was written on!

Cucumber Raita

This is another absolutely refreshing side. Kids love it. Parents love it. And the stomach definitely loves it.

High water content
Very cool on the stomach
Nutritious
And low-fat!

You know, Yogurt or Curd is a natural probiotic. It contains good bacteria and aids in digestion. It is also rich in Calcium and Vitamin B12.

What more can you ask for? :)

Pair it with spicy chicken or Biryani - oh so yum!

Recipe for Cucumber Raita

Serves: 4
Prep Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

1 cucumber, grated
2 cups yogurt
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
2 tbsp ground peanuts (optional)
Handful of chopped coriander/cilantro leaves (optional)

Mix all the ingredients.
Chill in the refrigerator and serve!

Tomato Onion Raita

Summers are here and we all long for something refreshing. Something to soothe the stomach. Something cool!

Raitas are just perfect for summers.

Raita is yogurt-based Indian side and can be made with a variety of different veggies. They are a wonderful side to have with your meals and are so versatile, they would compliment any main - from rotis to rice and one-pot dishes. Perfect to pair with spicy food.

Low-fat, nutritious, quick and healthy and absolutely yum! They practically sell themselves, don't they? :)

This is the first one on my list.. and my go to side.

5 ingredients is all you need.

Recipe for Tomato-Onion Raita
Serves: 4
Prep Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

1 large tomato
1 medium onion
2 cups yogurt
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
2 tbsp ground peanuts (optional)
Handful of chopped coriander/cilantro leaves (optional)

Finely chop the tomatoes and onions.
Mix all the ingredients.
Chill in the refrigerator for 10 minutes. If your yogurt was cold to start with, you don't even need to follow this step!

And serve! As simple as that. :)

Turmeric

So I asked around in the family which ingredient they would like to know more about. These were their responses:

Sis: Ghee

Brother-in-law (Sis’ husband): Potato/banana

Brother-in-law (husband’s bro): Amsul (Do not ask me what it is. I’ll have to do an awful lot of translating and explaining and crazy research on this one!). I secretly think he seeks some evil pleasure in getting on my nerves K)

MIL: Turmeric

I chose Turmeric. Why? Because it seemed the most interesting, least known and most fun to write about J What! You don’t believe that’s the real reason? Come now! It’s true!.

Anyway, enough with that grin now and absorb all that there’s to know about Turmeric.

Turmeric (pronounced tu-mah-ric) is another basic in Indian cooking. 

You know what I think? I think Indian cooking was given birth to/evolved after a LOT of thought and careful consideration. Every ingredient that I can think of has a unique offering. And all combined, you definitely get a wholesome, well-rounded nutritious meal. And that’s exactly what I am attempting to document in this space - write about every ingredient so that when we cook, we know what goes in, how much quantity should go in and should it really go in (henceforth referred to as the ‘Health Alert’ section).

Back to turmeric. Turmeric is an underground stem from the Ginger family. It can be used fresh or boiled and dried to be used as a powder.

Fresh or powdered Turmeric can be used

• to spice vegetables
• to marinate fish/chicken/meat (increases shelf life in addition to adding flavor)
• in pickles
• to make masalas (add to other spices like Garam masala) which can be used ubiquitously in different dishes

Turmeric leaves

Turmeric leaves are used as aromatic herbs in Indian, Thai and Malaysian cooking. I hear fish steamed/baked in Turmeric Leaves is a particular delicacy.

Health & Nutrition

Turmeric is used widely in Ayurvedic medicine. It has curcumin, which is a powerful antioxidant. It is also anti-inflammatory. Turmeric is also known to be anti-septic, anti-bacterial and anti-flatulant. “Early laboratory studies have been suggestive that turmeric is liver protective, anti-depressant, anti-retroviral effects.”

For sore throats, mix 1 tsp turmeric in 1 cup of hot milk and drink at night. For minor pain, you’ll get immediate relief. For worse infections, have it for a couple of nights in a row.

Turmeric is also good for the skin for eczema and wound healing.

Here’s a good natural facepack which your skin will thank you for (tried personally numerous times over the years!):

1 tbsp gram flour

a pinch of turmeric powder

1 tsp honey

1 tsp milk/water

Mix the above to make a paste and apply to the face. Keep for 15minutes or until the paste feels dry to the hand. Wash off and feel the smoothness and glow on your face. Let me know whether you like it!

Health Alert!

Turmeric is generally considered safe when taken in small amounts. (Indian food usually does not contain more than 1 tsp per person per day.) Avoid taking large amounts (medicinal amounts/tablets) without doctor’s consultation.

Question for you!

Which ingredient has always made you curious? Leave a comment!

Image Sources:

Fresh Turmeric, Dry Turmeric, Turmeric Plant

Tomatoes

A wicker basket filled with fresh plum tomatoes. Photo Credit Diana Taliun/iStock/Getty Images

Bright, red, plump, fresh, juicy tomatoes. Picture perfect.

Is it a fruit? Is it a vegetable? Or something else?

Eat ‘em raw or eat ‘em cooked,

Turn ‘em into salads and you’ll be hooked!

Wow! That was impromptu Poetry.. (I swear)!

But basically, tomatoes are delicious whichever way you prefer them. Scientifically, they are a fruit.

Like onions, tomatoes are another basic in cooking. They are versatile. Use them in:

Salads

Chutneys

Sauces

Curries

Nostalgic Anecdote:

If you’ve read about me here, you would know that I used to be one huge Enid Blyton fan. And if you’ve read Enid Blyton’s books, especially Famous Five, you would know how much the five used to eat all the time - breakfast, lunch, tea and dinner! Every time there was a mention of food, my mouth would salivate (even though I am a vegetarian!). For the poor souls unaware of Ms. Blyton’s gastronomic descriptions, here’s an abstract from “Five Go Down to the Sea”:

The high tea that awaited them was truly magnificent. A huge ham gleaming as pink as Timmy’s tongue; a salad fit for a king. In fact, as Dick said, fit for several kings, it was so enormous. It had in it everything that anyone could possibly want. “Lettuce, tomatoes, onions, radishes, mustard and cress, carrot grated up – that is carrot, isn’t it, Mrs. Penruthlan?” said Dick. “And lashings of hard-boiled eggs.” There was an enormous tureen of new potatoes, all gleaming with melted butter, scattered with parsley. There was a big bottle of home-made salad cream. “Look at that cream cheese, too,” marvelled Dick, quite overcome. “And that fruit cake. And are those drop-scones, or what? Are we supposed to have something of everything, Mrs Penruthlan?”

This article from theguardian or this one gives a spectacular insight into the Five’s diet! 

I am deviating from the topic, aren’t I? Sigh! I am actually ravenous after reading all that!

Sooo… tomatoes! Tomatoes always, always remind me of a hearty Famous Five breakfast.

Aha.. how do tomatoes fare nutrition-wise?

Good source of Vitamin E (Alpha Tocopherol), Thiamin, Niacin, Vitamin B6, Folate, Magnesium, Phosphorus and Copper, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Potassium and Manganese. More info here.

Who should not eat?

As I mentioned in my onion post, onions and tomatoes don’t tune well with gastroesophageal reflux disease (Acid Reflux) patients. If you are prone to acidity, you should definitely avoid eating tomatoes because they are naturally high in acid content and can cause the stomach acid to regurgitate and cause a burning feeling.

Also, canned tomatoes (a common sight in today’s households) have a very high content of sodium compared to fresh tomatoes. High sodium increases risk of Osteoporosis (weak bones). Also avoid canned tomatoes if you are a heart patient or suffer from high blood pressure.

And as always, I urge you to please decrease your dependence on processed foods and eat as much fresh produce as possible and slowly aim towards eliminating processed foods from your diets!

On that note, Eat fresh tomatoes and stay healthy (not you GERD people – you don’t eat ‘em)!